This article provides a critical analysis of the role of transnational migrant workers providing care and household services in an age of globalization. On the demand side, the feminization of migration is linked to the increase in women's labour force participation, falling birth rates, increasing life expectancy, changes in family structure, and the shortage of public care. On the supply side, it is argued that remittances are key for the survival of households and communities in a number of developing countries and that exporting workers is one means by which governments address the problems of unemployment and foreign debt. The concept of the global care chain serves to cast light on the social processes associated with the transnational transfer of domestic labour.
International Journal of Comparative Labour Law and Industrial Relations