Domestic Workers of the World Unite!

This book chronicles the formation of the world’s first domestic worker movement, from the grassroots to global activism. It tells the story of individual women who not only struggled to gain rights in their own countries but mobilized transnationally, eventually taking their fight to the global policymaking arena. The story emerges from research the author conducted over the course of five years, often working alongside this formative global movement. It takes us to Geneva, Switzerland, site of the International Labour Organization, where the first policy protections for domestic workers were negotiated, and traces the key moments leading to this “happy ending for human rights.” It profiles the individuals who came together across a range of contexts to give voice to this long-overlooked labor sector. While the focus here is on domestic workers, the book also examines the model of civil society organizing that was crucial to this struggle. This model is key to an understanding of how a group with so few resources was able to organize and act within the world’s most powerful international structures to shine a light on the wider global plights of migrants, women, and informal workers. The story is one of hope that social justice change is possible, as workers formerly excluded from basic human rights and protections, who had been considered “invisible” and “victimized,” stood upon a global stage to claim their rights, recognition, and dignity long overdue.