ABSTRACT
Introduction Transnational labour migration is a feature of globalization which has become increasingly ‘feminized’ (see Chapter 3) with Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, as well as Canada, the US and the Middle East being key destinations for female migrant domestic labour. This chapter examines transnational female migrant labour servicing the emotional labour needs of high-end professionals, both expatriots, and local communities in global cities in the Asia, the US, Europe and the Middle East. The conceptualization of female migrant domestic labour as a transnational community is an important one and, as Salazar Parreñas (2001b) notes, it is the result of simultaneously a structural and cultural process, and is in response to the kinds of pressures the female migrants are faced with in the country where they work, as well as a response to the country and families they have left behind. This chapter examines a number of issues around female migrant labour as a transnational community including: human rights issues, the emotional labour or parenting implications of transnational female migrants, and examines what impact it is having on female domestic migrants’ identity and their relationship with their children and families in their country of origin.
