Bio

Mirza Aguilar – Pérez  is a Professor in Sociology at the Facultad de Derecho y Ciencias Sociales in Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla (BUAP). She obtained a BA in Sociology from BUAP and PHD in Social Sciences from Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana (UAM – Xochimilco) in 2014. 

Her research interests are the analysis of care work and precarious temp work performed by Mexican youth people in the United States. She is particularly interested in how J1 Visa in the United States provides a cheap labor force for childcare work. In the last years she has published articles and book chapters, among those that stand out: “Child Care and Labor Deregulation Through the J1 Visa in the USA: Cultural Experiences and Temporary Work of Qualified Young Mexican People” (Journal of International Migration & Integration, 2019) and  “Cosmopolitan Dilemma: Fantasy, work and experiences of Mexican au pairs in the USA” in the book Sisters or Servants? Au Pairs’ Lives in Global Context edited by Rosie Cox (Palgrave Macmillan, London 2015).

Project

At Faber Residency, I will be working on a book chapter about how neoliberal globalization has reshaped childcare. I focus on migrant domestic workers providing childcare in private homes in a specific niche of care in the USA, where skilled Mexican women participate. Those women participate in a Cultural Exchange program based in childcare in the USA as J1 Visa Holders in a program called au pair. I focus on how such labor policy has found a political response and how some participants have mobilized against agencies’ labor practices. I will discuss the chapters about “Closing the gender gap” and share critical thought alongside the Faber residents.