Cleaning off stigmas: Domestic work and collective identity building in Uruguay.

Abstract: Domestic work and care tasks have historically been assigned to women and have never been considered as real work, as they happen within the private scene of the home in both its forms, salaried and unpaid. Due to this conception, dating back from the servitude and slavery systems of the colonial era, and rooted in the patriarchal structure of societies, domestic workers have struggled, and still struggle today in many countries to see their rights recognised. They face stigma and lack an institutional back up. In this sphere, Uruguay sets an example, with one of the most advanced legislations on domestic work in the world after a tripartite negotiation that happened in 2006 between representatives of domestic workers and employers as well as the mediation of the executive power. This research aims to see how the change in legislation changed domestic workers lives and what impact these changes had in the social shared thought. It also looks at the collective identity building of domestic workers in Uruguay through the conduction of interviews with members of the domestic workers’ union, the SUTD. Did the legislative change bring about a cultural change? What lessons can we learn from the Uruguayan case?