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Female labour migration towards Italy: the case of Romanian female domestic workers in Trieste
La migrazione femminile verso l'Italia: il caso delle lavoratrici domestiche rumene a Trieste
Verbal, Dana Gabriela
2010-04-26
Contributor(s)
Boileau, Anna Maria
Abstract
The present research deals with the process of female migration, concentrating more specifically on how this phenomenon occurred in Italy throughout the past century and taking as an example the case of Romanian women who migrate towards Italy acting as “primary migrants”, i.e., moving on their own, independently from their families, in search of work and often in order to provide a higher income to their families and relatives back in Romania. The case study is related to the level of acculturation of Romanian female domestic workers in the province of Trieste. Considering that this specific category of migrants has not been studied yet as an individual group, it is the purpose of the present research to analyse this group and to reveal the motives which trigger migration, the social and economic background, the daily life problems and the difficulties Romanian female domestic workers encounter in Italy. Eventually, the research aims at finding out how all the aforementioned aspects influence and have repercussions on the way in which Romanian female migrants manage to integrate into the Italian society. The hypothesis of the research is that, in spite of the much-praised power of adaptability and fast-leaning abilities of Romanian female domestic workers, this group does not always manage to integrate perfectly into the hosting environment and that this is also due to the atypical nature of domestic work. Previous sociological studied have already revealed that dissatisfaction motives among Romanian immigrants in Italy are mostly related to their poor interrelations with family and friends and that many experience a feeling of alienation and estrangement. In addition to this, another assumption is that the alienation and feeling of not belonging is even stronger in the case of female domestic workers, due to the atypical nature of their work. Domestic work often implies cohabitation with elderly, ill or disabled persons. Consequently, migrant women find themselves living and working – often illegally – within such households and having very few contacts with the outside world. They are isolated and sometimes develop a dependence relationship with their employers who may take advantage of their undocumented status and thus make them put in longer hours, give them no spare time or holidays. Moreover, the research argues that it is the elder female domestic workers in particular to experience more difficulties in communicating with the majority group and that, as a result, integration into the Italian society takes place more slowly in their case. This happens because they usually have their families and relatives in Romania, while in Italy their primary goal is labour-related. Therefore, they are more inclined to accepting live-in working arrangements which are indeed more convenient in terms of wage and comfort. Nonetheless, the working conditions implied by this kind of employment limit their contacts with the Italian society and create fewer chances of encountering and developing relations with other persons. On the contrary, younger Romanian female migrants are expected to demonstrate more adaptability and willing to adopt new customs, values, traditions, and even make new friends and move away more easily from their family centre in Romania.
Insegnamento
Publisher
Università degli studi di Trieste
Languages
en
File(s)