Arbete och utanförskap : RUT-arbetares upplevelse av eget inflytande och inklusion

The premises of the Swedish tax deduction for domestic services (RUT) could in part be said to be based upon the assumption that formal employment will lead to social and gender equality. But is this always the case? The purpose of this paper is to examine ways in which the experience of influence and inclusion has been affected by formal employment amongst women from migrant backgrounds working in the Swedish domestic service sector. This group could be described as one of the more disadvantaged in society. To what extent do they experience an increased sense of influence and inclusion due to their work? Using a feminist, intersectional approach based on gender, social class and ethnicity, the experiences of these women have been analysed in order to answer the research question. Unlike related, previous research, this paper is based on a best-case scenario. Yet it still reveals a limited experience of influence and inclusion amongst women from migrant backgrounds. Working in the Swedish domestic service sector hasn’t affected their experience to any greater extent. Although the RUT employment can be said to strengthen these women’s resources in various ways, for instance by coming to the conclusion that you won’t be satisfied with poor working conditions, which in turn can lead to trade union membership, the opposite is also present. Negative assumptions about the capabilities of domestic workers and the exhausting nature of the work act as barriers. The combined experience can therefore be described as limited. If the purpose is to increase social and gender equality by affecting these women’s experience of influence and inclusion, there are other, more efficient ways, than RUT employment, to do it