Characterisation And Mapping Of Domestic Service In Santiago, Chile. An In-Depth Analysis Of 1895 Through The Newspaper “El Chileno”

Abstract

The newspaper “El Chileno” (1883-1924) is also known as the “cook’s newspaper” as it was one of the most important means of disseminating information on domestic work in Santiago, Chile. In this respect, half of the advertisements in the newspaper were economic, commercial and employment ads, in particular, offers for domestic work from employers (“Staff required”) and employees (“Available for work”). Each advertisement provides a brief overview of the position available, as well as the qualities desired, the wage offered and the employer’s address.

Based on this information, a methodological approach to domestic service-related advertisements is proposed. After examining the entire year of 1895, a quantitative (positioning and space occupied in the newspaper, repetitions, etc.) and qualitative (types of jobs offered, pay, qualities desired, gender, age, etc.) analysis of the advertisements is carried out in order to determine who were the ideal candidates for domestic service work. Secondly, the addresses corresponding to the jobs offered are used to map the positions advertised, in or-der to determine which social strata required domestic staff and also to categorise the candidates based on these strata. And to that end, an in-depth analysis of this social sector and employment is also carried out for 1895, based on the unprecedented source, “El Chileno”.

Keywords: Domestic service, domesticity, methodology, labor market.