Domestic Workers Movement in Latin America

Dignified Work

Since 2010, CARE has partnered with organizations led by domestic workers in Latin America. Together, we work to ensure they have safe, dignified, and fair working conditions.

CARE has formed partnerships seven countries across the region. These partnerships support:

  • Research and knowledge sharing
  • Public campaigns, media outreach, and communications strategies
  • Building coalitions and networks
  • Training and leadership development.

Together, we aim to strengthen local organizations, influence public policies, and improve the lives of more than 10 million domestic workers across the region by 2030.

Background

In 2011, the International Labour Organization (ILO) adopted the Convention Concerning Decent Work for Domestic Workers (Convention 189). This global agreement set international standards for domestic workers, protecting their rights. Since then, worker-led organizations in Latin America have pushed their governments to adopt and enforce the Convention in their own countries.

Approach

Since 2015, CARE has focused on helping 10 million domestic workers in the Latin America and Caribbean access to social security, a minimum wage, and fair work contracts by 2030.

We help our partners:

  • Grow and strengthening their organizations
  • Learn from each other
  • Gain greater political influence.
  • Raise money using CARE’s seed funding
  • Track and measure their results.

Our work currently focuses on Ecuador, Honduras, Mexico, Colombia, Guatemala, and Brazil.

A group of women hold up flyers and cheer with their hands raised in the air.
Maria Faustina, Maria de los Angeles, Fidelia Castellanos, Eloida Ortiz, and Floridalma Cartrera are organizing with other women in Guatemala City to prevent abuse and push for stronger protections. Here, they are urging their government to adopt ILO Convention 189.

What we’ve achieved

With the support of regional and national women’s organizations, CARE has helped:

  • Strengthen a network of domestic workers groups
  • Push for and win changes to national labor laws
  • Support the adoption Convention 189 in Ecuador and Bolivia
  • Contribute to the ratification of the ILO Convention 190, which works to address workplace violence.

Why this movement matters

CARE’s support for domestic worker organizations is rooted in mutual learning and respect. These partnerships help local groups lead social change, speak up for their rights, and build stronger futures for themselves and their communities.

Resources

Igual Valor, Iguales Derechos Website

Equal Value, Equal Rights is a CARE initiative that helps advance the rights of domestic workers in Latin America.

Go to the website