Gender, precarious employment, and coping strategies: lived experiences of domestic workers in urban Nigeria and Ghana

The domestic work industry constitutes a critical segment in the informal sector, providing support to the family as the fundamental unit of society. Yet, the motivations and coping strategies of those who work in this space have received scant attention in socio-economic scholarship. Specifically, literature on decent work reveals that domestic workers, especially females, are under-protected in weak regulatory contexts. This study, conducted in two West African urban cities (Accra, Ghana, and Lagos, Nigeria), explores the lived experiences, motivations, and coping strategies of female domestic workers. Thematically analysed interview data revealed non-decent work; power imbalances; isolative situations; and vulnerabilities that must be addressed for domestic workers to thrive and for the industry to prosper. Researchers also found that domestic work has self-development possibilities—in technical and moral skills—for the workers. Recommendations include improved decency of work through fairer pay, better working conditions, and better governance of the sector. This article is published in the Thematic Collection ‘Decolonising Gender Knowledge in Sub-Saharan Africa: Empirical Insights and Theoretical Innovations from Early Career Researchers’, edited by Alicia Bowman, Evelyn Garwe and Juliet Thondhlana.