This dissertation examines inequalities in paid domestic labour from a global comparative
perspective. I approach the subject through three different layers that represent the 
factors identified in previous studies as shaping paid domestic labour and the position of 
domestic workers in the labour markets: 1) the structural layer that refers to the socio-demographic 
developments and structural mechanisms in the society, 2) the individual layer 
that includes the characteristics of persons working in domestic service and the occupation, 
and 3) the policy layer that comprises the political economy of paid domestic labour 
and the policies influencing the employment of domestic workers. The dissertation consists 
of three international peer reviewed articles that each tackles one of the layers from a 
comparative perspective. For the empirical analyses three types of data are used: international 
databases of macro-level indicators (World Bank, International Labour Organization), 
micro-level survey data (Luxembourg Income Study) and policy documents. 
In recent years, paid domestic labour, that is, household work that is performed in 
private households has become a widely studied subject in social sciences particularly in 
research related to gender, care and migration. Currently, domestic service is promoted 
across countries not only as a way for upper and middle income households to reconcile 
with work and family life but also, as one of the growing sectors of employment that is 
supposed to provide job opportunities particularly for women, lower educated individuals 
and migrants. 
The results of the first article, a quantitative comparison of 74 countries, show that 
higher income inequality within countries and higher proportion of migrants in a country 
are associated with higher prevalence of paid domestic labour. The five-country comparison 
of the second article demonstrates that precarious employment conditions (measured 
here by part-time employment, low wages, short job tenure, and unemployment 
experience) are more prevalent in paid domestic work compared to other industries. 
Furthermore, the results show that across welfare regimes, working in the paid domestic 
sector increases the risk of working in precarious employment settings. The results of 
the third article covering domestic employment policies in OECD countries show that 
policies related to domestic service may have a significant impact on the dynamics of 
the sector and the precariousness of workers’ employment, and how welfare states across 
world regulate (or disregard regulations) the sector of domestic services reflects the position 
of domestic workers in these labour markets. 
Thus, the three different layers – structural, individual, and policy – intersect in ways 
that contribute to maintaining the ‘special’ position of domestic workers across countries: 
the cultural undervaluation of domestic work, together with a strongly feminised workforce
that consists predominantly of migrants, places domestic workers at greater risk of 
working under precarious employment conditions. Moreover, in many countries insufficient 
care provisions and general legitimisation of domestic workers’ weaker employment 
conditions drive households to turn to private domestic and care services. The 
precarity of paid domestic labour derives partly from the multiple disadvantaged social 
categories of the persons working in the sector. Paradoxically, the reasons for the inequalities 
(gender, “race”, class, cultural background or nationality) in domestic service are the 
same factors that account for their employment in the first place. 
The issue of domestic workers’ remuneration and employment conditions remains 
problematic, as it is directly linked to households’ abilities to pay for these services. Particularly 
in countries where domestic workers are employed on a full-time basis and fill gaps in public care provisions, this poses a real challenge if households do not receive 
support from the state. Thus, as paid domestic labour in the 21st century now seems to 
be living its new era through globalisation and as part of the neoliberal organisation of 
care, questions related to domestic workers’ status and working conditions again become
topical across the globe.