In this article, logistic regression models were used to assess the effects of live-in domestic workers on married women's economic activity status. One percent random samples of the Hong Kong census and by-census data from the period 1981–2001 were used, and domestic workers are conceptualized as substitutes for wives’ domestic labour. Hypotheses are tested, which alternatively conceptualize domestic workers as substitutions for wives’ domestic labour, and as having symbolic functions for the family household and for the wives’ gender role. The presence of live-in domestic workers significantly increases the odds of mothers (but not non-mothers) being economically active. The effects of domestic workers on the odds of whether married women work vary over time and differ according to household income and wives’ educational attainment. Findings lend support to the symbolic functions of domestic workers and to the role of lifestyle preferences in women's employment. Further research using time budget, qualitative and attitudinal data are required in order to further understand the functions of domestic workers in the social reproduction of family and gender roles.
Alcid, M. (1994) ‘Legal and Organizational Support Mechanisms for Foreign Domestic Workers’, in N. Heyzer et al. (eds) The Trade in Domestic Workers: Causes, Mechanisms and Consequences of International Migration. Kuala Lumpur: Asian and Pacific Development Centre .
2.
Anderson, B. (2000) Doing the Dirty Work? The Global Politics of Domestic Labour. New York: Zed Press .
3.
Bakan, A. B. and Stasiulis, D. (1995) ‘Making the Match: Domestic Placement Agencies and the Racialization of Women's Housework’ , Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society20: 303–335 .
4.
Berk, S. F. (1985) The Gender Factory: The Apportionment of Work in American Households. New York: Plenum Press .
5.
Bernardi, F. (1999) ‘Does the Husband Matter? Married Women and Employment in Italy’ , European Sociological Review15(3): 285–300 .
6.
Bernasco, W. , de Graaf, P. M. and Ultee, W. C. (1998) ‘Coupled Careers: Effects of Spouse's Resources on Occupational Attainment in the Netherlands’ , European Sociological Review14(1): 15–31 .
7.
Blau, D. M. and Robins, P. K. (1989) ‘Fertility, Employment, and Child Care Costs’ , Demography26(2): 287–299 .
8.
Blau, D. M. and Robins, P. K. (1991) ‘Child Care Demand and Labor Supply of Young Mothers Over Time’ , Demography28: 333–351 .
9.
Blossfeld, H. P. and Drobnic., S. (2001) ‘Careers of Couples and Trends in Inequality’, in H. P. Blossfeld and S. Drobnic . (eds) Careers of Couples in Contemporary Societies: From Male Breadwinner to Dual Earner Families. New York: Oxford University Press .
10.
Brayfield, A. (1995) ‘A Bargain at Any Price? Child Care Costs and Women's Employment’ , Social Science Research24(2): 188–214 .
11.
Brewster, K. L. and Rindfuss, R. R. (2000) ‘Fertility and Women's Employment in Industrialized Nations’ , Annual Review of Sociology26: 271–296 .
12.
Brines, J. (1994) ‘Economic Dependency, Gender, and the Division of Domestic Labor at Home’ , American Journal of Sociology100(3): 652–688 .
13.
Brinton, M. C. , Lee, Y. and Parish, W. L. (1995) ‘Married Women's Employment in Rapidly Industrializing Societies: Examples from East Asia’ , American Journal of Sociology100(5): 1099–1130 .
14.
Brynin, M. and Schupp, J. (2000) ‘Education, Employment and Gender Inequality amongst Couples: A Comparative Analysis of Britain and Germany’ , European Sociological Review16(4): 349–365 .
15.
Budig, M. J. (2003) ‘Are Women's Employment and Fertility Histories Interdependent? An Examination of Causal Order Using Event History Analysis’ , Social Science Research32(3): 376–401 .
16.
Census and Statistics Department (1981) 1981 Population Census: Main Report. Hong Kong: Hong Kong Government Printer .
17.
Census and Statistics Department (1987) Social Data Collected by the General Household Survey: Special Topics Report No. 5. Hong Kong: Hong Kong Government Printer .
18.
Census and Statistics Department (1991) Social Data Collected by the General Household Survey: Special Topics Report No. 10. Hong Kong: Hong Kong Government Printer .
19.
Census and Statistics Department (1996) Social Data Collected by the General Household Survey: Special Topics Report No. 13. Hong Kong: Hong Kong Government Printer .
20.
Census and Statistics Department (2001) Social Data Collected by the General Household Survey: Special Topics Report No. 22. Hong Kong: Hong Kong Government Printer .
21.
Census and Statistics Department (2002a) Thematic Household Survey Report No. 14. Hong Kong: Hong Kong Government Printer .
22.
Census and Statistics Department (2002b) Women and Men in Hong Kong: Key Statistics. Hong Kong: Census and Statistics Department .
23.
Chang, G. (2000) Disposable Domestics: Immigrant Women Workers in the Global Economy. Cambridge, MA: South End Press .
24.
Chaplin, D. (1978) ‘Domestic Service and Industrialization’ , Comparative Studies in Sociology1: 97–127 .
25.
Charles, M. and Bradley, K. (2002) ‘Equal but Separate? A Cross-National Study of Sex Segregation in Higher Education’ , American Sociological Review67(4): 573–599 .
26.
Cheng, A. S. (1996) ‘Migrant Women Domestic Workers in Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan: A Comparative Analysis’ , Asian and Pacific Migration Journal5(1): 139–152 .
27.
Cheng, A. S. (2003) ‘Rethinking the Globalization of Domestic Service: Foreign Domestics, State Control, and the Politics of Identity in Taiwan’ , Gender and Society17: 166–186 .
28.
Chin, C. (1997) ‘Walls of Silence and Late Twentieth Century Representations of the Foreign Female Domestic Worker: The Case of Filipina and Indonesian Female Servants in Malaysia’ , The International Migration Review31: 353–385 .
29.
Chin, C. (1998) In Service and Servitude: Foreign Female Domestic Workers and the Malaysian ‘Modernity’ Project. New York: Columbia University Press .
30.
Chu, W.-C. (1997) ‘Who is Doing What? The Implication Behind Housework Sharing’, in Lau Siu-kai et al. (eds) Indicators of Social Development: Hong Kong 1995, pp. 203–232. Hong Kong: Hong Kong Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies .
31.
Colen, S. (1990) ‘Housekeeping for the Greencard: West Indian Household Workers, the State and Stratified Reproduction in New York’, in R. Sanjek and S. Colen (eds) At Work in Homes: Household Workers in World Perspective. Washington, DC: American Ethnological Society Monograph Series .
32.
Colliver, A. and Langlois, E. (1962) ‘The Female Labor Force in Metropolitan Areas: An International Comparison’ , Economic Development and Cultural Change10(4): 367–385 .
33.
Connelly, R. (1992) ‘The Effects of Childcare Costs on Married Women's Labor Force Participation’ , The Review of Economics and Statistics74(1): 83–90 .
34.
Constable, N. (1997) Maid to Order in Hong Kong: Stories of Filipina Workers. New York: Cornell University Press .
35.
Coser, L. A. (1973) ‘Servants: The Obsolescence of an Occupational Role’ , Social Forces52(1): 31–40 .
36.
Coverman, S. (1985) ‘Explaining Husbands’ Participation in Domestic Labor’ , The Sociological Quarterly26(1): 81–97 .
37.
Cox, R. and Narula, R. (2003) ‘Playing Happy Families: Rules and Relationships in Au Pair Employing Households in London, England’ , Gender, Place and Culture10(4): 333–344 .
38.
Crompton, R. and Harris, F. (1997) ‘Women's Employment and Gender Attitudes: A Comparative Analysis of Britain, Norway, and the Czech Republic’ , Acta Sociologica40(2): 183–202 .
39.
Director of Immigration (2001) Annual Report: Immigration Department. Hong Kong: Hong Kong Government Printer .
40.
Drobnic., S. (2000) ‘The Effects of Children on Married and Lone Mothers’ Employment in the United States and (West) Germany’ , European Sociological Review16(2): 137–157 .
41.
Drobnic., S. , Blossfeld, H. P. and Rohwer, G. (1999) ‘The Dynamics of Women's Employment Patterns over the Family Life Course: A Comparison of the United States and Germany’ , Journal of Marriage and the Family61(1): 133–146 .
42.
Elliott, J. , Dale, A. and Egerton, M. (2001) ‘The Influence of Qualifications on Women's Work Histories, Employment Status and Earnings at Age 33’ , European Sociological Review17(2): 145–168 .
43.
Engelhardt, H. , Kogel, T. and Prskawetz, A. (2004) ‘Fertility and Women's Employment Reconsidered: A Macro-Level Time-Series Analysis for Developed Countries, 1960–2000’ , Population Studies58(1): 109–120 .
44.
Fermlee, D. H. (1995) ‘Causes and Consequences of Women's Employment Discontinuity, 1967–1973’ , Work and Occupations22(2): 167–187 .
45.
Gaw, K. (1991) Superior Servants: The Legendary Cantonese Amahs of the Far East. Singapore: Oxford University Press .
46.
Gornick, J. C. , Meyers, M. K. and Ross, K. E. (1997) ‘Supporting the Employment of Mothers: Policy Variation across Fourteen Welfare States’ , Journal of European Social Policy1(1): 45–70 .
47.
Gregson, N. and Lowe, M. (1994) Servicing the Middle Classes: Class, Gender, and Waged Domestic Labour in Contemporary Britain. London and New York: Routledge .
48.
Gustafsson, S. S. and Stafford, F. P. (1994) ‘Three Regimes of Child Care: The United States, the Netherlands, and Sweden’, in R. Blank (ed.) Social Protection versus Economic Flexibility: Is There a Trade Off?Chicago, IL and London: University of Chicago Press .
49.
Hakim, C. (1988) ‘Review Article: Women at Work: Recent Research on Women's Employment’ , Work, Employment and Society2(1): 103–113 .
50.
Hakim, C. (2000) Work-Lifestyle Choices in the 21st Century: Preference Theory. Oxford: Oxford University Press .
51.
Hank, K. and Kreyenfeld, M. (2003) ‘A Multilevel Analysis of Child Care and Women's Fertility Decisions in Western Germany’ , Journal of Marriage and the Family65(3): 584–596 .
52.
Heckman, J. J. (1974) ‘Effects of Child-Care Programs on Women's Work Effort’ , Journal of Political Economy82: 136–163 .
53.
Heyzer, G. , Nijeholt, L. and Weerakoon, N. (1994) The Trade in Domestic Workers: Causes, Mechanisms and Consequences of International Migration. London and New Jersey: Zed Books .
54.
Hondagneu-Sotelo, P. (1997) ‘Affluent Players in the Informal Economy: Employers of Paid Domestic Workers’ , International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy17(3–4): 130–159 .
55.
Jaccard, J. (2001) Interaction Effects in Logistic Regression. Thousand Oaks, CA, London and New Delhi: Sage .
56.
Lan, P.-C. (2003) ‘Negotiating Social Boundaries and Private Zones: The Micropolitics of Employing Migrant Domestic Workers’ , Social Problems50(4): 525–549 .
57.
Layte, R. (1999) Divided Time: Gender, Paid Employment and Domestic Labour. Aldershot: Ashgate .
58.
Lee, E. W. Y. (2003) Gender and Change in Hong Kong: Globalization, Postcolonization, and Chinese Patriarchy. Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press .
59.
Leibowitz, A. , Waite, L. J. and Witsberger, C. (1988) ‘Child Care for Preschoolers: Differences by Child's Age’ , Demography25(2): 205–220 .
60.
Leibowitz, A. , Klerman, J. A. and Waite, L. J. (1992) ‘Employment of New Mothers and Child Care Choice’ , Journal of Human Resources27: 701–711 .
61.
Lindio-McGovern, L. (2003) ‘Labor Export in the Context of Globalization: The Experience of Filipino Domestic Workers in Rome’ , International Sociology18(3): 513–534 .
62.
Lo, S. Y. F. (2001) Perceptions of Work–Family Conflict among Married Female Professionals in Hong Kong: A Human Resources Policy and Productivity Perspective. Hong Kong: School of Business, Business Research Centre, Hong Kong Baptist University .
63.
Maume, D. J., Jr (1991) ‘Child Care Expenditures and Women's Employment Turnover’ , Social Forces70(2): 495–508 .
64.
Milkman, R. , Reese, E. and Roth, B. (1998) ‘The Macrosociology of Paid Domestic Labor’ , Work and Occupation25(4): 483–510 .
65.
Ng, J. W. (1989) ‘A Study of Policy on Overseas Domestic Helpers in Hong Kong’, unpublished M.Soc.Sc. thesis, University of Hong Kong.
66.
Panayotova, E. and Brayfield, A. (1997) ‘National Context and Gender Ideology: Attitudes toward Women's Employment in Hungary and the United States’ , Gender and Society11(5): 627–655 .
67.
Papanek, H. (1979) ‘Family Status Production: The “Work” and “Non-Work” of Women’ , Signs4(4): 775–781 .
68.
Pratt, G. (1997) ‘Stereotypes and Ambivalence: The Construction of Domestic Workers in Vancouver, British Columbia’ , Gender, Place and Culture4(2): 159–177 .
69.
Presser, H. B. and Baldwin, W. (1980) ‘Child Care as a Constraint on Employment: Prevalence, Correlates, and Bearing on the Work and Fertility Nexus’ , American Journal of Sociology85(5): 1202–1213 .
70.
Raghuram, P. (2001) ‘Caste and Gender in the Organisation of Paid Domestic Work in India’ , Work, Employment and Society15(3): 607–617 .
71.
Rhodes, B. (1993) ‘Service Without a Smile: Many Filipino Workers Abroad are Abused by their Employers’, Far Eastern Economic Review4 November: 54–55.
72.
Robinson, J. (1988) ‘Who's Doing the Housework?’ , American Demographics10: 24–28 .
73.
Rojas, H. S. (1990) ‘Filipino Labor Export: A Comprehensive Analysis’, in Asian Labor: Migration from Poverty to Bondage, pp. 9–23. Hong Kong: Christian Urban Rural Mission Conference of Asia .
74.
Rollins, J. (1985) Between Women: Domestics and their Employers. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press
75.
Romero, M. (1992) Maid in the USA. New York: Routledge .
76.
Salazar-Parrenas, R. (2001) Servants of Globalization: Women, Migration and Domestic Work. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press .
77.
Stiell, B. and England, K. (1997) ‘Domestic Distinctions: Constructing Difference among Paid Domestic Workers in Toronto’ , Gender, Place and Culture4(3): 339–359 .
78.
Stier, H. , Lewin-Epstein, N. and Braun, M. (2001) ‘Welfare Regimes, Family Supportive Policies, and Women's Employment along the Life-Course’ , American Journal of Sociology106(6): 1731–1760 .
79.
Sullivan, O. (2000) ‘The Division of Domestic Labour: Twenty Years of Change?’ , Sociology34(2): 437–456 .
80.
Van der Lippe, T. and van Dijk, L. (2002) ‘Comparative Research on Women's Employment’ , Annual Review of Sociology28: 221–241 .
81.
Veblen, T. (1992) The Theory of the Leisure Class. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers . (Orig. pub. 1899.)
82.
Ward, C. , Dale, A. and Joshi, H. (1996) ‘Combining Employment with Childcare: An Escape from Dependence?’ , Journal of Social Policy25(2): 223–247 .
83.
Warde, A. (1993) ‘The Changing Domestic Division of Labour? Issues of Measurement and Interpretation’ , Work, Employment and Society7(1): 23–45 .
84.
Watson, R. S. (1994) ‘Girls’ Houses and Working Women: Expressive Culture in the Pearl River Delta, 1900–41’, in M. Jaschok and S. Miers (eds) Women and Chinese Patriarchy: Submission, Servitude, and Escape. London and Atlantic Highlands, NJ: Zed Books .
85.
Wenk, D. and Rosenfeld, R. A. (1992) ‘Women's Employment Exit and Reentry: Job-Leaving Reasons and their Consequences’ , Research in Social Stratification and Mobility11: 127–150 .
86.
Wong, C. K. (1992) ‘Economic Growth and Welfare Provision: The Case of Child Day Care in Hong Kong’ , International Social Work35: 389–404 .
87.
Wrigley, J. (1995) Other People's Children: An Intimate Account of the Dilemmas Facing Middle-Class Parents and the Women They Hire to Raise Their Children. New York: Basic Books .
88.
Yeoh, B. and Huang, S. (1998) ‘Negotiating Public Space: Strategies and Styles of Migrant Female Domestic Workers in Singapore’ , Urban Studies35(3): 583–602 .
89.
Yi, C. C. (1994) ‘Childcare Arrangements of Employed Mothers in Taiwan’, in E. N. L. Chow and C. W. Berheide (eds) Women, the Family, and Policy: A Global Perspective. Albany: State University of New York Press .
