Refugee Women Doing Paid Domestic Work in Rome: Disempowering Structures of Settlement and the Question of Agency

This chapter explains the analysis of domestic work which focuses on the nexus of care, gender and migration regimes to explain the living and working conditions of domestic workers in Italy. It examines how recent social, economic and political transformations have contributed to the expansion of care performed by women migrants. The chapter considers the decision to migrate from an individual point of view without over-romanticizing those who might be seizing such opportunities to escape poverty, abuse, violence or to see the world. It tackles the Italian case study, outlining Italian legislation about immigration, the field of research, the methodology and the interviews. The chapter analyses the interviews, examining the social consequences of the migration; the support networks; women as active subjects; patterns of employment; and lastly the future plans of women migrants. It proposes a mobility model for the migration of workers in the domestic/care work sector.