Mapping Evidence of the Power Relations Between Domestic Workers and Their Employers in Sub-Saharan Africa: a Scoping Review Protocol

Abstract

Background Across various intersectional lines, including race, class and gender, domestic work is profoundly exploitative than other comparable occupations. The private household, within which domestic workers (DWs) work and function, provides for a space of complex and nuanced dynamics of power. According to the International Labour Organization there are more than 65 million DWs in the world, and Africa is the third largest employer of DWs, with more than 5.2 million DWs reported. The inception of the Domestic Workers Convention (No. 189) (C189) in 2011 sought to protect DWs from all forms of exploitation and discrimination in the workplace, the convention brought global attention to the violation of their human rights and inequalities within the domestic work sector. Although there are more than 5.2 million DWs in Africa, 39/46 countries in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) have not ratified this convention. Due to the extremely low ratification of the C189 and scanty evidence on the power relations between DWs and their employers in SSA, this scoping review is relevant to detect the extent and characteristics of domestic work in SSA since the introduction of C189 in September 2011. Methods The literature that will be included in this scoping review are published peer-reviewed articles, grey literature from relevant departmental websites, humanitarian organisations and theses. Electronic searches of databases and search engines such as Google, Google Scholar, EBSCOhost, EBSCO Discovery Service, Scopus, World Bank and International Labour Organization (ILO) for literature published between September 2011-2021. Other search engines will include screening citations and references of appearing literature within the stipulated time period. All retrieved literature will be exported to an Endnote X9 library. Duplicate documents will be deleted prior to commencement of title screening. An adapted Mixed Method Appraisal Tool (MMAT), developed in a Google form, will be used by two reviewers to quality assess and describe all included studies (qualitative, mixed methods and quantitative). Discussion We anticipate mapping relevant literature on the power relations between domestic workers and their employers in sub-Saharan Africa. Once analysis and summary is finalised, the data will be useful to guide future research.