Dust and Dignity: Domestic Employment in Contemporary Ecuador by Erynn Masi de Casanova

Author:Erynn Masi de Casanova [Casanova, Erynn Masi de]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: South America, Labor & Industrial Relations, Latin America, Social Science, Political Science, Americas (North; Central; South; West Indies), History, Sociology, General
ISBN: 9781501739477
Google: Cv2cDwAAQBAJ
Goodreads: 43419184
Publisher: ILR Press
Published: 2019-08-01T00:00:00+00:00

Such employees sometimes left jobs when they felt that employers were not living up to the ideals of helping the worker or including her in family activities. One worker mentioned loans, which could be seen as a normal part of a patronage relationship: “I had been talking to them about needing a loan for two months... and they pretended to be deaf, mute, and blind and then that made me angry [me dio coraje] and I left on my own.” Others felt that their work entitled them to dignified treatment just as any other worker would expect, and they left jobs because of poor trato. One full-time domestic worker said she quit a previous job because “the lady mistreated me, but verbally, I mean, she had a really strong character [tenía un carácter muy fuerte].” In Ecuador, “strong character” is a euphemism used to refer to people who are abusive, mean, or domineering.

Research participants also described pulling out of the workforce entirely, rather than leaving one job with the goal of finding another immediately. Similar rationales applied to these decisions: their health problems demanded rest and attention, or they felt that they were getting too old (age discrimination is a part of this calculation, not just their self-assessments).4 Those under sixty years old usually planned to reenter paid work after their situation changed.

The most common reason for leaving the paid workforce was a major change in family life or family structure. Pregnant domestic workers often quit their jobs before they are fired, since they know they cannot expect maternity leave; many also intend to stay home to care for young children for a while. Leaving paid work is a decision mothers often justify by saying that their children need them. Getting married or moving in with a romantic partner is another reason women pull back from paid work; on the other hand, these life changes can sometimes propel them into the labor market. Just as entering a committed relationship can disrupt young women’s schooling, it can disrupt their employment at any age. Another family-related reason for leaving paid work, as with leaving school, has to do with women’s unpaid social reproduction. The interviewees described having to stop working to care for parents or other relatives who were sick or disabled. In the tug-of-war between paid and unpaid social reproduction, the unpaid work won out because of women’s dedication to their family members and the expectation that they would be the ones to prioritize family over employment. Shifts in family life might also mean that women suddenly find themselves with no children to care for, and at least one woman quit her job for this reason: “My daughters both left home to live with their partners, and I was left alone, and I didn’t really feel any motivation to work anymore.” This may be a goal for some women, as one interviewee said that rather than paid work to support others, she would prefer “to live alone without having to worry about this one or that one, but just have to take care of myself.

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