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The Importance Of Domestic Work

Decent Essays
In modern capitalist societies, certain types of labor are given a higher economic and social capital. Jobs that require traditionally feminine qualities, such as domestic work, are seen as less important than jobs that promote masculine traits. This inherent devaluation of feminine qualities reflects on those who often complete this work - women. The work of women is made to be invisible through a lack of legal protection and unpaid labor. Economical hierarchies and gendered work are further reinforced through the association of this work with pre-existing power differences between men and women, and women from Global North and Global South. Women can be harmed by domestic work as shown by Meshael Alayban, a Saudi Arabian Princess, who allegedly held 5 women against their will to work as maids and confiscated their travel documents (Rokhy 2013: 1). Alayban was arrested in July of 2013, but she was eventually released due to lack of evidence. The case, nonetheless, exemplifies important issues surrounding women’s work and oppression stemming from global inequality. Through reinforced gender roles and divisions of wealth, women continue to take on a disproportionate share of care work and a subordinate role in the domestic sphere.
Assumed gender roles affect women in both the professionally and within the home. The decreased value of work pertaining to feminine traits is seen clearly through the gender pay gap and the salary of different jobs. According to Melissa J. Gillis’s
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