“Migrant Capital” and Domestic Work: Labour Trajectories of Immigrant Women in Spain

Abstract

This article analyses the labour trajectory of migrant women in domestic service. The research considers women's working conditions upon arrival, or their “migrant capital” (i.e. their human, social and economic capital) as the defining factors in their labour trajectories. The study, conducted on a sample of migrant women in domestic service, reveals the different value each type of capital has at each stage of a labour trajectory. The social network is the core capital in their first job. Nevertheless, the key factors in labour mobility are human capital and a household's financial needs. The processes of administrative regularization and family reunification prompt far‐reaching changes in these women's labour trajectories. Finally, labour trajectories during the economic crisis have been shaped by financial needs, leading to a decapitalization of the human capital acquired, with even legal status surrendering its value.

The Occupational Health of Female Immigrant Caregivers: A Qualitative Approach

“…Immigrant women in Spain corroborate these data, where it is evident that domestic and care work provide many immigrants with job stability and the possibility of obtaining a residence permit, which results in a better standard of living, although their main health problems are caused by their working conditions [53].…”

Género y Clase. La Intersección de las Condiciones Familiares de Mujeres Migradas en España durante la Gran Recesión

“…La tenencia de hijos, la edad de éstos y el número de los mismos, son factores clave en el rendimiento laboral femenino. Las investigaciones realizadas al respecto, tanto fuera como dentro de España (Gutiérrez-Domènech, 2005;England et al, 2016;Bojarczuk, Mühlau, 2017;Florian, 2018;del Rey, Rivera-Navarro, Paniagua, 2019), confirman que la presencia de hijos en edades dependientes supone un serio lastre en la participación laboral femenina, pues las mujeres priorizarían su rol de cuidadoras frente a su rol de sustentadoras económicas.…”

The Role of Social Capital in Labour-Related Migrations: the Polish Example

“…According to researchers, the importance of networks and social capital is decreasing with subsequent migrations undertaken by a person, and the role of the individual in the network of connections is changing: from the "recipient" of resources, he becomes their "donor". Social capital is particularly important when immigrants take up their first job (Rey et al 2019). At the same time, it should be remembered that in the case of less developed countries, migration is associated with high transactional costs related to the need to obtain information, for example, and the lack of efficient markets is compensated for by additional institutions, such as standards, customs and value system, which in effect lead to the creation of a kind of stream connecting the sending and receiving country of migrants (Guilmoto and Sandron 2001).…”