The exploitation of migrant women employed in domestic and care work: the Italian case

In the contemporary world, characterized by global migrations and the New International Division of Labour, the phenomenon of migrant domestic and care work plays an important role in defining migration pathways and responding to the lack of care services in the Global North. However, despite the scale of the phenomenon, the regulations in place and the essential work they perform, female migrant domestic and care workers remain particularly vulnerable to exploitation. Italy, as a nation grappling with the complexities of immigration and care provision, stands at the crossroads of this evolving phenomenon. Focusing on the Italian context, this thesis attempts to comprehensively analyse the phenomenon of exploitation of female migrant workers employed in the domestic and care sector through the adoption of an intersectional gender lens. Notably, within this analysis, it is argued that the exploitation of female migrant domestic and care workers is not only a structural component of global economies and patriarchal societies, but is also fostered by the adoption of migration and labour policies and laws that are inadequate to prevent and respond to the phenomenon. First of all, an analysis of the New International Division of Labour and care work at a global level highlights the systemic and structural nature of this type of exploitation, necessary for the functioning of the capitalist economy. Secondly, an analysis of the phenomenon in the Italian context sheds light on the current regulation of domestic work and its limitations, the vulnerabilities that characterise the different profiles of migrant women working in the sector in Italy and the exploitative conditions to which they are subjected. Lastly, after an in-depth look at the notion of exploitation, an analysis of current Italian laws and policies related to labour, domestic work and migration points to factors that promote the exploitation of migrant domestic workers in Italy.