2026 Theses Master's

Precarity and Resistance: Migrant Women in Domestic Labor Across Italy. A Comparative Study of Milan and Palermo through the lens of Social Reproduction and Racial Capitalism

Occhetta, Sara

This thesis studies the experiences of migrant women employed in domestic and care work in Italy. These women form a significant part of Italy’s labor force but remain largely absent from media and policy discourse. Their labor is essential to sustaining Italy’s aging population and enables the increased labor force participation of Italian women, but continues to be undervalued and difficult to monitor, as it takes place in private homes.

The thesis aims at understanding the gendered, racialized, and regional dimensions of exploitation and resistance through a comparative study of the experiences of migrant domestic and care workers in Milan (Lombardy) and Palermo (Sicily). To this end, the study integrates qualitative interviews conducted with migrant workers and experts with quantitative data. The research examines the conditions that create reliance on the labor of migrant women by drawing on social reproduction theory and racial capitalism. Comparing the two cities reveals that Milan offers more opportunities for formal employment but still has widespread gray work practices.

Palermo, on the other hand, is characterized by higher levels of informality, but also greater social integration and grassroots networks. The accounts of women in the two cities reveal the demanding nature of domestic labor, from both a physical and psychological perspective. Through everyday forms of resistance, these women use their agency to support one another and shape their own lives.

The thesis concludes that precarity in domestic and care work is a structural feature of Italy’s care economy. To meet the care needs of Italian families with cheaper, more flexible labor, domestic work is purposely outsourced to migrant women, who are rarely met with the dignity and respect they deserve. Migrant women are valuable members of Italian society and recognizing their rights, their work, and their contribution is essential to building a more just and sustainable care system.