“Put Yourself in Her Shoes”

This chapter looks at the role of NGOs, global and national unions, and feminist government leaders in the movement to support domestic workers’ global rights. Here, the merger of civil society activism, labor struggles, and government influence reveals how a cross-sectional range of players served in pivotal roles as allies in the determination of policy protections. Relations between domestic workers and the state are analyzed to show the potential for opening up new spaces of worker activism. The discussion of feminist government leaders, or femocrats, reveals how the unexpected alliance of women in positions of power and women in some of the world’s most marginalized positions resulted in a synergy that shook a staid, bureaucratic institution to its core, and enabled its reorientation to more effectively address issues of global human rights.

Getting “on the Map”

Chapter 3 discusses the history, structure, and processes of the International Labour Organization and its groundbreaking inclusion of domestic workers in the policymaking process. It examines the revolutionary nature of activist groups’ alignment to determine policy protections for some of the world’s most marginalized populations. Domestic workers came to the ILO as the first “actual workers” to participate in the crafting of policy outcomes that would determine protections for their occupation. The chapter describes the tensions and opportunities that arose as activists engaged with the world’s longest-standing global labor institution, and the social movement strategies that emerged when domestic workers sought influence within this global policy institution.

“First to Work; Last to Sleep”

Chapter 4 outlines the historical trajectory of domestic workers’ social position, “from slaves to workers.” It spells out the terms of the domestic worker protections debated within the ILO, with special attention given to the issues and concerns that generated the widest debate. The discussion examines the tripartite negotiations among government, employer, and worker organizations over the course of two International Labour Conferences, with an eye on the larger meanings of the terms debated on the social policy floor. Migration emerges as a central point of debate in the negotiating process, as policymakers confronted the challenges of protecting migrant workers in the private household.

“Look Deep in Your Hearts”

This chapter sets the stage for the global domestic workers’ movement that is at the center of this book. It examines the landscape of household labor and highlights the key concepts necessary for an understanding of domestic work in the global economy, highlighting the traditional power imbalances that exist between “maids and madams.” The chapter introduces key players in the struggle for domestic worker rights, and the challenges they faced in addressing widespread injustice. An overview of the scholar-activist framework, embedded ethnographic approach, and the author’s particular research journey is also included.

“A Little Bit of Liberation”

This chapter discusses the impact and outcomes of global domestic worker activism, with a focus on the larger meaning and implications of this global worker movement. It closes the book with an assessment of the application of human rights policies in the everyday lives of women workers, namely migrant domestic workers. An examination of state relations to domestic work illustrates the importance of international policy ratification as the critical component of positive change “on the ground.” The chapter looks ahead to domestic worker organization following the ILO policy discussions, and discusses the potential shifts in the landscape of domestic work amid efforts to improve the conditions of informal workers, migrants, and domestic workers across the globe.

“My Mother Was a Kitchen Girl”

Chapter 5 is concerned with the central strategies domestic workers employed in navigating the ILO system and claiming their rights to global protections. It features activists’ construction of domestic worker standpoints, including the framing of “vulnerability,” as a powerful tool of mobilization. The use by domestic workers of songs, emotional appeals, and stories in forging solidarity and holding policymakers accountable to the activists on the ILO floor is also analyzed. Domestic workers referenced policymakers’ employment of domestic laborers in their own households in holding them morally accountable to worker protections, asking them to “look deep in your hearts” and “think of your mother” when deciding upon this pivotal policy. The chapter shows how the strategies employed by domestic workers allowed them to influence global power systems, and ultimately gain their rights.

“Dignity Overdue”

Chapter 2 follows national domestic worker activist movements from their disparate origins to their collective influence as a global activist network within the ILO. It highlights the two key ally organizations that supported the formation of the International Domestic Workers Network—the IUF and WIEGO—and examines the distinct features of the ally-activist social movement approach. It examines how the IDWN forged a global identity out of a diverse membership, and as a united front influenced policy change. The chapter closes by placing this movement in the context of related efforts to promote women’s rights, and recognize domestic work’s importance to the global service economy.