Life in Rural Spain as an Immigrant Domestic Care Worker: Diverse Testimonies From Teruel

• Published in: Population space and place Vol. 31; no. 5
• Main Authors: Goldar Perrote, Héctor, Garvik, Marianne, Valenta, Marko
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hoboken Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.07.2025
• Subjects: Caregivers; domestic workers; Elder care; elderly care; Employment; Exploitation; Immigrants; Latin American women; Migrant workers; Rural areas; Rural communities; rural Spain; Rurality; small villages; Social integration; Social networks; Spain
• ISSN: 1544-8444; 1544-8452
• DOI: 10.1002/psp.70064

ABSTRACT This article contributes to the limited literature on immigrant caregivers in rural Spain. Building upon interview data, it examines the question of social inclusion with a focus on employment from the perspectives of Latin American women working in private, home‐based elderly care. The interviews were conducted in small towns and villages across Teruel; a landlocked, sparsely populated, predominantly rural province in eastern Spain. For these caregivers, employment generally offered a means to improve their financial situation and, in some cases, to obtain legal residency. However, their day‐to‐day experiences varied considerably. This wide spectrum included cases of isolation and exploitation, of marginal participation in their communities, and of genuine satisfaction with their lifestyles and social relationships. With particular attention to the rural context, the article examines how inclusion and exclusion were shaped by factors such as employment conditions and personal networks. Additionally, it emphasizes the importance of supportive employers in bridging the gap between caregivers and their rural communities—employers who can potentially foster inclusion to a degree not commonly experienced by other immigrant workers in the southern European countryside.