Live-in foreign domestic workers and their impact on Hong Kong's middle class families
Document Type
Journal article
Source Publication
Journal of Family & Economic Issues
Publication Date
Winter 2005
Volume
26
Issue
4
First Page
509
Last Page
528
Keywords
Family dynamics, Hong Kong, Middle-class families, Paid domestic workers, Parental roles
Abstract
This paper discusses the impact of foreign domestic workers (FDWs) on parental roles and family dynamics of Hong Kong's middle class families. The increase in married women's labor force participation in Hong Kong has led to a greater demand for childcare, which has been filled by FDWs. Based on interviews with 15 dual-earner couples in middle class nuclear families employing FDWs, how FDWs affect the mother's gender role and family dynamics is discussed. Boundary work is used by parents in their daily interaction with their children and their FDWs so as to reconcile the perceived indispensability of these workers on the one hand, and the challenges they pose to the definition of parenthood on the other.
DOI
10.1007/s10834-005-7847-4
Print ISSN
10580476
E-ISSN
15733475
Publisher Statement
Copyright © 2005 Springer.
Access to external full text or publisher's version may require subscription.
Full-text Version
Publisher’s Version
Language
English
Recommended Citation
Chan, A. H.-n. (2005). Live-in foreign domestic workers and their impact on Hong Kong’s middle class families. Journal of Family and Economic Issues, 26(4), 509-528. doi: 10.1007/s10834-005-7847-4