An economic sociology perspective on informal domestic work relations: a study of domestic workers and their employers in Pakistan

Abstract The scholarship on informal domestic work remains heavily dominated by the marginalization discourse, describing this form of work as being an exploitative and abusive endeavour. In contrast, drawing on the relational work perspective from economic sociology, we conceive of informal domestic work as embedded in a relational infrastructure of social ties and reciprocal favours. In doing so, our article addresses the following overarching question: to what extent are the informal domestic work relations reciprocal instead of [or in addition to] being only exploitative and abusive? Drawing on in-depth interviews with 90 paid domestic workers and their employers, our findings reveal that while these domestic workers typically operate within the constrained opportunity structures, their work relations comprise a tacit sociological element of reciprocal benefits. However, we also conclude that by infusing these work relations with reciprocal elements, the domestic workers indeed gain something but also ultimately reinforce their unequal position.