INTRODUCTION:

“Domestic workers make up the majority of registered women migrants in the Gulf Cooperation Council states: Lebanon, Jordan, and Yemen where they earn less than half of average wages, experience long and unpredictable working hours, and remain one of the least protected groups of workers under national labour legislations. The ILO recently launched a regional programme, Decent Work for Domestic Workers: Advocating Institutional Reform in the Middle East (Dec. 2012 – Nov. 2014), funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation. The programme aims to improve the governance and protection afforded to migrant domestic workers through a focus on research and policy reform. This annotated bibliography on women migrant domestic workers in the Arab States aims to inform ILO’s regional technical cooperation strategy on domestic work and further research for the formulation of labour migration policies in target countries. The breadth of disciplines represented in this annotated bibliography is broad and encompasses economic, public health, psychological, sociological, legal, human rights and feminist perspectives. Sources include both academic and professional association-based journals, as well as publications by intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). A limited number of newspaper articles are included to give a sense of the different types of reporting used and a range of publications.”