The influence of neocolonialism, gender and social class in Latin American migrant women’s working conditions in Spain Erica Briones Vozmediano, Faculty of Nursing and Phyisiotherapy, University of Lleida. & Natalia Rivas Quarneti, Montserrat Gea Sánchez, Andreu Bover Bover, Mª Antonia Carbonero, Denise Gastaldo

Context

Immigrant population in Spain 10% Source: Spanish National Statistical Institute www.ine.es

Immigrant population in Spain (2015) Men Women Source: Spanish National Statistical Institute www.ine.es

Background Immigrant women are a vulnerable group to suffer from explotation and abuse in the labour market precarious employments specially cleaning and caregiving (specially when they are 24h/7h workers) Neo-colonial logics Situate Latin American workers in a low social position in the host society Naturalize Latin American immigrants as cleaners and/or caregivers in Spain

Antecedentes “Domestic worker”

Antecedentes “Domestic worker”

The provision of intimate labour dominantly by immigrant women is related to the intersection of sexism, racialization, and migratory status NEOCOLONIALISM GENDER

Objective To explore how gender, migration, ethnicity and social position influence Latin immigrant domestic workers’ working conditions and health in Spain

Methods Multi-site secondary qualitative analysis 4 Qualitative Projects (2011-2015)

Participants Personal interviews 95 women Working as caregivers/cleaners Age range 20-52 years 11 Latinamerican countries Living in Spain +2 years in urban and rural contexts Documented and indocumented (Colombia, Argentina, Ecuador, Chile, Bolivia, Brasil, Uruguay, República Dominicana, Perú, Cuba, Venezuela)

FINDINGS

“They substitute the love of my family” Findings 1 “They only want you for cleaning” 2 “They treate you as a slave” 3 “I feel pain, but I have to resist” Experiences of abuse Emotional health: “Fractured families” “They substitute the love of my family” 4

1 2 3 Findings Women felt pain and exhausted “most of us who came here are not, we were not working as caregivers, we were not, I mean prepared for this, right? because you think: "Well, I have capabilities for doing other things” - you can not imagine that you are migrating to clean houses or take care of elderly people or children-” 2 “it’s like “you have to be enslaved here, do what I say!” of course…, and because you are unemployed, without nothing here, ehh, well, and you have to accept it” “I found job caring after a granny, but I was only able to resist 15 days working there… she wanted me to sleep in the same room and I couldn’t sleep at all” 3 “That work made me sick, I felt back pain, I couldn’t move my self… I should carry her from the bed to the bathroom, from the bathroom to the living room, I always have been thin [not strong] and I suffered a lot, but I had to resist because I traveled to Spain to work and give my children a better future” Women felt pain and exhausted Strategies of selfcare The work of caregiver requires emotional implication Women felt worried and sad for being abroad / having left their families in their countries of origin: Fractured families Key moment: choosing to resist or to priorize their own health

CONCLUSIONS Gender Migrant condition Ethnicity Abusive employment/ working conditions Discrimination Vulnerability Physical health Mental health Wellbeing Self care Utilization of health services Negatively influence Migration (fractured families and isolation) + poor employment conditions (hierarchical personal relationships) = impact Latina workers’ mental health

Conclusions Intimate labour is naturalized for Latina women: Domestic servitude (modern slavery) Undervaluated and invisible work These forms of discrimination have detrimental physical and psychosocial health consequences for immigrant women Implication: The power of positive-healthy relations between employers and employees

Recommendations It is needed to: Establish egalitarian personal relationships, not based on the inequality of power Improve women’s employment and working conditions To protect their health and quality of life

Recommendations How? Promoting healthy labour settings Protecting labour rights Public policies aimed to protect migrants’ employment conditions and health

erica.briones.voz@gmail.com erica.briones@dif.udl.cat Thank you erica.briones.voz@gmail.com erica.briones@dif.udl.cat