Third World Domestic Labor

Migration is a complex issue and it cannot be explained by simple theories that attempt to define the reasons for migration, which ignore important contributing factors especially for women of color all around the globe. Migration not only perpetuates socioeconomic instability, but also reinforces the brutal legacies of the colonization of indigenous land, labor and people. In addition, mainstream theories regarding migration tend to ignore the ways in which colonial empires have continuously created conditions that force people to migrate in order to survive, and as a result, obliterates family dynamics and creates a commodification of third world domestic labor. The commodification of third world domestic labor is one prime example of how
imperialistic countries, such as the United States, have created systemic conditions in countries like the Philippines that results in the global need for domestic labor from women of color.

While advanced western nations evolve the progression of women's equality, it is achieved through a white feminist lens that alleviates the domestic labor of women through the idea of entering the workforce. However, this narrow lens of women's liberation perpetuates rampant racism within the labor of women because it fails to acknowledge how this Western framework of liberation creates horrendous conditions for women of color around the world. The introduction and entrance to the workforce for women varies from country to country. The labor women of color in the Philippines endure is immensely different than the labor white women in the United States endure. Thus, it is important to note these differences and critically analyze the ways in which white feminism has perpetuated the exploitation of women of color in the Philippines as well as many “underdeveloped” countries around the world.

White women are able to enter the workforce within the borders of United States, yet continue to maintain the systemic exploitation of women of color, by hiring a low-wage domestic worker. The racialization of reproductive labor coincides with the rise of white feminism, whereas women of color are further marginalized because of the narrow framework of white feminism that absolutely ignores the needs of women of color globally. An example is when white women get liberated from domestic work, but utilize the source of cheap domestic labor to further her life, at the expense of the women of color. It can be difficult to achieve mobility as a domestic worker, especially when women of color are devalued in a white society. For example, In the United States, women make 77 cents for every dollar a man makes, and this wage reduces for women of color. Domestic labor has been deemed an low-wage job, despite its contribution to society and wealthy families.

The standard of living and minimum wage in the United States highlights the various desires to pursue a dangerous migration process.
Filipina workers can maintain their families in their home country, as well as themselves with a minimum wage domestic service job in the United States. Also with this wage, women are able to hire a caretaker to replace her role in their homeland. Parreñas utilizes the term contradictory class mobility and explains how “First, they perform domestic work under the fantasy of reversal; in other words, they dream of eventually returning to the Philippines to be served by their own domestic workers” (120). The status of domestic labor has been defined as an extremely low-wage job within the global market. Parreñas has used the term contradictory class mobility to showcase the contradictions domestic laborers undergo as their class status and financial status are greatly impacted when working abroad. The United States along with other imperialistic forces have created a global need for domestic laborers, which creates this type of labor as a norm. Although domestic laborers are being exploited, it has been deemed normal for them to hire a domestic laborer to take care of their family, which further expands the global need for domestic
labor.