Re-examining the middle-class thesis: Class profiles of families employing migrant domestic workers in Hong Kong

Adam Ka-Lok Cheung

doi:10.1177/01171968211069697

Re-examining the middle-class thesis: Class profiles of families employing migrant domestic workers in Hong Kong

Adam Ka-Lok Cheung

Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › peer-review

6 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

To what extent is employing migrant domestic workers (MDWs) a middle-class practice in Hong Kong? I drew quantitative data from the Population Census and a representative household survey to test the middle-class thesis. The results show that a significant proportion of the families that currently employ or had ever employed MDWs were not from middle-class backgrounds. As the practice of hiring MDWs spread to families from lower socio-economic background, it may be expected that the working and living conditions of MDWs may deteriorate due to the fewer resources of these families.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	450-465
Number of pages	16
Journal	Asian and Pacific Migration Journal
Volume	30
Issue number	4
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1177/01171968211069697
Publication status	Published - 1 Dec 2021

User-Defined Keywords

Hong Kong
migrant domestic workers
migration policies
outsourcing domestic labor

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.1177/01171968211069697

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abstract = "To what extent is employing migrant domestic workers (MDWs) a middle-class practice in Hong Kong? I drew quantitative data from the Population Census and a representative household survey to test the middle-class thesis. The results show that a significant proportion of the families that currently employ or had ever employed MDWs were not from middle-class backgrounds. As the practice of hiring MDWs spread to families from lower socio-economic background, it may be expected that the working and living conditions of MDWs may deteriorate due to the fewer resources of these families.",

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KW - Hong Kong

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KW - outsourcing domestic labor

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JF - Asian and Pacific Migration Journal

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Re-examining the middle-class thesis: Class profiles of families employing migrant domestic workers in Hong Kong

Abstract

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