PHD THESIS

PhD Supervisor: Kristen McNeill

My work, Weaving a Safety Net: Healthcare-Seeking Among Domestic Workers in Mexico, shows how workers must find alternative ways to access quality healthcare in a timely manner, since the traditional safety net, usually presented as public goods, on which low-income populations could count, is crumbling and insufficient. A lack thereof makes it necessary to weave a safety net, which I define as a process that consists of drawing together threads from different sources, which often takes long and strenuous labour, and usually offers poor or partial solutions. While weaving mechanisms enable workers to find solutions to their health problems, this study shows that it sustains pervasive vulnerability that is concomitant with informal work cultures. Drawing on qualitative interviews and ethnographic observation in Mexico City, I examine the empirical case of women domestic workers who are navigating paid domestic work, one of the most common occupations for low-income women.
 

PROFILE

As a researcher, my area of specialisation is Latin America with a regional focus on Mexico. Sociologist and social science interdisciplinary experienced in using qualitative research methods on the intersections between labor informality, domestic work, poverty, and social inequalities.
 

Research Interests
 

• Mexican & Latin American societies
• Domestic workers
• Gender & informal labor 
• Qualitative research methods
   

Fellowships, Grant and Awards
 

• Bourse d’excellence de la Confédération Suisse | Swiss Government Excellence Scholarship.