Domestic Service in Post-Apartheid South Africa

Given that domestic service is still the largest source of employment for black women, King's account raises disturbing questions about the nature of the post-apartheid social order. The experiences of the domestic workers give these questions a particular relevance. King provides a theoretically and historically informed analysis that is enlivened by her sensitivity, empathy and compassion. I recommend the book highly to anyone interested in the interconnections of class, gender and race, as well as in the challenges of social transformation. Jacklyn Cock, Professor of Sociology, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa. Set within the context of post-apartheid South Africa, the author examines the lives of women in domestic service to discover whether the dismantling of apartheid has ameliorated the poor pay and conditions of this marginalized workforce. Universally domestic workers have been a marginalized sector of the workforce, increasingly feminized and whose working lives often reflect abuse, degradation and exploitation. Set within the context of post-apartheid South Africa, the author examines the lives of women in domestic service to discover whether the dismantling of apartheid has ameliorated the poor pay and conditions of this marginalized workforce. The release of Nelson Mandela from Robben Island 1990 marked a momentous event in South Africa's turbulent history and the beginning of the transition from oppression to a free and democratic society. Ten years on the author felt there was a need to discover if the hopes and aspirations of so many liberated Africans were now being realized in concrete experiences. She chose domestic service within South Africa as an effective means to answer these questions. Following on from Jacklyn Cock's seminal work 'Maids and Madams', the author draws on research carried out in the Eastern Cape and places these workers in the wider societal context in order to examine their 'quality of life' in addition to their 'quality of work'. Contents: Preface; Introduction; Theoretical considerations and hidden meanings; Comparative and global considerations; Political economy; White employers and servants I; White employers and servants II; Non-white employers and servants; Conclusion; Index. About the Authors: Alison Jill King teaches at the Centre for Lifelong Learning at Warwick University and also at Northampton College, UK. The courses she is involved in at Warwick are adult learning and teaching, equal opportunities, and introductory courses to sociology and social policy. She is firmly committed to the transformative ethos of education, her specific interest being how education can be a tool to empower disadvantaged women.

Alison Jill King teaches at the Centre for Lifelong Learning at the University of Warwick, UK.