ABSTRACT
This chapter explores issues of gender and power in relation to female labour migration, specifically women who migrate to work as housemaids. As mentioned earlier in Chapter 1, domestic work has been receiving a lot of attention lately, especially in studies relating to international migration. Domestic labour in many countries has become almost restricted to migrant and ethnic minority women, although in earlier historical periods such labour was supplied by poor, rural girls who were internal migrants. Within this type of labour, gender issues as well as power struggles and acquisitions are highlighted. Moreover, the employment of migrant domestic workers can be reflective of the gender division of labour in countries of both origin and destination.
