More than Maids: Social Mobility Experiences Among Ethiopian Women Migrating to the United Arab Emirates

The migration of Ethiopian women to the Middle East has primarily been studied in connection with domestic labour and the related vulnerabilities. Due to assumptions about the low educational levels of women entering this sector, as well as the precarity and temporality the sector entails, opportunities for social mobility have been largely overlooked. This article examines changes in Ethiopian women’s labour market participation in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). It demonstrates that, over time, women who enter the workforce as maids may transition into better-paid work or establish their own business ventures. It further depicts an evolving pattern of well-educated Ethiopian women entering the skilled labour market. Based on ethnographic findings from the UAE, the article offers a critical re-engagement with prevailing narratives of victimhood and severely restricted social mobility opportunities. Drawing on recent conceptualisations of mobilities, trajectories, and temporalities, the article critiques the tendency to portray Ethiopian female migrants as a homogeneous group with similar paths, thereby concealing the diversity of their experiences. Second, it questions the essentialization of women migrant workers as passive victims. By highlighting developments in women’s aspirations and agency over time, the article contributes new knowledge on the potential for social mobility within transnational labour markets.