Women in Latin America and the Caribbean - Cepal

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81 Box II.6 HAITI. DOMESTIC WORKERS AND RESTAVEK CHILDREN In July 2003, the non-governmental organization ENFOFANM conducted a survey of paid domestic work in three areas of Port-au-Prince (Haiti). The results show that 85% of workers in private households are female, 61% are immigrants, 60% are aged between 25 and 44, 67% are responsible for at least two children in their households and just 42% have a spouse or partner. Men are employed on gardening work while women mainly cook and wash clothes. 60% of those interviewed had never attended school. Analysis of working conditions showed that there was a high rate of turnover, while for “live-in” workers accommodated in their employer’s private residence (less than half the total) the working day began between 5.00 and 6.00 a.m. and did not end at any fixed time; furthermore, days off or public holidays were few. Most workers were not paid for overtime and less than half had a clearly defined break during the day. 25% of those surveyed claimed to have had problems with their employers, the most common complaints being that they had been insulted or ill-treated, had not been paid, or had been subjected to sexual abuse. On top of this situation of extreme vulnerability and rights violations affecting women employed in private homes, there is the predicament of the restavek children (restavek is Creole for “stay with”). These are poor children who are sent by their families to live in other people’s homes where they carry out domestic work under conditions of near-slavery and in flagrant violation of their rights. Although there is a law recognizing the existence of these children and requiring them to be paid at least half the normal wage for domestic workers once they turn 15 (which is itself discriminatory), when this time arrives employers choose to dismiss them and replace them with younger children. Source: Myriam Merlet, “Enquête ENFOFANM sur le travail domestique rémunéré”, Ayiti Fanm, vol. 14, No. 56, December 2003; International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU), Internationally-recognised core labour standards in Haiti. Report for the WTO General Council review of trade policies of Haiti, Geneva, June 2002. When population structures in urban areas of Chile, Guatemala and Paraguay and rural areas of Bolivia are analysed, indigenous women are found to be over-represented in domestic service work. These countries are very different in their ethnic composition. The over-representation of indigenous women among domestic workers does not have the same connotations in Chile as in countries like Guatemala and Paraguay, where larger proportions of the population are indigenous. Notwithstanding this preliminary observation, such over-representation is not found in urban areas in Bolivia. A possible explanation for these differences may be found in the types of questions and definitions underlying the surveys (Calla, 2006). In characterizing domestic employment in Paraguay, account has to be taken of Guarani migration and monolingualism, since most women working in private households have migrated from rural areas to urban ones (Soto, 2004). This helps to make them the victims of the most widespread discrimination in the country, where, according to a May 2007 report by the International Labour Organization, the situation of female servants tops the list of employment discrimination practices, followed by the exclusion of Guarani speakers. In the case of Brazil, black women make up the bulk of domestic workers. 41 41 Report by the Government of Brazil presented at the subregional preparatory meeting for South America for the tenth session of the Regional Conference on Women in Latin America and the Caribbean, Santiago, Chile, May 2007.
82 Figure II.10 LATIN AMERICA (5 COUNTRIES): FEMALE POPULATION AGED 15 AND OVER, BY OCCUPATION AND ETHNIC GROUP, URBAN AREAS, AROUND 2005 (Percentages) 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Other Domestic service Housewives Total Other employed 45 49 53 54 58 Housewives Other Other employed Total Domestic service 4 4 4 4 7 Other Housewives Total Domestic service Other employed 2 2 2 3 3 Other Other employed Total Housewives Domestic service 21 24 26 30 30 Other employed Other Total Domestic service Housewives 22 25 27 33 36 Bolivia Chile Ecuador Guatemala Paraguay Indigenous Non-indigenous Source: Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), on the basis of special tabulations of household surveys from the countries concerned. Figure II.11 LATIN AMERICA (6 COUNTRIES): FEMALE POPULATION AGED 15 AND OVER, BY OCCUPATION AND ETHNIC GROUP, RURAL AREAS, AROUND 2005 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Housewives Other Total Other employed Domestic service Other employed Total Other Domestic service Housewives Housewives Other Domestic service Total Other employed Domestic service Other Total Housewives Other employed 61 67 75 80 82 11 15 15 16 16 7 12 12 16 23 33 35 47 48 52 17 18 25 3 8 51 70 73 75 76 Domestic service Other Housewives Total Other employed Domestic service Other Total Other employed Housewives Bolivia Chile Ecuador Guatemala Panama Paraguay Source: Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), on the basis of special tabulations of household surveys from the countries concerned.
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LC/L.2738(CRM.10/3) August 2007 The
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1 FOREWORD The Economic Commission
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3 INTRODUCTION The women of Latin A
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5 essentially not on biological fac
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8 Convention, but the process has b
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10 among development, security and
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12 Another sphere of democratic deb
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14 to articulate their efforts in i
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16 boundaries between human, reprod
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18 relatively less powerful, new gl
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20 universalist school’s argument
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22 democratic movements, gradually
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24 Table I.2 LATIN AMERICA (20 COUN
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26 In many countries, a new collect
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28 In Costa Rica the quota issue be
Page 33 and 34: 30 Table I.3 LATIN AMERICA AND THE
Page 35 and 36: 32 The differences between the resu
Page 37 and 38: 34 Figure I.4 LATIN AMERICA AND THE
Page 39 and 40: 36 Figure I.6 CARIBBEAN (11 COUNTRI
Page 41 and 42: 38 Figure I.9 CARIBBEAN (9 COUNTRIE
Page 43 and 44: 40 Women’s entry to parliament ca
Page 45 and 46: 42 Figure I.10 LATIN AMERICA AND TH
Page 47 and 48: 44 Figure I.12 THE CARIBBEAN (10 CO
Page 49 and 50: 46 Figure I.14 LATIN AMERICA (15 CO
Page 51 and 52: 48 Table I.6 LATIN AMERICA AND THE
Page 53 and 54: 50 was from 9% to 1.3%, Jamaica (fr
Page 55 and 56: 52 agencies at the highest level an
Page 58 and 59: 55 II. WOMEN’S CONTRIBUTION TO TH
Page 60 and 61: 57 more concerned with the ethic of
Page 62 and 63: 59 Box II.1 THE WORK OF CARE IN SOC
Page 64 and 65: 61 of care on women mounts up. This
Page 66 and 67: 63 conditions of employment of work
Page 68 and 69: 65 social security and social benef
Page 70 and 71: 67 disincentive to their recruitmen
Page 72 and 73: 69 seeks to reform the constitution
Page 74 and 75: 71 Box II.4 REGULATION OF EMPLOYMEN
Page 76 and 77: 73 those in rural areas (42.1%), wh
Page 78 and 79: 75 sex and activity (see figure II.
Page 80 and 81: 77 Figure II.4 LATIN AMERICA (SIMPL
Page 82 and 83: 79 Figure II.7 LATIN AMERICA (SIMPL
Page 86 and 87: 83 It is interesting to characteriz
Page 88 and 89: 85 care to the “productive” adu
Page 90 and 91: 87 Box II. 7 (concluded) To sum up,
Page 92 and 93: 89 are also inaccurate, which widen
Page 94 and 95: 91 Some progress has been made sinc
Page 96 and 97: 93 Figure II.15 AVERAGE HOURS SPENT
Page 98 and 99: 95 Country Costa Rica El Salvador G
Page 100 and 101: 97 domestic life is shared between
Page 102 and 103: 99 employee for family reasons. The
Page 104 and 105: 101 In the private sphere, there ha
Page 106 and 107: 103 Table II.4 SEVEN SELECTED CITIE
Page 108 and 109: 105 Box II.12 EXAMPLES OF SOCIAL SE
Page 110 and 111: 107 III. TOWARDS A RESEARCH AND POL
Page 112 and 113: 109 (iii) Contribute to the mainten
Page 114 and 115: 111 Appendix TECHNICAL NOTES The st
Page 116 and 117: 113 Household survey information al
Page 118 and 119: 115 sub-module “home maintenance
Page 120 and 121: 118 _____ (2003), "Políticas para
Page 122 and 123: 120 Carrasco, Cristina (2001), “H
Page 124 and 125: 122 _____ (2003b), “Redes de apoy
Page 126 and 127: 124 Huenchuan, Sandra and José Mig
Page 128 and 129: 126 Montaño, Sonia (2007a), “Emp
Page 130 and 131: 128 Rico, María Nieves (2006), “
Page 132: 130 _____ (1979), Convention on the
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