Accepted Panels

Longstanding contributions on domestic labor exploitation (feminist, marxist, etc.) have explored the precarious and uncertain lives of domestic workers around the world, highlighting differences based on gender, age, class, geographic origin, and other cross-cutting factors. New debates have arisen since 2020, in the wake of the global pandemic crisis, which has put the lowest-paid marginalized care workers at the forefront. Domestic work in Africa, however, remains understudied. The multitude of forms and social relations that characterize domestic work and the complicated intertwining of work and kinship in Africa make it difficult to create a systematized body of studies. In this panel, we want to gather contributions that explore the various situations at play (paid and unpaid labor, formal and informal, etc.) in different African contexts and in different historical periods, shedding light on power hierarchies and dependency relations. In what forms do these relationships and hierarchies manifest themselves? What impact do they have on the uncertain lives of women workers? How are they used and manipulated by domestic workers to cope with an uncertain and unpredictable future? A comparative look allows us to shed light on multiple aspects of the transition from the servile relationships and other forms of dependency of the past to contemporary forms of domestic work. We also wonder whether, from the focus on different case studies in Africa, it is possible to shed light on some of the structural problems affecting domestic work worldwide. We are interested in contributions that propose new study approaches and possible future solutions aimed at countering the exploitation of a precarious and unvalued labor sector. Therefore, we are interested in receiving contributions both theoretical (based on ethnographic and/or historical data) &nbsp; and in the field of applied research.</p>