Ending Racialized Treatment and Exploitative Workday Among Migrant Domestic Workers

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Ending Racialized Treatment and exploitative workday (overwork/less pay) among Migrant Domestic Workers (MDWs).
Introduction
Today, women represent about half of the total internal migrant population across the globe. The migration of women in search of greener pastures is on the rise and over the years, governments have adopted vital measures to decrease the risks and vulnerabilities faced by migrants, especially women. For example, the US has already adopted the minimum wage bill, which is also applicable among domestic women workers (Chatterjee, Shantamay, et al.). Additionally, there have been extra efforts to guard migrant women against sexual and gender-based violence, human trafficking, and discrimination. While these efforts are documented and already enforceable, the risks and issues experienced by migrant domestic workers continue in most countries to this date. As such, advocacy remains the vital tool used to ensure that migrant domestic workers are protected from any form of human rights violation in their countries of destination (Jelin 129). Many migrant women consider domestic work as the ultimate opportunity to earn income socially accepted and, therefore, must receive the desirable protection.
Domestic work has exposed migrant women to two major problems namely racialized treatment and exploitative work-days. Migration from one country to another with the sole purpose of making a living and advancing their livelihoods and those of their families. As seen in figure 2, 53% of women migrants in the USA compared to 47% of men (Lutz, Helma, ed.). However, it is reported that a significant percentage of these women encounter racialized treatment and exploitative work-days. The reason behind these occurrences includes the lack of regulation of domestic work jobs, which has over time given employers complete control of their domestic workers. Domestic work is not fully documented as a formal job, and this gives it legal gaps to set up precise job descriptions, underpay them, and mistreat them. In most countries, domestic workers are exclusively under their employer, making the employer a direct, and final recipient of the work (Kaur, Amarjit 5). This means that the employer has complete control of all activities and roles assigned to domestic workers. Employers have power, and the majority of them have used this control to derive the greatest value from their migrant domestic workers at the expense of their human rights. Anjara, S. G., et al. (2017) notes that many migrant domestic workers endure a harsh working environment and have developed chronic stress, anxiety, and depression over time (Anjara, S. G., et al. 4). The recommendation for a particular cause of action is that women migrants should have the protection they desire to continue earning a living in harmony. Through advocacy, there is a need to develop policies that ensure adequate coverage of women migrant domestic workers in and outside the USA.
Policy Oriented solution and Self-advocacy in ending employer, making Racialized Treatment and exploitative workday among MDWs.
For many years, domestic work has been characterized solely by long working hours, low wages below statutory minimum wage, and inadequate accommodation. More so, the irregular nature of this work gives room to illegal change of contract and wrongful and uncompensated terminations by illegitimate employers (Mendoza). As such, the proposed solutions and recommendations according to scholars and activism are as follows:
First, I advocate to bring that acts of racialized treatment and longer workdays out into the open, from the private sphere into the public space, where they become the basis for policy, legislation and justice. Advocacy sets the basis for lobbying for national legislations that promote equal treatment on employment, work hours, social security, and non-discrimination. Secondly, there is need, based on scholars’ ideas to encourage for the introduction of an international standard employment contract (UNFPA, UNIFEM, & Osagi 11). Ideally, an international standard employment contract will ensure that domestic women workers moving from one country to another are subjected to fair universal standards. Thirdly, activism calls for the establishment of a multiagency that identifies and reports abusive employment agencies. Ideally, systemizing monitoring procedures ensures that strategic plans of action, policies, and all aspects of programming and implementation of anti-racism and long workdays are fully addressed (Jelin, Elizabeth. 129). Fourthly, activism demands that migrant women domestic workers demand for the for the formalization of domestic worker unions as well as subscribing to unions. Fifthly, I propose based on research, the establishment of policies that forbid employers from confiscating domestic workers identity documents. Over 90% of migrant domestic workers who are mistreated by their employers have their travel documents confiscated making it hard for them to leave their abusive employers. Finally, scholars recommend the need for migrant domestic worker flexibility without the threat of deportation or imprisonment (Goodman, Rachael D., et al. 309).
Analyzing solutions
Advocating and activism used collectively will drive better results. Advocacy alone will bring the acts of racialized treatment and longer workdays out into the open, but it will not propose based on research, the establishment of policies that forbid employers from confiscating domestic workers identity documents. As such, advocacy and activism serve as a vehicle for social change and leaving out the other means abandoning a critical issue affecting domestic workers. Ideally, the substantial understanding of the migrant domestic worker situation in the visiting country presents us with the fact that abuse arises from the overall lack of job descriptions and the overall lack of formal laws that recognize domestic work as a formal activity (Sen, Gita, and Avanti Mukherjee 189). A combination of self-advocacy and policies will ensure that policies that promote equal treatment on employment, and non-discrimination are established (Anjara, S. G., et al. 10). All changes are recommended in order to address all issues facing migrant domestic workers. The combination...