On 20th May 2016 UNU-CS hosted an event on Migrant Technologies: (re)producing (un)freedoms in Macau.
The one-day event brought together scholars, practitioners and activists to share learning and exchange ideas on the range of migrant technologies research being conducted across Asia and explore future collaborative approaches.
The key theme addressed at the event was how the use of mobile technologies adds layers of freedoms and unfreedoms to migration.
Speakers of the day include:
Introduction and Welcome: Michael Best, Director of UNU-CS
Opening Remarks: Tony Roberts, UNU-CS
Morning Panel: Emerging themes in Migrant Technology research
- Chair: Tony Roberts, UNU-CS
- Jack Qiu, Chinese University of Hong Kong - Freedom, Slavery, and Working-Class ICTs: Learning from Chinese Migrant Workers in Foxconn
- Nikos Dacanay, Chiang Mai University - ICT usage and how ethnic migrant women in northern Thailand indigenize/mediate human rights’ discourse of gender equality
- Odalia Wong, Baptist University of Hong Kong - Transnational Mothers and Mobile Phone Usage: The Case of the Filipino Female Domestic Workers in Hong Kong
- Discussant: Rhodora A. Abano, Centre for Migrant Advocacy in Philippines
Afternoon Panel: New Migrant Technologies
- Chair: Tony Roberts, UNU-CS
- Kayoko Ueno, University of Tokushima - Facebook Activism and Networking among Foreign Domestic Workers in Singapore
- Jude Yew, National University of Singapore - Pemca: A proposed mobile platform for crowdsourcing the reporting and visualization of migrant worker injuries/deaths
- Kakit Cheong, National University of Singapore - Kwento: Designing a family storytelling mobile application for domestic helpers
- Discussant: Fish Ip, International Domestic Workers Federation
1. ODALIA WONG
Baptist University of Hong Kong
Migrant Technologies:
(re)producing (un)freedoms
Friday, 20th May, 2016
10:00am – 4:30pm
Nations University Institute on Computing and Society
for a free, one-day event where we bring together scholars, practitioners and
o panel discussions to share our understandings and research on information
and communication technology (ICT) use by migrants from Asia.
r now on Eventbrite by 15th May 2016 to secure your place for the event
ww.eventbrite.com/e/migrant-technologies-reproducing-unfreedoms-
922537982.
: Casa Silva Mendes, Estrada do
o Trigo No 4, Macau SAR, China
to the main entrance of Hotel Guia)
y:
MIGRANT TECHNOLOGIES:
(RE)PRODUCING (UN)FREEDOMS
Emerging themes in Migrant Technology research
Morningpanel
Transnational Mothers and
Mobile Phone Usage:
The Case of the Filipino Female
Domestic Workers in Hong Kong
2. Transnational Mothers and Mobile Phone
Usage: The Case of the Filipino Female
Domestic Workers in Hong Kong
Dr. Odalia M.H. Wong
Department of Sociology
Hong Kong Baptist University
3. Transnational Mothers
Transnational mothers (Parrenas 2000; Castles and Miller
2003; Trask 2010; Ehrenreich and Hochschild 2007):
the feminization of international migration and
the commodification of domestic service
Mothering usually means directly involved in taking care of
children, providing them with emotional support, and
supervising them
For transnational mothers, their physical absence from the
families poses challenges to them in performing the role and
duties of a mother
Frequent communication is necessary
4. Transnational Mothering via Telecommunication
Scholars (Parrenas 2005; Dreby 2006; Uy-Tioco 2007; Baldassar
2008) show that frequent, spontaneous mobile communication
creates the virtual presence of a transnational mother for her
children and makes the mother 24-hour-accessible
confidence in mothering from afar and influence on child
rearing
Others (Uy-Tioco 2007; Hochschild 1989) argue that
telecommunication technology entraps transnational mothers
into performing the second shift transnationally and enforces
traditional gendered parenting roles on them
ICTs usage is sometimes oppressive for transnational mothers
5. Research Questions
Are their differences among the transnational mothers in the
way transnational they practice their maternal duties via
ICTs?
What are the factors contributing to the different styles of
transnational mothering via ICTs?
Transnational mothering via telecommunication: mothers’
daily practices of maternal duties via mobile phone usage
6. Filipina Domestic Workers in Hong Kong
Domestic workers from the Philippines came to work in
Hong Kong towards the end of 1980s
In July 2013, 160,729 Filipino domestic workers – they
constituted the largest group of foreign domestic workers
present in Hong Kong (Hong Kong Immigration
Department, 2013)
8. Our Research
This was a research project conducted by me and Dr. Yinni
Peng(Sociology, HKBU)
We conducted in-depth interviews (lasting one hour to four
hours) with 27 Filipina domestic workers in Hong Kong
between May and August, 2010
• Conducted at various places in Hong Kong, from the
crowded boarding houses in Jordan, to the parks and
blocked streets (pedestrian zones) in Central, and the
beautiful seashores in Sai Kung
11. Mobile Phone Usage and Virtual Motherhood
Three patterns of transnational motherhood
Intensive mothering (9)
Collaborative mothering (13)
Passive mothering (5)
12. Intensive Mothering & Mobile Communication
More than one-third engaged in intensive communication
and interaction with their children via mobile phone usage
Contact their children directly more than 3 times a day for
updates and make themselves available 24 hours a day
Actively participate in their children’s daily lives
The mother as the primary caregiver for their children
A mother’s care is qualitatively different from that of others
and indispensible for her children’s growth and
development
Their maternal instincts enable them to overcome the
difficulties due to spatial segregation
13. Collaborative Mothering & Mobile Communication
About half of our respondents adopted a collaborative pattern
Use mobile phones to maintain regular contact with their
children, as well as to frequently negotiate parenting strategies
and division of labor in childcare with the caregivers
Emphasize the caregivers’ active role in childrearing
provide transnational mothers with information about their
children
help transnational mothers rebuild emotional bonds with
their children despite being physically absent
play different roles in parenting
14. Passive Mothering & Mobile Communication
Passive mothering is a frustrating choice made by some
transnational mothers to avoid the pain and depression caused
by their loss of power and autonomy in childrearing
Passive mothering:
• lack of collaborative and supportive family members
• lack of effective tactics
• children’s indifferent attitude and resistance
• a self-protection mechanism: oppressive mothering, the affliction
and depression of the unpleasant mother-children relationships
15. Conclusion
Mobile phone usage plays a significant role in constructing the
virtual presence of mothers and providing a channel for
transnational mothers to provide emotional support and
supervision to their children
Three different patterns of mothering practices reveal that
transnational mothering via telecommunication is a sophisticated
process full of continuous negotiations, collaborations,
contradictions, and sometimes conflicts.
Telecommunication cannot solve all problems caused by spatial
distance and separation; at least alleviates some of their pain and
creates new opportunities to reconstruct their motherhood
