Browsing by Author "Mbadlanyana, Ntombentsha"

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    Working women: how black professional women in Cape Town navigate outsourcing of domestic work
    (University of the Western Cape, 2024) Mbadlanyana, Ntombentsha
    This research employs a qualitative feminist methodology to focus on black professional females who employ domestic workers in their homes in contemporary Cape Town. Domestic work is the second largest area of employment for Black women in South Africa. Studies conducted on domestic work indicate that the experiences of women employed in this field vary from women in other sectors, primarily because domestic work takes place in personal intimate spaces. Domestic workers face a daunting range of problems linked to the special characteristics of their employment. However, there are limited studies conducted on the personal location of women that rely on and employ, domestic workers in their homes. The study was conducted with seven Black professional women who employed domestic workers in Cape Town, and this was conducted in the form of a focus group. The research explored how Black women professionals navigated and shaped the relationship between themselves and their domestic workers and understanding the hierarchical power which reinforces differential status of employer and employee. Findings from the study indicated that the relationship between employers and their domestic workers highlighted the difficulty in establishing clear boundaries and that employers used certain criteria for the recruitment of their domestic workers through familial networks and linkages.