domestic service

In ancient Greece and Rome and various other early civilizations, domestic service was performed almost exclusively by enslaved people. In medieval Europe, serfs provided much of the necessary labour force. Domestic service remained closely linked to servility even in subsequent ages, as for example, in colonial America and the pre-Civil War South, where the use of indentured servants and enslaved Black people prevailed. By the 1870s, however, domestic servants had become wage earners in the United States and in most European countries.

Domestic service, as an occupation, reached its height in Victorian England. The great households of the royalty and gentry employed large numbers of servants of both sexes. The elaborate hierarchy of positions afforded ample opportunity for advancement. A man could work his way up from groom to valet and then on to butler or even steward. Similarly, a woman could rise from scullery maid to cook or from chambermaid to housekeeper. In general, stewards and housekeepers had their own private servants. Households of lesser, though well-to-do, families often had in their employ a staff of six or more servants, including a lady’s maid, nanny, and butler.

The number of people in paid domestic work increased dramatically throughout the late 19th century in most European countries. The United States experienced a similar situation, which continued into the early 1900s and was largely due to the growing number of middle- and upper-class families that wanted and could afford household help. The arrival of a great many unskilled immigrants who could find no other form of employment contributed to this growth.

For much of the 20th century, domestic service was a steadily declining occupation in the United States and, to a large extent, in most western European countries as well. This trend was attributed to various factors, including a leveling of social classes; the low status of domestic work; increased job opportunities for women in business and industry after World War II; and the proliferation of household labour-saving devices and comparatively less expensive outside services, such as laundries, day care centres, and convalescent homes. That trend was partially reversed in the late 20th and early 21st centuries as demand for home care services for the elderly and for people with illnesses, injuries, or disabilities increased. In 1974 the U.S. Congress amended the Fair Labor Standards Act (FSLA) of 1938 to extend minimum-wage and overtime protections to most domestic service workers. The Department of Labor later issued new regulations under the FSLA, effective from 2015, to ensure that the same protections would be provided to home care workers.