Abstract
There are 24,500 Filipina guest workers in Hongkong, working as domestic servants, This first survey of 1209 of this group found that most are relatively well educated, single, rural, young adults who previously worked in quasi-urban occupations. These women abandon normal female behaviour patterns in the Philippines and come to Hongkong primarily to alleviate the economic problems of their families, but a variety of structural and individual factors are also influencial. They stay for a short time in Hongkong, are not very occupationally mobile and work for Chinese and European families. The average earnings are less than the Government minimum salary and only three quarters are provided with a private room. The majority are Satisfied with their jobs and lives in Hongkong because their familial obligations are being fulfilled. Life satisfaction was shown by a logistic regression procedure to be significantly associated with salary, whether they have private rooms, the nationality of the employer and educational levels. A further indepth study of 100 Filipinas illustrated that domestic work is characterised by paternalism and reinforces the traditional sexual division of labour within the household. The social network system provides support and reinforces Filipino cultural values. Their identification with the host community was found to be weak and influenced by racial prejudice. It is argued that because these womens' attitudes are shaped by familial obligations rather than personal aspirations they see themselves foremost as family members and women, rather than as independent waged workers, and accept the status quo. These attitudes, combined with their occupational, legal and social restrictions, their temporariness, and their formation of a separate ethnic group mean that they remain vulnerable to exploitation.