They're sisters - until the toilet needs cleaning or the man of the house takes a sudden interest in the hired help
Black domestic workers would rather work for white madams than black "siesies" because they believe whites pay better.
This is one of the findings by University of Witwatersrand sociology master's student Xoliswa Dilata, who investigated the relationship between black employers and domestic workers in Soweto.
Dilata spent two months interviewing domestic workers and employers.
"Common racial backgrounds and class inequalities become some of the factors that challenge both parties," she said in her thesis.
Difficulties in the relationship included guilt among employers and, among the domestic workers, "a sense of common blackness that makes them have expectations of the employment relationship".
Dilata said that employers entered the relationship with "deep-seated" fear that stemmed from their need not to treat their domestic workers like their own mothers had been treated in white suburbs.
Employees also expected their black bosses to treat them differently, resulting in employers complaining that their domestic workers took them for granted and did not apply the same amount of effort as they would an employer of a different race - working harder for white or Indian employers, for example.
"We want to treat them properly like our sisters, but they see us as fools and do not work properly - but expect a full salary," an employer told Dilata.
A Johannesburg child minder, who asked not to be named, said she would never again work for a black family.
"Blacks treat you worse than whites. You have your own sugar, your own milk powder, your own plate. When the visitors are there, they treat you well, but when the visitors leave they start from scratch (treating you badly)," she said.
"How can this person treat me like this and it's the same colour as me?"
Performer and Idols judge Mara Louw is researching domestic workers for a TV series on the topic. She said that, in her own home, she had maintained a good relationship with her former domestic worker, based on mutual respect and an understanding of each other's roles: "Right from the beginning I had a whole page of what to do and when and she would do it."
Louw said there was a concern among some employers that young domestic workers might steal their husbands. Dilata's study confirmed this.
"Problems ... arise when the employer feels threatened or jealous because the domestic workers are already performing most of the household duties that they, as wives, should be doing," she said.
Some of the other concerns highlighted in Dilata's survey included African employers paying domestic workers below the minimum wage of R1166.
"Domestic workers express a realisation that even though their employer had changed, inequality and exploitation had remained the same," said Dilata. "This realisation often led to African employers being labelled as the worst employers because domestic workers entered the relationship with the hope that the employers would treat them differently because they were sisters."
By Karen Van Rooyen, Sunday Times, 07/11/09
Black domestic workers would rather work for white madams than black "siesies" because they believe whites pay better.
This is one of the findings by University of Witwatersrand sociology master's student Xoliswa Dilata, who investigated the relationship between black employers and domestic workers in Soweto.
Dilata spent two months interviewing domestic workers and employers.
"Common racial backgrounds and class inequalities become some of the factors that challenge both parties," she said in her thesis.
Difficulties in the relationship included guilt among employers and, among the domestic workers, "a sense of common blackness that makes them have expectations of the employment relationship".
Dilata said that employers entered the relationship with "deep-seated" fear that stemmed from their need not to treat their domestic workers like their own mothers had been treated in white suburbs.
Employees also expected their black bosses to treat them differently, resulting in employers complaining that their domestic workers took them for granted and did not apply the same amount of effort as they would an employer of a different race - working harder for white or Indian employers, for example.
"We want to treat them properly like our sisters, but they see us as fools and do not work properly - but expect a full salary," an employer told Dilata.
A Johannesburg child minder, who asked not to be named, said she would never again work for a black family.
"Blacks treat you worse than whites. You have your own sugar, your own milk powder, your own plate. When the visitors are there, they treat you well, but when the visitors leave they start from scratch (treating you badly)," she said.
"How can this person treat me like this and it's the same colour as me?"
Performer and Idols judge Mara Louw is researching domestic workers for a TV series on the topic. She said that, in her own home, she had maintained a good relationship with her former domestic worker, based on mutual respect and an understanding of each other's roles: "Right from the beginning I had a whole page of what to do and when and she would do it."
Louw said there was a concern among some employers that young domestic workers might steal their husbands. Dilata's study confirmed this.
"Problems ... arise when the employer feels threatened or jealous because the domestic workers are already performing most of the household duties that they, as wives, should be doing," she said.
Some of the other concerns highlighted in Dilata's survey included African employers paying domestic workers below the minimum wage of R1166.
"Domestic workers express a realisation that even though their employer had changed, inequality and exploitation had remained the same," said Dilata. "This realisation often led to African employers being labelled as the worst employers because domestic workers entered the relationship with the hope that the employers would treat them differently because they were sisters."
By Karen Van Rooyen, Sunday Times, 07/11/09
No comments:
Post a Comment