The Web‐based Recruitment of Female Foreign Domestic Workers in Asia

Abstract

In the last three decades, there has been an increased “feminisation” of international migration within the Asian region. In part, the increased mobility of women migrant workers within Asia has resulted from the increased bureaucratic regulation of labour migration. This commodification of the migratory process, however, has placed women in significantly more vulnerable positions vis‐´‐vis their male counterparts. Comparatively little research, however, has examined the critical role of private recruitment agencies, and especially the use of the Internet, within the migratory process. In this paper, I examine the Web‐based recruitment strategies of private recruitment agencies in Asia. Based on a qualitative analysis of 25 recruitment‐related Web sites, I suggest that the commercialisation of migration serves an important “socialisation” process that contributes to the vulnerability and exploitation of female foreign domestic workers.