Global Care Crisis and COVID-19: The Actions of States and the Initiatives of Female Domestic Paid Workers in Latin America

Abstract

Since 2020, social movements, organizations, and nation-states in Latin America have takenconcrete actions in response to the COVID-19 crisis. Although contingency policies were promoted,it did not take long for inequities to become visible. The paid domestic work sector, historicallyfeminized, was strongly affected by the COVID-19 crisis. While Latin American governmentslaunched various assistance policies for the domestic work sector, a contemporary regional initiativeof Latin American women, CONLACTRAHO, was also working with its members to help themretain their jobs while risking contracting the disease. Here, we will explore the initiatives developedby some Latin American governments and strategies from CONLACTRAHO in the context of thecare crisis and the COVID-19 crisis. These examples will allow us to reflect, from a qualitative,intersectional, and decolonial approach, on commonalities and differences between the civil societyagenda and the gender agenda of nation-states in the region. We understand that the unequal laborconditions of domestic workers are strongly related to the societal gender regime that historicallydistributes roles, opportunities, and resources among gender categories. This work is part of abroader reflection regarding the process of Latin American regional construction and its interrelationwith contemporary ideas of nation.