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Author(s): Brenda S. A. Yeoh, Shirlena Huang and Joaquin Gonzalez IIIReviewed work(s):Source: International Migration Review, Vol. 33, No. 1 (Spring, 1999), pp. 114-136
MigrantFemale Domestic Workers:DebatingtheEconomicySocial andPoliticalImpactsinSingapore
Brenda S.A. YeohShirlenaHuangJoaquinGonzalez IIINationalUniversity of Singapore
As a small labor-shortcity-statewith over100,000migrantdomestic work?ersmainlyfrom thePhilippines,Indonesia,and Sri Lanka andamountingto oneforeignmaid toevery eighthouseholds,Singapore providesa casestudyof acountrywhereforeignmaids are seen as an economicnecessitybut not withoutimportantsocialconsequencesandpoliticalramifications.Beginningwith a brief examination of statepolicyon transnational labormigration relatingto female domesticworkers,this articlegoeson toexplorethe debates withinpublicdiscourse as well asprivateaccounts ontheimpactofforeignmaids on arangeofissues,includingfemalepartici?pationin theworkforce;the socialreproductionofeverydaylifeincludingthedelegationof the domestic burden and theupbringingof theyoung;thepresenceof "enclaves" offoreignnationals inpublic space;and bilater?al relations between host andsendingcountries. It concludes that thetransnational labormigrationis a multifacetedphenomenonwithimpor?tantrepercussionson allspheresoflife,hencerequiring dynamic policyintervention on thepartof the authorities concerned.
Within aglobalizingworld,therestructuringof economic, social and techno?logicaldomains of life takesplaceacross(ratherthanwithin)national and ter?ritorial boundariesand,assuch,mobility,movement and thecrossingof bor?ders have becomeincreasingly significantand commonprocesses governinghumanexperiences.As economicactivity globalizes, capitalflows create newconditions for themobilityof labor(Sassen, 1988).Finer divisions are createdin thespatialdivision of labor on theglobalchessboard,notonlyin terms of acore-peripheiy relationship involving developedcountriesrelocatingtheir laborintensiveprocessesin the lessdevelopedcountries,but also on aregionalscale.InAsia,increasingeconomicdisparities amongthe countries in theregionhave furthersegmentationin thechanginginternational division of labor.While thedevelopedworld looks tocheaplabor(primarilyfemale)in industri?alizingcountries asreplacementsfor thehighcost of labor in their owneconomies,higher growth industrializingeconomies in turn look todevelopingcountries for industrial(bothmale andfemale)and domestic labor(all female)? 1999bythe CenterforMigrationStudiesof New York.Allrightsreserved.0197-9183/99/3301.0125114 IMR Volume 33 Number 1(Spring1999): 0114-0136to sustain their economicgrowth.http://www.ukassignment.org/essayfw/ One of the moststrikingandrapidlyincreas?ingof thesemigrantflows within East and Southeast Asia has been that ofwomen from thePhilippines,Indonesia,Sri Lanka, Thailand, India and, mostrecently, Myanmar, migratingto work aspaiddomestic workers in theregion'shigher-growthcountries ofHong Kong, Singapore,andMalaysia.1Theretheyare in demand as substitutes in thereproductive sphere2for theincreasingnum?ber of women in host countriesenteringthe formalwaged economy (HuangandYeoh, 1996a).
It should also be remembered that the lives ofmigrantwomen lie at theheart of these debates and concerns. Thebuyingandsellingof domestic laboris notsimplyan economic transactiongoverned bythe market but a socio-cultural relation
betweenindividuals,negotiatedatmanylevels,includingtheeverydayworld of the household.However,while the costs and benefits forbothemployerand maidverymuchdependon thewayindividualsplayouthumanrelationships,this does not absolve thegovernmentauthorities fromprovidinga broader framework which will minimize thenegative impactsoftransnational labormigrationfor all concerned.Politically, policymakersshould derive lessons frompastincidences tohelp preservea harmonious rela?tionship amongcountries in theregion.It is clear that transnational labormigrationboth influences and is influencedbybilateralrelationshipsbetweencountries.Alongside securityand economiccooperation,cultural and educa?tionalexchangesmust beencouraged.Civilsocietymust take an active roleinsupporting programsandprojectslike thePhilippine government'sSkillsTraining Program(STP)thatdirectlyandindirectlybenefitmigrantworkers.Aside
fromstrengtheningthemigrantworkers'psychologicaland social well-beingand hence theiradjustmentto the hostcountry,the STPprovidestheworker withopportunitiesfor career andlanguage developmentwhich arevaluable for their social and economicreintegrationin the homecountry.
At the bottomline, however,strategic policiesneed to be sensitive to thegenderdimensions of labormigration.While there are bothpositiveandneg?ativeimpactson women(bothin host andsendingcountries),one must worktowardsredistributingthe domestic burden across thegenderdivide asopposedtotransferringtheresponsibilities transnationallytotemporary female migrant workers.
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