Although some countries have shown much inventiveness in organizing domestic services, this country has been hindered by ethnic and racial heterogeneity, with considerable class differences. Reform of household employment is complicated by its low status and the increasing proportion of Blacks. This analysis views social behavior within the framework of an interdependent society in which changes affect the entire system and institutions are not assumed to be unchangeable. After developing a theoretical and comparative perspective which includes a discussion of the derationalization or despecialization of domestic service, the report reviews data from the colonial period through the depression of the 1930's. Data from the 1960 Census and a 1965 employment survey are also analyzed, after which conclusions and recommendations are presented. (BH)