My Research Journey into Family Domestic Work: Methodological Reflections of Conducting Research with Sister-Maids and Sister-Madams in Limpopo

Abstract

Research has been conducted on domestic work in South Africa with studies focusing on domestic workers’ conditions during Apartheid and examining the little to no changes post-Apartheid. Domestic work in post-Apartheid South Africa involves the hiring of family and friends as domestic workers, and this is an under-researched area. As a young black man researching family domestic work, I was confronted with methodological challenges relating to negotiating access and conducting interviews with older black women hiring relatives and those working for family members as domestic workers. This reflexive paper reflects on my personal journey and experiences of conducting qualitative research on familial relationships in the domestic work sector, particularly with sister-madams[1] and sister-maids[2] in Limpopo. My paper contributes to the conversation on the significance of reflexivity in qualitative research, given how being reflexive assisted me throughout the research process to navigate my personal experiences, position as a researcher, and being a young black man, particularly in accessing participants and gathering data to avoid bias.

[1] The term sister-madam was coined by Bayane (2019) to refer to family members who employ their relatives such as cousins or sisters as domestic workers in their homes to assist with all the domestic chores.

[2] Bayane (2019) also coined sister-maids referring to family members working as domestic workers for their relatives such as sisters and cousins.