Domestic Work
A domestic worker, also known as a servant, is a person who works within the employer's household. Domestic workers perform a variety of household services for an individual or a family, from providing care for children and elderly dependents to cleaning and household maintenance, known as housekeeping. Responsibilities may also include cooking, doing laundry and ironing, food shopping and other household errands. Some domestic workers live within the household where they work.
The conditions faced by domestic workers have varied considerably throughout history and in the contemporary world. In the course of twentieth-century movements for labour rights, women's rights and immigrant rights, the conditions faced by domestic workers and the problems specific to their class of employment have come to the fore. In 2011, the International Labour Organization adopted the Convention Concerning Decent Work for Domestic Workers which covers decent work conditions for domestic workers. Recent ILO estimates based on national surveys and/or censuses of 117 countries, place the number of domestic workers at around 53 million. But the ILO itself states that "experts say that due to the fact that this kind of work is often hidden and unregistered, the total number of domestic workers could be as high as 100 million". The ILO also states that 83% of domestic workers are women and many are migrant workers.
Servant is an older English term for "domestic worker", though not all servants worked inside the home.
Read more about Domestic Work: History, Current Situation Around The World, Child Domestic Workers, Domestic Work and International Migration, Uniform, Accommodation, Notable Domestic Workers, Different Domestic Worker Jobs
Famous quotes containing the words domestic work, domestic and/or work:
“The effect of having other interests beyond those domestic works well. The more one does and sees and feels, the more one is able to do, and the more genuine may be one’s appreciation of fundamental things like home, and love, and understanding companionship.”
—Amelia Earhart (1897–1937)
“Men perceive that equating love and domestic work is a trap. They fear that to get involved with housework would send them hurtling into the bottomless pit of self-sacrifice that is women’s current caring roles.”
—Debbie Taylor (20th century)
“... any citizen should be willing to give all that he has to give his country in work or sacrifice in times of crisis.”
—Eleanor Roosevelt (1884–1962)