A study of the unique relationship between women employers and employees

This work meticulously examines the salient past and contemporary problems of the employer-household worker relationship...perceptive study. --Signs Rollins approaches her topic both as a sociologist and as a subject... Her insights into the unique relationship between women employers and employees are quite striking... Rollins includes both a history of domestic work and a sociological interpretation of the experience in this contemporary study of one of the world's oldest professions. An important and meaningful work, especially for students of labor, women's studies, and ethnic studies--all levels. --Choice [T]his book is rich and alive with history and contemporary voices. Rollins has done a tremendous job of pulling together the past and present...and documenting her work with her own experience. --The Women's Review of Books

Introduction 1. The History of Domestic Service 2. The Work 3. The Women 4. Deference and Maternalism 5. Invisibility, Consciousness of the Other, Ressentiment Notes Index