Annotation 3_Building Support Networks 25 Years After BeijingThe Case of Women Domestic Workers in Ethiopia and Tanzania

Cirillo, S. (2021), “Building Support Networks 25 Years After Beijing: The Case of Women Domestic Workers in Ethiopia and Tanzania,” Agenda, 35(2), pp. 97–109. 

The study examines various forms of action taken by governments and formal and informal women’s labour movements to advance the rights of domestic workers by drawing on ethnographic research conducted in Ethiopia and Tanzania. Various papers contend that women established the tradition of domestic work and moved from rural to urban areas in search of a better life due to a variety of factors, such as unpaid domestic care work and household responsibility. One of the most significant employment opportunities for women in Ethiopia is domestic work. However, a lack of adequate protection exposes domestic workers to a variety of abuses and forms of exploitation. Governments are being lobbied by a number of activists for better pay, the enforcement of written contracts, access to social protection, and the right to a safe workplace for domestic workers. 

Young and female migrant workers in the informal sector remain the least protected by immigration and labour laws. Women who perform both paid and unpaid care and domestic work all contribute significantly less than they should to the development and economy of their country. The report also acknowledges that a significant issue that hasn’t been addressed to date is how unpaid care work is calculated in national statistics. The article makes the case that in the absence of institutional social protection, domestic workers must mobilise other forms of action outside of formal channels, such as neighbourhood interactions and unofficial gatherings that serve as sources of material, emotional, and practical support. It is argued that academic research and activists looking to promote novel solutions to advance domestic workers’ rights can benefit from both formal and informal approaches. 

Women’s participation rates in the labour force are still low because they frequently bear a disproportionate share of the burden of unpaid caregiving. The government has signed bilateral overseas labour agreements with four Middle Eastern nations that are major destinations for Ethiopian migrant workers. However, the majority of working women in Africa continue to be concentrated in the informal sector, where decent work is frequently lacking. As a result, the situation of domestic workers has not improved significantly. Local, regional, national, and international support networks are activated, and they emphasise the importance of domestic workers taking the lead. to achieve decent working conditions for this group of unprotected women workers. However, there are still many obstacles to overcome in efforts to organise domestic workers. In conclusion, an integrated strategy is required that considers the means of support and coping mechanisms created by women who work as domestic helpers both inside and outside of formal channels.