Ethnographic moment in time

On the way to my car I introduced myself to the new neighbor. She stood in her doorway alongside a Latin American woman who held a soapy cleaning brush. A tan Rottweiler lounged on the driveway nearby. “Welcome to the neighborhood. I’m Ann.” “Oh hi, I’m Karen, and this is Lulu.” “Nice to meet you. What’s your dog’s name?” I asked. “Lulu,” she repeated. (October, 2006, Manhattan Beach, CA).

This ethnographic moment helps illustrate the invisibility experienced by Latina household workers in Southern California. Latina women immigrants have become one of the fastest growing migrant populations in the United States in recent decades, and domestic service–and particularly childcare–is an area in which they concentrate. Though a growing but still small number of studies have examined these workers’ motives and experiences, not enough is known about female employers’ motives for hiring “nannies,” and employer-employee relationships.

To Clean or Not to Clean

Employees passionately debate the issue of childcare versus housecleaning. Most nannies in this study state emphatically that children come first and lament the fact that the employer wants it all. I asked Alicia, “Do you do any housecleaning, light housekeeping?”


"Nooo, well that’s a problem, that’s not a very good job of cleaning, then they complain it’s not clean enough. Then you do a bad job of child care AND cleaning. Light housekeeping starts when the baby is small. It’s bad because it starts when the baby is cute and sweet and sleeps a lot, so there is time to clean a little here and there. Then they stop sleeping so much and the nanny has a lot of work because now the employer expects it."

Alicia says Latina nannies “need to talk about this” because most are too afraid to discuss it with employers. The job grows along with the child, and cleaning becomes exploitation, as Alicia explains, “They want you to be a childcare provider and also you are a housekeeper. It’s two separate jobs and you get paid for one.” Alicia advocates for herself and all nannies. "The employer asked me to come and clean while they were gone on vacation. But I said I need a rest. Then I will be ready for you when you come back. I explain, I show her the human side. I do things with human value."

When employers say the children should come first but expect cleaning too it impacts the nanny more than the children. During a lull or naptime when she should take a break or rest, she must do housework instead. Exploitation occurs when the employer does not know labor laws that specify both documented and undocumented workers are entitled to a break after a certain number of hours.

Food can be a problem

Food is a major stumbling block for uninformed employers who are accused of hoarding it, wasting it, or simply not providing any. Food issues amplify the exclusion employees feel when employers forget, buy the wrong kind, or put certain foods off limits (Hondagneu-Sotelo 2001: 35). Guadalupe labors 48-50 hours a week without a car and proper food to eat. She explains, “A lot of parents only think of food for the kids, not for the nanny. Sometimes they have all non-fat because they think that’s good for themselves, but it’s not good for the kids.” Juanita describes this subtle affront. "Sometimes in the house there are not good foods for us to eat and it's not fair. We are with the kids and [the employer] hasn't bought anything for us to eat. We don't eat the same foods as kids."

Nannies have dietary needs more similar to employer mothers than to children and fail to conceive of their home as a workplace. This is a blind spot that Alicia urges fellow Latina immigrant employees to address. Alicia implored Cristina and Juanita, "They (nannies) need to work. But are you happy with how your employer treats you? Do you have food in the house that you like to eat? Tell her how you feel at your work!"

Employers who fail to stock their homes with appropriate food could simply direct the nanny to go shopping or reimburse her. However, consistent with previous studies, about half (n = 6) employers keep shopping for themselves.

Emotionally invested

Latin American nannies who work in this community describe childcare as a job that should be done only by those who love children. The main task is “watching”, not necessarily actively engaging with them (Wrigley 1995: 39). However, childcare is unusual because employers expect a large emotional investment for a small salary, and low-paid jobs typically involve little worker commitment (P. 87). I observed “difference” between employers and employees in the park as this example illustrates. A boy pushed a toy car, fascinated, touching every part of it as his mother narrated. Another boy explored the bushes near the fence while his nanny followed him silently. The nanny spoke perfect English but did not consider talking and teaching as part of her job.

Caring work is inherently relational, involving attachment, patience, and attending. Talking and listening are instrumental to effective care (Hondagneu-Sotelo 2001: 10). The importance of this part of a nanny’s job cannot be overlooked. It often occurs in microseconds throughout the day. For example, a Latina nanny changes a toddler’s diaper on the cold concrete picnic table. The baby paws at her and cries, “Mama.” She responds patiently, “No not nice.” (Field Notes 12/19/06)

For the most part I discovered nannies with tremendous emotional investment in the lives of their client children. Nannies must be emotionally prepared for anything. Eloisa had worked for Ray’s African American family only three weeks when a crisis occurred. Eloisa came to work that morning at 8:00 to find ten police cars surrounding the house. Officers restrained a white man in the front yard. Driving completely nude behind the wheel of a pickup truck, he had crashed into the employer’s garage door damaging her car parked inside.

Part of the equation

The nanny is a key component in Nicole’s full time telecommuting job in IBM software sales. She works sporadic hours from home pulling eight-hour days that begin at 5:30 a.m. Beth and her husband have high security jobs in the aerospace industry. Sydney holds two jobs as a flight attendant and emergency room nurse. She describes the binding demands of the working mother. "My dream is to be home with my kids full time. But it can’t happen. I have to work, but my mom stayed home and raised us. It’s ironic. My mom would’ve given anything to be employed in an office, would have thrived."

But her husband told her emphatically, “You need to work.” She elaborated, “He let me cut back when our second child came, but then 9/11 happened, money got tight, …so I began classes for nursing.” Airline officials escorted Sydney and fellow crewmembers to Ground Zero a week after 9/11. She was relieved to have begun nursing, and determined to hang onto her nanny. “Even if I quit the airline job I would find a way to employ and keep Miracle.”

How Nannies Gain Experience

Employers tend to lump women from Latin America into one convenient label and think they are nurturing and caring, qualities associated with women’s “natural” expressions of love for family. In fact they come from widely diverse backgrounds and may have no experience in actual childcare. Only when they came to America did many take on the role of nanny or housecleaner. Over half (n = 6) the employees in my study identified factory work as their previous job. Others listed security guard, fast food restaurants, and elder care. Eloisa admitted having no experience with American children as young as the three she cared for. Maritza describes her job experience, “The truth is what experience I have I didn’t learn in school; I use the intuition of a mother like the way I am with my children.”

Gloria is glamorous

Gloria, 52, wore a brimmed hat, sunglasses, and exuded style. With her winning smile and perfect teeth Gloria projected an easy confidence. When we first met she instantly offered me her apartment, a vacation rental, in Oaxaca City. Although I met Gloria at the Children’s Library, I conducted our interview at another playground within the community. She has been coming here for many years and gets together with other park nannies in her off-hours. Gloria declares proudly, “I am famous in this park!”
Gloria has three grown children, all surgeons, though she herself completed only six years of school in Mexico where her children’s natural father lives. He insists on remaining there on the grounds that it costs too much to live in the United States where “all the money goes to food and rent.” With only one 10 month-old baby girl to watch, Gloria went into detail about her early years in America. Her boyfriend of 18 years had been unfaithful with three girlfriends over an extended period of time. He told her he was moving out to marry one of them. She described being “sick with menopause and diabetes,” aggravated by the food she had been eating while traveling abroad with her former client family. One of her sons stepped in to support and advise her, and they now share a rented apartment. With three children who were surgeons, a 401K, a vacation rental in Mexico, and a swinging senior social life, Gloria’s profile was like no other.