Paper short abstract:

Interpersonal ties between Ethiopian domestic workers and employers are complex, with power dynamics and protection coexisting. Informed by ethnographic research in Ethiopia, this study explores hierarchical relations of interdependence through testimonies of both domestic workers and employers.

Paper long abstract:

Drawing on ethnographic research in Ethiopia, this contribution illustrates the hierarchical interdependence relationships between domestic workers and their employers. From childhood, the women I interviewed move from rural to urban areas to work as domestic workers in both kin and non-kin households. Working conditions vary, ranging from situations where female workers are exposed to severe forms of exploitation to others where they can negotiate better conditions. For some women, establishing new relationships with affluent people in the city may be a way of obtaining some form of protection that would otherwise be inaccessible.

The interpersonal relationships they create with employers are often ambiguous, involving negotiated hierarchical interdependence where practices of power, domination, subordination, care, and protection coexist. Many employers tend to describe themselves as protective "family members," offering opportunities for a better life in the city to poor village girls. The rhetoric about fostering practices contributes to masking labor relations. Domestic workers, on one hand, define the people they work for as protective individuals to whom they show gratitude and recognition. On the other hand, they may threaten to leave the home of their employers, feeling over-exploited in terms of both work and social gratification.

The contribution reflects on hierarchical relations of interdependence by referring to both the testimonies of domestic workers and those of the people they work for.