Au pairs' lives in global context
Subtitle: sisters or servants?
By: edited by Rosie Cox, Reader in Geography, Birkbeck, University of London, UK
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Published: 2015
Place of publication: Houndmills, Basingstock, Hampshire; New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 260
ISBN-13: 9781137377470
Subjects: Au pairs; Child care; Nannies; FAMILY & RELATIONSHIPS / Parenting / General; POLITICAL SCIENCE / Globalization; SOCIAL SCIENCE / Emigration & Immigration; SOCIAL SCIENCE / Sociology / Marriage & Family; SOCIAL SCIENCE / Children's Studies
Description: "Au pairs have traditionally been thought of as middle-class young women from Northern Europe, who are having a fun gap year in a foreign country. This collection, the first dedicated to examining the lives of au pairs, reveals that this is far from the whole story. Au pairing is now a global phenomenon and au pairs are just as likely to come from Asia and Latin America as from Sweden or France. They are an increasingly important form of very low waged, often unregulated, childcare and domestic labour enabling tens of thousands of families to meet the demands of both work and home life. Despite the importance of the work that they do, au pairs are not recognized as workers and are often excluded from even the most basic protections, such as a minimum wage. As young migrants living inside their employers' homes they are vulnerable to exploitation and abuse"--
Table of contents: title: Machine generated contents note:; title: 1. Introduction; Rosie CoxPART I: AU PAIRS IN THE UK2. 'Pink Slave' or the 'Modern Young Woman'? A History of the Au Pair in Britain; Eleni Liarou3. 'Good Families' and the Shadows of Servitude: Au Pair Gossip and Norms of Au Pair Employment; Zuzana Búriková  4. When Work Doesn't Pay: Outcomes of a Deregulated Childcare Market and Au Pair Policy Vacuum in the UK; Nicky Busch5. Migrant Domestic Workers, the National Minimum Wage and the 'Family Worker' Concept; Jenny MossPART II: AU PAIRS IN THE NORDIC COUNTRIES6. In a Minefield of Transnational Social Relations: Filipino Au Pairs between Moral Obligations and Personal Ambitions; Mariya Bikova7. Bane and Boon; Gains and Pains; Dos and Don'ts...: Moral Economy and Female Bodies in Au Pair Migration; Helle Stenum8. 'It's Not Much': Affective (Boundary) Work in the Au Pair Scheme; Elisabeth Stubberud9. Au Pairs in Norway: Experiences from an Outreach Rroject; Lene Løvdal PART III: THE AU PAIR EXPERIENCE IN THE REST OF EUROPE10. Ethnicity and the Au Pair Experience: Latin American Au Pairs in Marseille, France; Séverine Durin11. Part of the Family? Experiences of Au Pairs in Ireland; Aoife SmithPART IV: AU PAIRS IN THE NEW WORLD12. Hiding in Plain Sight: Au Pairs in Australia; Laurie Berg13. The Cosmopolitan Dilemma: Fantasy, Work and the Experiences of Mexican Au Pairs in the USA; Mirza Aguilar Pe;rez14. 'She Doesn't Think it Will Work Out': Why Au Pairs in the USA Leave Their Host Family Early; Christine Geserick15. Conclusion: When is a Worker not Worker?: Tackling the Contradictions of Au Pairing; Rosie Cox.