Advocacy for women migrant workers in Malaysia through an intersectionality lens

Miles, Lilian; Lewis, Suzan; Teng, Lai Wan; Yasin, Suziana Mat

doi:10.1177/0022185618814580

Cited by 8 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…Premature dismissals from employment are financially detrimental to both employers and migrant workers. Nevertheless, we found that information and access to family planning are seldom supplied to migrant workers by employers and not provided for by the government [ 20 ]. The state and employers essentially deny that migrant workers are sexually active adults, with the intent of avoiding being seen as promoting promiscuity by raising the topic of SRH.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Despite the ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and commitments to the ICPD Programme of Action [ 16 ], Malaysia has not fully recognised the migrant workers’ SRHRs [ 17 , 18 ]. Female migrant workers in Malaysia still face SRHR-related difficulties, mainly through the prohibition of pregnancy during employment [ 19 , 20 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Migrant Women’s Access to Sexual and Reproductive Health Services in Malaysia: A Qualitative Study

Loganathan

Chan

Smalen

et al. 2020

IJERPH

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Providing sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services to migrant workers is key to fulfilling sustainable developmental goals. This study aims to explore key informants’ views on the provision of SRH services for migrant women in Malaysia, exploring the provision of SRH education, contraception, abortion, antenatal and delivery, as well as the management of gender-based violence. In-depth interviews of 44 stakeholders were conducted from July 2018 to July 2019. Data were thematically analysed. Migrant workers that fall pregnant are unable to work legally and are subject to deportation. Despite this, we found that insufficient SRH information and contraceptive access are provided, as these are seen to encourage promiscuity. Pregnancy, rather than sexually transmitted infection prevention, is a core concern among migrant women, the latter of which is not adequately addressed by private providers. Abortions are often seen as the only option for pregnant migrants. Unsafe abortions occur which are linked to financial constraints and cultural disapproval, despite surgical abortions being legal in Malaysia. Pregnant migrants often delay care-seeking, and this may explain poor obstetric outcomes. Although health facilities for gender-based violence are available, non-citizen women face additional barriers in terms of discrimination and scrutiny by authorities. Migrant women face extremely limited options for SRH services in Malaysia and these should be expanded.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Migrant Women’s Access to Sexual and Reproductive Health Services in Malaysia: A Qualitative Study

Loganathan

Chan

Smalen

et al. 2020

IJERPH

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“…Elsewhere, we see that the majority of the work focusing on precarious employment in Malaysia is concerned with the plight of migrant workers, especially those working within the palm oil industry or as domestic workers (Pye et al 2012;Kumar et al 2014;Au et al 2019;Miles et al 2019). With regards to the former, Malaysia's palm oil sector is heavily reliant upon roughly 1 million migrant workers, the majority of whom are from neighbouring Indonesia (Pye et al 2012, p. 330).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rethinking the Relationship between Women, Crime and Economic Factors: The Case-Study of Women Sentenced to Death for Drug Trafficking in Malaysia

Harry

2021

Laws

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This paper draws upon my doctoral research into the experiences of women who have been sentenced to death for drug trafficking in Malaysia. I utilise this case-study as a lens through which to examine the relationship between women, crime and economic factors. From my data derived from 47 ‘elite’ interviews, as well as legal and media database searches (resulting in information on 146 cases), I argue that current feminist criminological theorising should be updated to incorporate the relationship between women’s crime and precarious work. As I show, precarity is gendered and disproportionately affects women from the global south. Overall, I find that many of the women who have been sentenced to death in Malaysia were engaged in precarious work and drug trafficking was a way to make ‘quick money’ to address economic insecurity. Clearly, capital punishment is incommensurate with the crime.

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“…It is estimated that there are currently 300,000-400,000 (ILO, 2013). This may also be attributed to the 'livein' arrangement of most MDWs in Malaysia, who are hidden from view and are denied social status, economic resources, and political voice, making it difficult to uncover their abuse (Carens, 2013;Huling, 2012;Miles et al, 2019). The live-in arrangement blurs the separation between working hours and non-working hours.…”

Section: Malaysiamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Yet their experiences have largely been invisible in mainstream WL literature. Despite their substantial number globally, MDWs constitute an 'invisible' workforce due to the nature of domestic work and their low-waged, low-skilled status (Miles, Lewis, Teng, & Yasin, 2019). To address this void and inspired by a feminist commitment to promote voices that are not typically included (Thompson, Rickett, & Day, 2018), this paper explores one research question: How do women live-in MDWs talk about their lived experience of the WL interface?…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The work-life experiences of an invisible workforce

Ayudhya

Tan

et al. 2019

EDI

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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the work-life (WL) experiences of live-in women migrant domestic workers (MDWs), who represent a significant proportion of migrant workers globally. MDWs play a key role in enabling the work-life balance (WLB) of others, namely the middle-class households that employ them. Yet, their experiences have largely been invisible in mainstream WL literature. The authors draw on an intersectional approach to frame the WL experiences of this marginalized group of women at the intersection of being secondary labour segment workers, with significant legal and employment restrictions as migrant workers, who work and live in the same place as their employers. Design/methodology/approach Qualitative interviews were conducted with 13 women MDWs from Indonesia and the Philippines working in Malaysia. The women talked about the meaning of work as MDWs, how they maintain familial connections whilst working abroad, and how they negotiate their WLB as live-in workers. Thematic analysis of the interviews focused on the intersection of the women’s multiple dimensions of disadvantage, including gender, class and temporary migrant-foreigner status, in shaping their accounts of the WL interface. Findings Three thematic narratives highlight that any semblance of WLB in the MDWs’ lived experience has given way to the needs of their employers and to the imperative to earn an income for their families back home. The themes are: working as MDWs enables the women and their families back home to have a life; the co-existence of WL boundary segmentation and integration in relation to “real” and “temporary” families; and the notion of WLB being centred around the women’s ability to fulfil their multiple duties as MDWs and absent mothers/sisters/daughters. Research limitations/implications The study is based on a small sample of live-in women MDWs in Malaysia, intended to promote typically excluded voices and not to provide generalizable findings. Accessing potential participants was a considerable challenge, given the vulnerable positions of women MDWs and the invisible nature of their work. Practical implications Future research should adopt a multi-stakeholder approach to studying the WL experiences of women MDWs. In particular, links with non-governmental organizations who work directly with women MDWs should be established as a way of improving future participant access. Social implications The study underscores the existence of policies and regulations that tolerate and uphold social inequalities that benefit primary labour segment workers to the detriment of secondary labour segment workers, including women MDWs. Originality/value Extant WL literature is dominated by the experiences of “the ideal work-life balancers”, who tend to be white middle-class women, engaged in professional work. This study offers original contribution by giving voice to a taken-for-granted group of women migrant workers who make other people’s WLB possible. Moreover, the study challenges WL research by underscoring the power inequities that shape the participants’ marginal and disadvantaged lived experience of work, life, family and WLB.

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Advocacy for women migrant workers in Malaysia through an intersectionality lens

Cited by 8 publications

References 37 publications

Migrant Women’s Access to Sexual and Reproductive Health Services in Malaysia: A Qualitative Study

Migrant Women’s Access to Sexual and Reproductive Health Services in Malaysia: A Qualitative Study

Rethinking the Relationship between Women, Crime and Economic Factors: The Case-Study of Women Sentenced to Death for Drug Trafficking in Malaysia

The work-life experiences of an invisible workforce

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