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We also deserve help during the pandemic: the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on foreign domestic workers in Hong Kong

Author

Listed:
  • Lui, Ingrid D.
  • Vandan, Nimisha
  • Davies, Sara E.
  • Harman, Sophie
  • Morgan, Rosemary
  • Smith, Julia
  • Wenham, Clare
  • Grépin, Karen Ann

Abstract

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic poses particular challenges for migrant workers around the world. This study explores the unique experiences of foreign domestic workers (FDWs) in Hong Kong, and how COVID-19 impacted their health and economic wellbeing. Interviews with FDWs (n = 15) and key informants (n = 3) were conducted between May and August 2020. FDWs reported a dual-country experience of the pandemic, where they expressed concerns about local transmission risks as well as worries about their family members in their home country. Changes to their current work situation included how their employers treated them, as well as their employment status. FDWs also cited blind spots in the Hong Kong policy response that also affected their experience of the pandemic, including a lack of support from the Hong Kong government. Additional support is needed to mitigate the particularly negative effects of the pandemic on FDWs.

Suggested Citation

  • Lui, Ingrid D. & Vandan, Nimisha & Davies, Sara E. & Harman, Sophie & Morgan, Rosemary & Smith, Julia & Wenham, Clare & Grépin, Karen Ann, 2021. "We also deserve help during the pandemic: the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on foreign domestic workers in Hong Kong," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 114310, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    • Handle: RePEc:ehl:lserod:114310
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    File URL: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/114310/
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Ken Hok Man Ho & Graeme Drummond Smith, 2020. "A discursive paper on the importance of health literacy among foreign domestic workers during outbreaks of communicable diseases," Journal of Clinical Nursing, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(23-24), pages 4827-4833, December.
    2. Wayne Palmer, 2020. "International Migration and Stereotype Formation: Indonesian Migrants in Hong Kong," Journal of International Migration and Integration, Springer, vol. 21(3), pages 731-744, September.
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    Cited by:

    1. Louisa Acciari, 2024. "Caring is resisting: Lessons from domestic workers' mobilizations during COVID‐19 in Latin America," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(1), pages 319-336, January.
    2. Winata, Fikriyah & McLafferty, Sara L., 2023. "Therapeutic landscapes, networks, and health and wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic: A mixed-methods study among female domestic workers," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 322(C).
    3. Julia Smith, 2022. "From “nobody's clapping for us” to “bad moms”: COVID‐19 and the circle of childcare in Canada," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(1), pages 353-367, January.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Covid-19; foreign domestic workers; Hong Kong; migrant; pandemic; coronavirus;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • R14 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Land Use Patterns
    • J01 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - General - - - Labor Economics: General

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