Entre la proliferación de obligaciones y limitaciones: la movilidad de las trabajadoras del hogar en Lima durante la pandemia por Covid-19

Abstract

This article proposes a qualitative research that seeks to analyze the impact of Covid-19 on the daily mobility of domestic workers living in peripheral areas of Lima. It aims to contribute to the understanding of daily mobility from a gender and class perspective, for one of the groups that face the worst working and mobility conditions. Based on in-depth interviews, it describes domestic workers’ journeys to their workplaces, and then analyzes the impact of the measures adopted by the Peruvian government and employers on mobility practices during the pandemic. Finally, strategies developed to address mobility barriers are presented. It appears that the pandemic has impacted the mobility of domestic workers in different dimensions and at different scales according to their profiles. The flexibilization of the work modality as a result of the pandemic causes the mobility of workers to vary constantly, which generates a series of difficulties. Mobility is also shaped by the economic and emotional impacts of Covid-19, in particular the permanent risk of contagion, the distance from support networks, and the fact of being subjected to mistreatment by employers for fear of dismissal.

Keywords

• mobility
• domestic work
• pandemic
• labor strategies