Migrant domestic workers prop up Hong Kong’s economy, so why are they excluded?
- Research reveals that migrant domestic workers contributed an estimated US$12.6 billion to Hong Kong’s economy last year
- Yet foreign domestic workers in Hong Kong are more financially excluded and more in debt than those in Singapore and Malaysia
These domestic workers also enabled more than 110,000 mothers in Hong Kong to rejoin the workforce. Elsewhere in Asia, foreign domestic workers contributed US$8.2 billion to Singapore’s economy (2.4 per cent of GDP) and US$900 million to Malaysia’s (0.3 per cent of GDP).
“Domestic work and caring for others is in many ways invisible work, behind closed doors. This is a hidden side of the economy and now we can put a number for the first time on the huge value of their care,” said Lucinda Pike, executive director of Hong Kong-based charity Enrich, which promotes the economic empowerment of migrant domestic workers.
FILLING THE CARE GAP
The report, “The Value of Care: Key Contributions of Migrant Domestic Workers to Economic Growth and Family Well-being in Asia”, was commissioned by Experian, a global information services company, in partnership with Enrich. It examined for the first time the economic contribution of migrant domestic workers in Asia.