Domestic worker

A domestic worker is someone who works within the employer's household. Domestic workers perform a variety of household services for an individual or a family, from providing care for children and elderly dependents to cleaning and household maintenance, known as housekeeping. Responsibilities may also include cooking, doing laundry and ironing, food shopping, and other household errands. Some domestic workers live within the household where they work.

The conditions faced by domestic workers have varied considerably throughout history and in the contemporary world. In the course of twentieth-century movements for labor rights, women's rights, and immigrant rights, the conditions faced by domestic workers and the problems specific to their class of employment have come to the fore.

"Servant" is an older English term for "domestic worker", though not all servants worked inside the home.

See also [ maid ]