Beyond victimhood: the agency of migrant domestic workers during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic severely impacted the livelihoods of migrant domestic workers (MDWs), many of whom were undocumented and informally employed. In Switzerland, media portrayals of these women as destitute victims exposed them to social risks. This article challenges such representations by emphasising their varied experiences and social positions. Based on 49 interviews with MDWs in four Swiss cantons, we discuss how intersecting structural vulnerabilities associated with legal status and employment conditions shaped the exercise of critical agency. In this way, MDWs were able to cope with hardship and manage risks while constructing their subjectivities in alignment with or in opposition to prevailing discourses.

Keywords: structural vulnerabilities, critical agency, COVID-19 pandemic, employment conditions, migrant domestic workers, legal status