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Bibliography: pages 233-248. / This dissertation seeks to examine an area of South African historiography which has largely been ignored, that is, domestic labour. It posits a relationship between working class women, domestic labour paid and unpaid. The material has been arranged around the primary objective of examining the silence around domestic labour and highlighting the gender content of domestic work. It is divided into two parts. The first part examines the conceptualization of class and gender struggles, while the second part examines aspects of working class women's experience of this. Chapter One deals with why women have been ignored in recorded history; Chapter Two examines Marxist approaches to the Woman Question. Chapter Three examines the silence arourid women's experience in South African historiography, while Chapter Four is a critical examination of the recorded history of domestic workers. Chapter Five examines aspects of black working class women's experience of domestic labour in their own families, while Chapter Six documents the experience of a group of organized workers in Cape Town. The study concludes that the way forward is to develop a gender sensitive class analysis as outlined in the work of Lise Vogel. This will open up new areas for research, for example, the rise of the public and private dichotomy, the separation of productive and reproductive labour, the ideology of motherhood and sexuality as well as the changing nature of the social construction of gender identity.

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts (Migration and Displacement) July 2017 / This research report gives an account of the social networks, links, connections and relationships of undocumented Zimbabwean women working as domestic workers in Johannesburg, Gauteng. The primary aim was to understand the role of these ties in providing social, political, emotional and economic support in addressing the challenges that undocumented domestic workers face. The study also explored how social networks enhanced the capabilities and resources of non-national women, particularly focusing on how they defined wellbeing and development. Based on 12 semi-structured interviews with undocumented women living and working in Johannesburg, the findings that emerged from this study, show that unlike what the majority of literature in South Africa points to, undocumented domestic workers do not live in isolation from others, but rather have a diverse range of social networks that allow them to be active agents and participants in their lives. The results highlight that the majority of social networks that undocumented domestic workers use are in actual fact useful to them and how they navigate their contexts. Migrants in this instance are largely dependent on their families for support both in the originating country and in the host community. / XL2018

Research report submitted to the Wits School of Arts University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Humanities In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in the field of Drama therapy April 2016 / The aim of this research was to evaluate Narradrama as a drama therapy method in assisting South African domestic workers to shift their identity towards a more positive one, so they will be able to better deal with their current socially oppressive issues. I postulated, based on research done by sociologists and anthropologists, that domestic workers still feel oppressed marginalised and differentiated even to date, twenty years after the apartheid era; the racial discrimination that was perpetuated by the doctrine of the apartheid regime and cemented the master-servant relationship as the only possible relationship between domestic worker and employer was normalised within the harsh realities of minimum wages, long working hours and appalling living conditions; oppression of women by women, sexism and racism. Moreover, the domestic workers legal rights that were established after 1994 in the Bill of Rights have not changed their lives and working conditions. These working conditions continue to affect them and are a risk to their physical and mental health. (Mohutsioa-Makhudud, 1989; Williams, 2008; Ally, 2009). The risk that is inherent in chronic perceived discrimination to one’s mental health (Mohutsioa- Makhudu ,1989:40) and the risk of developing a negative identity and self hatred by internalising the negative views of a dominant society(Phinney, 1989:34) has influenced the decision to do this research. The method of Narradrama chosen for this study was researched by Dunne (as cited in Leveton 2010) and found to be effective in working with marginalised groups but has not yet been researched with a marginalised stratum within the South African context. Narradrama, became the preferred method as it is centred on story (Dunne and Rand, 2013:7) which led to the thought it would be effective when working with a group of African women who are considered to be story tellers in the African culture. (Scheub, 1970: 119-120). Thematic data analysis was used in analysing the results. Identity shift was measured by comparing the change between the initial negative themed stories, that substantiated the hypothesis that participants do feel oppressed and marginalised, with the new, positive themes that appeared later in the research processes The Narradrama processes were analysed through the theoretical lens of Landy’s role theory, who proposes that for a person to have a healthier identity he needs to take on a variety on new roles, and to be able to play them proficiently. The playing of new roles assists participants to enlarge their perspectives, discover new identity descriptions and experience what it would feel like to move forward in life in preferred ways towards a more manageable, hopeful future. (Landy, 1994:93-97) This parallels the Narradrama notion which claims that by re-storying a client’s narrative, the client opens up to new preferred choices; a new landscape of identity and action (Johnson and Emunah, 2009:182). The research results show the start of a shift, in the participants’ re-authored stories and their assumed choices of new roles- these changes signify that the group has benefited from processes. As the researcher, I therefore recommend that these processes be resumed in order to allow these identity shifts inclusive of the suggested roles to become more substantial, and more integrated in the participants’ identity within their current living and working context. However, though Narradrama proved to be a method that can assist this group, the results of this research cannot be generalised, and further research with different groups of domestic workers will need to be done in order to be able to generalise to the wider context of the stratum of South African domestic workers.

A Research Report submitted to the Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Art in Political Studies, Johannesburg, 2017 / Despite their long history of organising, South African domestic workers are deprived of a platform to organise due to the post-apartheid state positioning itself as the primary articulator, representative, and protector of domestic workers‟ collective interests and the resultant displacement of the domestic workers‟ union in these roles. Even at its peak, the union struggled to rally domestic workers around its cause. The shift from “live-in” domestic work to “live-out” domestic work provides workers with greater personal freedom and less isolation from friends and family; allows them to gain some control over their working conditions and; challenges the “atomised” nature of domestic work as domestic workers interact quite frequently with each other in spaces such as taxis and buses, taxi ranks and street corners as they go about travelling to and from work every day. Domestic workers‟ engagement in the everyday practice of commuting to work and the spaces where domestic workers regularly interact with each other allow for the appearance of social networks where grievances can be shared and rallied around; mutual support is given and; information regarding work can be obtained. Significantly, these social networks are integral to the formation of collective identities and the building of political subjectivities of domestic workers, who as a group are deprived of a platform to organise. Furthermore a fuller conception of political action needs to be adopted. Domestic workers, who are without resources and the leadership of a vital union, find themselves in a position of political marginalization; yet participate in everyday forms of resistance. These coupled with their engagement in everyday life, constitute the invisible face of political mobilization. The social networks that have appeared show promise, however they are under-developed and have not yet been formalised in a way that organised action can ensue. As such it is possible that organisational impetus will have to come from the efforts of middle class actors belonging to NGOs, activists and government agencies as has been experienced in other parts of the globe. / MT2018

M.Com. (Industrial Psychology) / Little is known in South Africa regarding the bullying behaviours faced by domestic workers at the hands of their employers. The objective of this study was thus to explore the nature of these bullying behaviours as experienced by South African domestic workers. The study was approached from a qualitative perspective where 10 participants were interviewed using unstructured interviews. The participants were South African from various parts of Gauteng, working for families from various demographics for at least three years. The interviews allowed for unbridled stories from the world of the domestic workers to emerge, thus consistent with my philosophical views and research strategy. It was found that all the domestic workers had experienced bullying by their employers and that all of these experiences were at least partly shared amongst them. Two categories (verbal and non-verbal) and eleven themes (belittlement, deception, wrongful accusations, lack of regard for wellbeing and basic worker needs, lack of regard for worker safety, abuse of power, racial discrimination, unsatisfactory remuneration, lack of regard for employment laws, threats to employment status and exclusion from decision making) were identified. The bullying was perpetrated by both sexes and all races. The study will add to the existing body of knowledge of bullying and assist policy makers in finding practical solutions to combating bullying.

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, University of the Witwatersrand, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Management in Strategic Marketing 2016 / Since 1994, the number of South Africans who have the ability to hire domestic help has increased due to the economic inclusion of the African majority. This research has been conducted amongst South Africa’s middle to upper class (also referred to as LSM 7-10 or LSM A). A sizeable number of them have a monthly household income of R50 000 and above and another significant number is made up of business owners. The aim of the study is to assess the extent to which domestic workers’ perceived brand quality of homecare products influence the brand loyalty of the same as far as their employers are concerned. The data collection of this study was exclusively conducted online for the simple reason that the target population of the study is made up of office bound and busy people. A large majority of the respondents in fact spend 4-5 hours in their homes per day during the week. Therefore expecting them to fill in a questionnaire and submit to the researcher would have been a challenge. The research’s point of departure was based on the assumption that employers of domestic workers are not the end users of the products under discussion as their lifestyle did not permit this. However, the fact that the employers are the eventual buyers of the products presented the researcher with a point of curiosity. The key finding of the research was that there was a very strong link between Employer Brand Association and Employer Brand Loyalty. However, there was a weak influence of Employer Brand Awareness on Employer Brand Loyalty. These findings therefore ultimately suggest that domestic worker Brand Quality perceptions, will influence the Brand Equity of homecare products in South Africa. Overall, the Domestic Worker Perceived Brand Quality of homecare products had a positive influence on Employer Brand Awareness and Employer Brand Associations / GR2018

This document is submitted in partial fulfilment for the degree: Master of Arch[Prof] at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in the year 2015 / Domestic workers in South Africa are a vulnerable work force who are not financially or socially recognised for the significant role they play in sustaining homes, suburbs and society. The topic of domestic work serves as a lens through which to analyse the intersectional issues of race, gender and class in South Africa and their spatial manifestations. I have found that spatial principles employed, historically and currently, play a substantial role in creating or upholding the unbalanced power relationship governing domestic work. The spatial techniques of separation, isolation, concealment, surveillance, front to back and leisure to work relationships for example, have become so mundane and normalized in South African society that it is difficult to identify these factors as facilitators of race, gender and class discrimination. My spatial approach is to utilize these principles in a way that disrupts and draws attention to their original objective. The program aims to recognise the significance of this occupation, give domestic Workers collective power to negotiate their working conditions and facilitate social mobility. The building is a mix-use centre which incorporates business, accommodation, communal and public facilities, activities and gathering spaces a landscaped park. The business facilities incorporate existing services in a more formalized, professionalized manner, ensuring fair remuneration and recognition for quality services. The centre additionally provides services in more interactive, sustainable and economically efficient ways than they are traditionally provided for in individual private homes. These communal services include a children’s day care, public laundry and eatery. The intention is to create a prototype that may be reproduced in any suburb thereby creating a network of centres. The selection of the park in Norwood as a site serves to reactivate an underutilized public space and in so doing challenge the existing relationships of work and leisure, public and private and social hierarchies in the suburb. The position of this project in the relatively, sparsely populated suburbs would change the racial and financial demographic. It would be a new typology for high density, low cost/ government subsidised housing in a way that integrates infrastructure and public space. / EM2017

Domestic service constitutes one of the largest sources of employment for black women in South Africa. Yet it is a largely unstudied occupation. There has been no previous investigation of domestic workers in the Eastern Cape, and to date only two comprehensive studies of domestic workers in other areas of South Africa. This neglect is significant, for such inquiry involves questioning the accepted pattern of inequalities on which the entire social order is based.

Summary in English. / Bibliography: pages 35-36.