The Labor of Care: Filipina Migrants and Transnational Families in the Digital Age

Dr. Valerie Francisco-Menchavez‘s new book, The Labor of Care: Filipina Migrants and Transnational Families in the Digital Age (University of Illinois Press, 2018) traces how globalization, neoliberalism, and new technology have reshaped migrant care work from the Philippines. The book is the result of five years of research interviewing migrant women and participating in their communities, as well as intermittent trips to the Philippines where Dr. Francisco-Menchavez spent time speaking with the families and extended families of migrant workers.

Her book attempts to redefine notions of care and overseas employment that focus solely on the worker’s labor,  to understand a form of what she calls “multidirectional care,” which describes the ways in which “transnational family members activate multiple resources, people, and networks to redefine care work in the family” (23). Dr. Francisco-Menchavez explores this larger network of care to understand how migrant work affects gender roles and creates new solidarities.

Listen to the podcast here:

(Duration: 59:57 — 54.9MB)

You may also be interested in:

Harrod Suarez, The Work of Mothering: Globalization and the Filipino Diaspora

Eric J. Pido, Migrant Returns: Manila, Development, and Transnational Connectivity