Abstract
Demand for paid domestic labour has increased rapidly in the global North in recent decades at the same time as ideologies of equality make ‘servant’ employment unpalatable to some families and costs make full-time domestic workers unavailable to most. An au pair can seem a perfect solution to this conundrum: cheaper than a domestic worker and framed within government policies as a form of cultural exchange between equals, au pairs are now looked to by many tens of thousands of families to fulfil their housework, childcare and elder care needs.
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© 2015 Rosie Cox
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Cox, R. (2015). Introduction. In: Cox, R. (eds) Au Pairs’ Lives in Global Context. Migration, Diasporas and Citizenship Series. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137377487_1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137377487_1
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
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