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Project August 1, 2016

Denmark's Au Pair Program: Cultural Exchange or Cheap Domestic Labor?

Authors:
Au pair Lucila Espinosa Milay checks her receipt as she walks through a row of money transfer businesses after wiring part of her paycheck to siblings back in the Philippines, at Central Station in Copenhagen, Denmark, May 21, 2016. Milay pays the school fees for several of her eight siblings back home, sending money every 15 days. Remittances are a huge economic driver in the Philippines. Image by Allison Shelley. Philippines, 2016.
Au pair Lucila Espinosa Milay checks her receipt as she walks through a row of money transfer businesses after wiring part of her paycheck to siblings back in the Philippines. Milay pays the school fees for several of her eight siblings back home, sending money every 15 days. Remittances are a huge economic driver in the Philippines. Image by Allison Shelley. Denmark, 2016.

"Au pair" is a French term that means "at par" or on "on equal terms." It is a cultural exchange program where the au pair has a chance to live in another country and immerse herself in a different culture and learn a new language. In exchange for doing light chores for the host family, the au pair will get free board and lodging and a modest allowance that will fund language classes and cultural immersion.

But for many people—especially those in transitioning economies—the motivation to be an au pair is more economic relief rather than cultural immersion.

The Philippines is one of the countries that participates in the au pair program with Europe, but the Philippines banned the au pair program in 1998 after reports of abuse and exploitation—the program appeared to be a cultural exchange only on paper. In practice, it was access to cheap childcare without the usual labor protections for the au pair.

The ban was lifted in 2010 after Switzerland, Denmark and Norway forged bilateral agreements with the Philippine government offering more social protection to au pairs.

In this project, Ana Santos and Allison Shelley examine the au pair exchange program between the Philippines and Denmark. Estimates show that about 70 percent of all au pairs in Denmark are Filipinos. Denmark is the top destination country for Filipino au pairs followed by Norway.

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