A Study On Socio Economic Status Of Domestic Women Workers In Tamil Nadu Under Doctrinal Approach

Dr D Kannan, Assistant Professor of Law (SG), School of Excellence in Law, The Tamil Nadu Dr Ambedkar Law University, Chennai

ABSTRACT

Domestic work in Indian society has been historically stigmatized, perceived as menial and impure work in the society, and predominantly performed by women and children. This perception is deeply entrenched because of the influence of the socio economic status of the community, which dictates social hierarchy and assigns individuals their roles in society. In this context, domestic work is often allocated along lower strata socio economic lines where individuals from the lower castes are typically assigned such work. Moreover, such labour has been strongly associated with gender, leading to a significant overrepresentation of women. This trend is primarily due to societal norms that assign women caregiving responsibilities within households. This perception of the domestic work as unskilled contributes to its undervaluation and underpayment. Women often opt for domestic employment due to limited career opportunities, especially those from marginalized backgrounds facing discrimination based on gender, caste, or creed. After intervention of the Supreme Court of India the domestic workers were included within the purview of The Unorganized Workers’ Social Security Act, 2008. National Domestic Workers’ Movement (NDWM) in Chennai has concentrated on empowering groups of domestic workers, providing them with a platform to voice their grievances and addressing issues of indignity, abuse, and exploitation they faced at the hands of their employers. This paper is analysing the socio economic status of domestic women workers in Tamil Nadu under Doctrinal approach.

Keywords: Domestic Workers, Socio Economic condition, Unorganised Workers, UWSS Act