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This article proposes to analyse situations experienced by Haitian female domestic workers based on research conducted in Haiti and Guiana. Comparing how these women represent themselves on the basis of the work they do underlines the relation between their social condition and the “identity work” it entails in contexts where hierarchical relationships reflect different modes of authority and different conceptions of unequal relationships. The first part of the article presents the working conditions of “maids” in Haiti and of migrant female “housekeepers” in French Guiana. The article then examines identity construction in relation to the hierarchical relationships embodied in contexts that shape social and cultural differentiation and categorisation. The last part analyses how these relationships develop meaning and take part in setting up a set of values that women use to redefine and reformulate the lack of consideration they face because of the stigmatisation attached to their employment. In both contexts, the article will stress the tension stemming from the reference to a common humanity and the lack of a system of questioning hierarchical relations based on the dissimilarity between individuals and groups.