The Concept of the Family in the Life of Ukrainian Female Migrants

This work is focused on two families in the life of Ukrainian women migrant domestic workers their own families left behind in Ukraine and Italian families were women worked as domestics. It was explored how women's work as domestics in Italy modifies the structure of the family and women's position in their own families during their migration to Italy and after coming back home and women's experiences in Italian families. The research showed that migration and domestic work of Ukrainian women in Italian families restructure their own families, reveal the construction of gender roles and invisible emotional work, which is usually done by women and challenges the images of mothers and fathers. It also seems that while working in Italian families Ukrainian women not only become alienated from their own families in Ukraine, but also often do not feel comfortable in the families of their employers.

Autorentext

Olha Yarova is an instructor in the Psychology Department at the American University of Central Asia in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. She teaches courses in Social, Organizational and Developmental Psychology.