Doctoral Dissertation Research: Construction of Identity in Home-Based Workers

Cuny Graduate School University Center, New York NY

Investigators

Abstract

SES-1332621 Hester Eisenstein Natascia Boeri CUNY Graduate School University Center This doctoral dissertation project will examine the changing dynamics of women?s societal roles as a result of their participation in the informal economy, focusing on the experiences of home-based workers. Over 90 percent of the Indian workforce is in the informal economy. Almost all are overlooked by social policies, despite the vulnerabilities associated with this sector. Informal workers are more likely to be living in poverty, less likely to be organized, and are disproportionately women. Home-based work is the largest subgroup of non-agricultural informal work in India, and is overwhelmingly taken up by women. Research will be conducted at Self-Employed Women's Association (SEWA), a labor union for informal workers in Ahmedabad, India. The main research question addressed in this study is: can women's empowerment through participation in a labor union have consequences on their roles at home and work? The specific aims of this study are (1) to examine how a labor union for informal workers addresses women home-based workers' needs; and (2) to investigate how women?s participation in the union enhances their agency and ability to affect their work and home environment. In particular, the research will uncover what mechanisms might transform the home and work setting from a site of exploitation to a site of empowerment. Importantly, this research includes women's experiences beyond their economic value by addressing how they negotiate and construct their identities as women, workers, and union members across the social institutions of family, market and civil society. The multi-method research design includes five types of data collection: survey, in-depth interviews, spatial analysis of home and work setting, secondary data analysis of government and policy reports, and participant observation. Broader Impacts Home-based work is a sector that remains especially hidden to both applied and scholarly research because of its characteristics. By addressing the multiple sites of inequality women experience across social institutions, this research will contribute to sociological theory on women, work, and development. In addition, this study?s collaborative research design with SEWA, noted for its activism and grass roots approach, will provide a unique contribution to programs and strategies that support women in the informal sector. The broad term goal is that findings of this research will inform governments, non-governmental organizations, and multilateral organizations of the specific needs of women in the informal economy in developing countries. Importantly, it strives to support a gender and development model that addresses the multiple locations of unequal social relations.