scholarly journals Hidden transcripts of the gig economy: labour agency and the new art of resistance among African gig workers

2019 ◽  
Vol 52 (7) ◽  
pp. 1269-1291 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Amir Anwar ◽  
Mark Graham
Keyword(s):  
Informal Economy ◽  
Bargaining Power ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Theoretical Contribution ◽  
Everyday Practices ◽  
Gig Economy ◽  
Local Labour ◽  
Workplace Monitoring ◽  
Remote Workers ◽  
Depth Interviews

In this article, we examine how remote gig workers in Africa exercise agency to earn and sustain their livelihoods in the gig economy. In addition to the rewards reaped by gig workers, they also face significant risks, such as precarious working conditions and algorithmic workplace monitoring, thus constraining workers’ autonomy and bargaining power. Gig workers, as a result, are expected to have fewer opportunities to exert their agency – particularly so for workers in Africa, where the high proportion of informal economy and a lack of employment opportunities in local labour markets already constrain workers’ ability to earn livelihoods. Instead, we demonstrate how remote workers in Africa manage various constraints on one of the world’s biggest gig economy platforms through their diverse everyday resilience, reworking and resistance practices (after Katz, 2004 ). Drawing from a rich labour geography tradition, which considers workers to ‘actively produce economic spaces and scales’, our main theoretical contribution is to offer a reformulation of Katz’s notions of ‘resistance’, ‘resilience’ and ‘reworking’ as everyday practices of gig workers best understood as ‘hidden transcripts’ of the gig economy ( Scott, 1990 ). The article draws on in-depth interviews (N=65) conducted with remote workers during the fieldwork in five selected African countries.

Rethinking the Agency of Women in the Shea Industry

Politeia ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Abiba Yayah
Keyword(s):  
Rural Women ◽  
Field Work ◽  
Northern Region ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Good Source ◽  
Everyday Practices ◽  
Home Based

The agency of women in most African countries is often affected by the socio-economic and political policies that are almost always disadvantageous to women, especially women who have little to no knowledge of their rights. Using the shea industry in Ghana as a case study, I chronicle the challenges as recounted by rural women involved in this home-based work in the Northern Region of Ghana and critically analyse these challenges and their implications. Focusing mainly on the results of my recent field work, I present some of the accounts relating to the lack and exclusion of recognition of and respect for the experiences of rural women who are in fact the linchpin of the shea industry in Ghana. Initiatives and strategies of non-governmental organisations and some governmental policies have attempted to address these challenges that have implications for the livelihoods of rural women. Research and policies have only offered “band-aid solutions” to the economic disempowerment of rural women in the shea industry in Ghana as they have not dealt with the causes. This article seeks to refute the claim that equity exists by indicating the lack of equity and justice in the policies in the shea industry. In an attempt to provide an understanding of the economic disempowerment of women in this industry, I consider my field work as a good source as it exposes the experiences and everyday practices as narrated by rural women in the industry. This article seeks to analyse the existing discourses especially those pertaining to the contributions and experiences of rural women in the shea industry.

“(Not) forever talk”: restaurant employees managing occupational stigma consciousness

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 384-402 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amanda Michiko Shigihara
Keyword(s):  
Food Service ◽  
Identity Work ◽  
Stigma Consciousness ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Theoretical Contribution ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Future Selves ◽  
Restaurant Employees ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Depth Interviews

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine restaurant employees’ engagement in identity work to manage occupational stigma consciousness.Design/methodology/approachResearch methods included ethnographic fieldwork and in-depth interviews.FindingsWidespread societal stigma attached to food service work disturbed participants’ sense of coherence. Therefore, they undertook harmonizing their present and envisioned selves with “forever talk,” a form of identity work whereby people discursively construct desired, favorable and positive identities and self-concepts by discussing what they view themselves engaged and not engaged in forever. Participants employed three forever talk strategies: conceptualizing work durations, framing legitimate careers and managing feelings about employment. Consequently, their talk simultaneously resisted and reproduced restaurant work stigmatization. Findings elucidated occupational stigma consciousness, ambivalence about jobs considered “bad,” “dirty” and “not real,” discursive tools for negotiating laudable identities, and costs of equivocal work appraisals.Originality/valueThis study provides a valuable conceptual and theoretical contribution by developing a more comprehensive understanding of occupational stigma consciousness. Moreover, an identity work framework helps explain how and why people shape identities congruent with and supportive of self-concepts. Forever talk operates as a temporal “protect and preserve” reconciliation tool whereby people are able to construct positive self-concepts while holding marginalized, stereotyped and stigmatized jobs. This paper offers a unique empirical case of the ways in which people talk about possible future selves when their employment runs counter to professions normatively evaluated as esteemed and lifelong. Notably, research findings are germane for analyzing any identities (work and non-work related) that pose incoherence between extant and desired selves.

Anatomy of a Stalled Revolution: Processes of Reproduction and Change in Russian Women’s Gender Ideologies

2018 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 441-468 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Ashwin ◽  
Olga Isupova
Keyword(s):  
Gender Ideology ◽  
Important Variable ◽  
Domestic Labor ◽  
Macro Level ◽  
Gender Ideologies ◽  
Theoretical Contribution ◽  
Continuity And Change ◽  
Male Breadwinner ◽  
Micro Level ◽  
Depth Interviews

Russia’s gender revolution notoriously produced women’s economic empowerment without domestic equality. Although the Soviet state vastly expanded women’s employment, this had little impact on a starkly unequal gender division of domestic labor. Such “stalling” is common, but in Russia its extent and persistence presents a puzzle, requiring us to investigate linkages between macro-level factors and micro-level interactions regarding the gender division of domestic labor. We do this by focusing on gender ideology, an important variable explaining the gender division of domestic labor that bridges the macro level of the gender order and the micro-interactional level. We use longitudinal qualitative data to examine continuity and change in young Russian women’s gender ideologies between 1999 and 2010. Based on an analysis of 115 in-depth interviews from 23 respondents, we identify traditional and egalitarian trajectories and the processes underlying them, showing how the male breadwinner schema and an ideology of women’s independence support traditionalism, while non-traditional breadwinning and interactional support from men facilitate egalitarianism. Our analysis enables us to explain the Soviet gender paradox and distinguish sources of change in the post-Soviet era. Our theoretical contribution is to situate gender ideology in a multilevel framework, the efficacy of which we demonstrate in our empirical analysis.

An Emerging Online Public

2019 ◽  
pp. 129-170
Author(s):  
Ya-Wen Lei
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
Public Sphere ◽  
Political Behavior ◽  
Everyday Practices ◽  
Media Institutions ◽  
Comprehensive Picture ◽  
Demographic Background ◽  
Depth Interviews ◽  
Party State

This chapter focuses on the emergence of an online public in China and delves into its relationship with the party-state and various intermediary actors, as well as its interaction with legal and media institutions. It argues that netizens' everyday practices and participation in public opinion incidents facilitated the rise of contentious culture and China's contentious public sphere. Because the late 2000s were critical to the rise of an online public and the contentious public sphere, the analysis focuses mostly on this period. To depict a more comprehensive picture of Chinese netizens, the chapter first draws on statistical data to describe their demographic background, social networks, political attitudes, and political behavior. Next, it describes their everyday practices and participation in public opinion incidents. It then examines the case study of a public opinion incident involving food safety, and shows how netizens interacted with the Chinese party-state and various intermediary actors to make what happened a “public opinion incident.” Finally, the chapter draws on in-depth interviews with ordinary citizens to understand how netizens' everyday practices and participation in public opinion incidents contribute to politicization.

‘Memory objects’: Material objects and memories of home in the context of intra-African mobility

2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 253-269
Author(s):  
Sabine Marschall
Keyword(s):  
Material Culture ◽  
Cultural Values ◽  
Social Relations ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Home Culture ◽  
Mobility Studies ◽  
Specific Factors ◽  
Involuntary Memories ◽  
Depth Interviews

This article contributes to the intersection of material culture and mobility studies by exploring the role of objects in fostering nostalgia and emotionally linking migrants with their home world. ‘Memory objects’ are conceptualized as special personal belongings that elicit deliberate or involuntary memories of homeland, home culture, social relations and episodes in one’s pre-migration past. Focusing on intra-African migration, the study is based on in-depth interviews with a sample of 40 migrants from 13 African countries, temporarily or permanently based in South Africa. Contrary to the extant literature, initial findings indicate most participants did not value keepsakes or sentimental mementoes of home. However, it emerged that some had developed a special relationship with specific utilitarian objects, mostly received as gifts, which essentially turned into memory objects over time, precipitating memories and emotional attachment through routine usage and performative action. It is argued that more attention must be paid to socio-cultural values and other locally specific factors.

scholarly journals Does financial development reduce the size of the informal economy in sub‐Saharan African countries?

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 375-391
Author(s):  
Henri Njangang ◽  
Luc Ndeffo Nembot ◽  
Joseph Pasky Ngameni
Keyword(s):  
Financial Development ◽  
Informal Economy ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Sub Saharan

Use of e-government services: the role of trust

2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 622-633 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mercy Mpinganjira
Keyword(s):  
African Countries ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Government Services ◽  
Two Factors ◽  
Online Channel ◽  
Depth Interviews ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Structured Questionnaire

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of trust in understanding usage of e-government services in South Africa. Of interest are services that involve two way interactions between citizens and government. Design/methodology/approach – Qualitative and quantitative data were collected from members of the public using in-depth interviews and a structured questionnaire, respectively. Findings – The findings show that trust in internet and in government as a provider of e-services are important factors that differentiates users and non-users of e-government services. The two factors are also significantly related to willingness to start using e-government services. Trust in e-service provider unlike trust in internet was however found to be a stronger differentiator of users and non-users and to have a stronger relationship with willingness to start using e-government services. Practical implications – Efforts aimed at promoting use of e-government services need to be based on a good understanding of factors that impact on citizens’ decisions in this regard. Such efforts need to include activities targeted at improving people’s trust in government’s ability to provide reliable and secure e-services. Originality/value – While provision of government services using the online channel is a growing phenomenon in most African countries, not much research has been done into what governments should focus on in order to entice more citizens to take up this channel. This study contributes to addressing this gap.

EVALUATING THE IMPACTS OF STARTING UP UNREGISTERED ON FIRM PERFORMANCE IN AFRICA

2017 ◽  
Vol 22 (03) ◽  
pp. 1750017 ◽  
Author(s):  
COLIN C. WILLIAMS ◽  
ABBI M. KEDIR
Keyword(s):  
Firm Performance ◽  
World Bank ◽  
Productivity Growth ◽  
Informal Economy ◽  
Poor Performance ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Formal Economy ◽  
World Bank Enterprise Survey ◽  
Enterprise Survey

The aim of this paper is to contribute to an understanding of the entrepreneurship process in Africa by evaluating the link between starting up unregistered and future firm performance. The widespread assumption has been that firms starting up unregistered in the informal economy suffer from poor performance compared to those starting up registered and in the formal economy. To test this poorer performance thesis, World Bank Enterprise Survey (WBES) data is evaluated from across 41 African countries covering the period from 2006 to 2013. Controlling for a comprehensive set of other determinants of firm performance, the finding is that formal enterprises with five or more employees that started up unregistered have significantly higher annual sales, employment and productivity growth rates compared with those firms that registered their operations at startup. The paper concludes by discussing the theoretical and policy implications of this finding.

scholarly journals Eliminating ‘Thick’ Borders: Analysing the Legal Framework on Non-Tariff Barriers in the Africa Continental Free Trade Area Agreement

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 167-194
Author(s):  
Catherine Penda
Keyword(s):  
Free Trade ◽  
Regional Integration ◽  
Bargaining Power ◽  
Free Trade Area ◽  
Trade Agreements ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Growth Potential ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Global Marketplace ◽  
Trade Area

African countries have long recognised that regional integration is vital if Africa is to optimise its growth potential and boost its bargaining power in the global marketplace. This explains the proliferation of several Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs) across the continent culminating in the conclusion of the landmark African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). However, despite the concerted efforts to boost intra-trade among African countries, African borders remain ‘thick’ because of the continued existence of Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs) that reverse gains made from initiatives of trade liberalisation. Accordingly, if the landmark Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is to be successful, it must strive to address and eliminate Africa’s NTBs. It is argued in this paper that while the AfCFTA makes some important strides in reducing NTBs in intra-African trade, there are still some significant gaps in the AfCFTA’s provisions on NTBs that need to be addressed. Some of these gaps include: the lack of a comprehensive legal framework that adequately addresses all the categories of NTBs and the lack of clear guidelines on how to promote harmonisation among conflicting measures among RTAs. This article singles out and analyses provisions on NTBs under the AfCFTA with the aim of determining whether the AfCFTA addresses the challenges currently facing other RTAs in tackling NTBs. The author will identify shortcomings in the legal framework of the AfCFTA with the aim of making proposals to address them.

scholarly journals Exploring the Socio-Economic Experiences of Women Post-Mastectomy in the Tamale Metropolis

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evelyn Osei-Amoah ◽  
Yennuten Paarima ◽  
Lydia Aziato
Keyword(s):  
Sampling Method ◽  
Financial Burden ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Northern Region ◽  
African Countries ◽  
The Public ◽  
Tamale Metropolis ◽  
Experiences Of Women ◽  
Depth Interviews ◽  
Economic Well Being

Abstract Background: Breast cancer (BC) is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among females. Mastectomy is the treatment of choice in most African countries due to late reporting. The majority of women diagnosed with BC experience socio-economic challenges. This study explored the factors that affect the socio-economic well-being of women post-mastectomy in Ghana. Methods: The study was conducted at the teaching hospital in the northern region of Ghana using descriptive exploratory qualitative design. A purposive sampling method was employed to recruit participants. Data was saturated with 15 participants aged between 28 and 78 years. The in-depth interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim. Data were analyzed using thematic content analysis procedures. Results: Participants isolated themselves as society frown on them after mastectomy. Some of the women loss their jobs/businesses and some did not get the needed support. The high cost of treatment placed a huge financial burden on them. Some of the participants felt rejected and loss their femininity, as their partners were not having sex with them after the operation. Conclusion: Women post mastectomy faces several challenges and family support is vital to improve their wellbeing. There is a need to educate the public against the stigmatization of women post mastectomy.

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