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Live in maid is fairly common in other countries still including Hong Kong where you can hire one for less than $1k / month with allowance, other expenses inclu
by pcurve 5y ago
Live in maid is fairly common in other countries still including Hong Kong where you can hire one for less than $1k / month with allowance, other expenses included. It's not just for the riches. Many dual income families have them even if they're little above middle class.
- kingcharles 5y agoMy girlfriend is Qatari and it is almost universal there to have a live-in maid.
- drivers99 5y agoMaybe a dumb question: How could it be universal. I’m assuming the maid doesn’t have a maid, right?
- jakear 5y agoBased on what I've heard from people of the area, the maid is usually an immigrant. And "universal" tends to mean "universal amongst proper citizens". Relatedly, I was surprised to learn that some women who "universally" wear a hijab before men feel no need to do so before a male immigrant.
- selimthegrim 5y agoEven if the immigrant is Muslim?
- jakear 5y agoMore about social standing than religion as I understand it. The rule of thumb as I was told is basically: "is there any slight chance in I marry this person? If yes, hijab. If no, doesn't matter." Religion plays a role in such analysis, but considering a Muslim immigrant laborer versus some arbitrary Abrahamic doctor (for instance), the doctor would be more likely to see the hijab. (For married women, the husband decides)
- mensetmanusman 5y agoQatari is something like 10% citizens 90% migrant labor from Africa, so universal for citizens would be correct.
- kingcharles 5y agoSorry, to be clearer, it is universal for Qatari citizens. "In early 2017, Qatar's total population was 2.6 million: 313,000 Qatari citizens and 2.3 million expatriates." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qatar https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qatar
- n8ta 5y agoOr be a live-in maid. It seems unlikely more than half the people have a live-n maid.
- betwixthewires 5y agoThe vast majority of people in Qatar (and in every Arab monarchy, and a significant portion of every Arab country) are not citizens, they're guest workers. Most of these guest workers are domestic labor.
- kingcharles 5y agoSorry, to be clearer, it is universal for Qatari citizens. "In early 2017, Qatar's total population was 2.6 million: 313,000 Qatari citizens and 2.3 million expatriates." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qatar https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qatar
- jandrese 5y agoIt seems like it will be a popular option in any country that has abject poor you can hire for a pittance but also a middle class.
- pcurve 5y agolive in maid service has been tightly regulated by HK gov't for decades. There's minimum wage. Requirement for stipends. Proof of income and assets. etc. Workers are usually from southeast Asia from lower cost of living. I lived in HK in the 80s and while we didn't have a maid, our 3BR apt had a separate maid room by the kitchen w/ own bathroom. It wasn't uncommon to see that.