Challenging the Gendered Entrepreneurial Subject: Gender, Development, and the Informal Economy in India

2018 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 157-179 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natascia Boeri
Keyword(s):  
Informal Economy ◽  
Social Reproduction ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Spatial Characteristic ◽  
Her Family ◽  
Informal Workers ◽  
Garment Workers ◽  
Home Based ◽  
Home Work ◽  
Economic Development Model

The World Bank’s premise that “gender equality is good business” characterizes the current gender and economic development model. Policymakers and development practitioners promote and encourage women’s entrepreneurialism from the conviction that increasing women’s market-based opportunities is key to lifting women, their families, and communities out of poverty, resulting in the construction of a gendered entrepreneurial subject. Based on ethnographic fieldwork and interviews with home-based garment workers in Ahmedabad, India, this article questions the portrayal of women informal workers as entrepreneurs. Employing a social reproduction framework, I argue that the exploitative characteristics of informal work (i.e., paying for the costs of production and its temporal/spatial characteristic) are falsely interpreted as features of entrepreneurialism (i.e., investment and autonomy). Because work is completed in the worker’s own home, work and care become a mutual burden in which woman’s sense of providing for her family is impeded by both these roles. A feminist social reproduction framework of embodied labor links women’s responsibility for and contribution to family well-being with women’s marginalized economic position. Examining home-based work through this lens reveals the contradiction of the entrepreneurialism discourse.

New forms of employment and workers' health

2020 ◽  
Vol 60 (12) ◽  
pp. 936-950
Author(s):  
Eduard I. Denisov
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Reproductive Health ◽  
Occupational Health ◽  
Informal Economy ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Decent Work ◽  
Program Goal ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Home Work ◽  
The Future

Globalization and digitalization give rise to a complex of problems of economics, sociology, and occupational health. The prevalence of precarious employment (PE) is growing. In connection with the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic crisis, employment and social well-being have become acute. The study aims to review literature and essays on PE as a problem of occupational health and a new social determinant of workers' health. The author has made the analysis of documents from WHO, ILO, European Union, etc., scientific literature and essays on the problem of PE and its impact on somatic (including reproductive) health, mental health, and workers' social well-being. The legal bases of labor and health protection are considered. The informal economy, the terminology of forms of PE, and the ILO Convention No. 175 on part-time work and the Convention No. 177 on home work and the Decent Work Initiative were analyzed. The characteristics and prevalence of PE, examples of forms of work organization, affected groups of the population, and sectors of the economy are considered. Vulnerable groups are women (especially pregnant women), young and elderly workers, migrants, and the most unfavorable situation is in construction, agriculture, catering, tourism, etc., and much better in the public sector. PE and its impact on health are an essential topic in social epidemiology, and affective health problems are almost as severe as unemployment. PE is often associated with poor working conditions, physically demanding work and an increased risk of accidents, with young workers more often affected. The lack of confidence in keeping a job negatively affects mental health - the odds ratio is over 1.5. PE is associated with impaired reproductive behavior and reproductive health and the birth of children with low body weight. The features of home work, its pros, and cons are given. An analysis of employment from the standpoint of occupational health revealed the relationship between forms of employment and indicators of health and quality of life and made it possible to complete some generalizations and formulate the principles of work and health. The future of labor, new occupations, knowledge, and skills are considered. In the United Nations Development Program, Goal 8, Decent Work and Economic Growth, is to achieve full employment and decent work for all by 2030. PE is becoming more frequent; therefore, further data collection and research into its effects among new groups of workers is necessary. Soon, the digitalization of the economy and society will cause a paradigm shift in occupational health: the future of occupational health is the prevention of occupational diseases and work-related disorders.

scholarly journals Occupational Safety, Health, and Well-being Among Home-based Workers in the Informal Economy of Thailand

2015 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 212-231 ◽  
Author(s):  
Noppanun Nankongnab ◽  
Pimpan Silpasuwan ◽  
Pia Markkanen ◽  
Pornpimol Kongtip ◽  
Susan Woskie
Keyword(s):  
Informal Economy ◽  
Occupational Safety ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Home Based ◽  
Health And Well Being

Does Class Matter in Politics?

2020 ◽  
pp. 169-204
Author(s):  
Rina Agarwala ◽  
Ronald Herring
Keyword(s):  
Genetically Engineered ◽  
The Political ◽  
Bt Cotton ◽  
Class Politics ◽  
Labour Movement ◽  
Informal Workers ◽  
Garment Workers ◽  
Home Based ◽  
The Right ◽  
Twentieth Century Europe

Agarwala and Herring make the important observation that our view of class politics is often skewed by a misleading preoccupation with the patterns of class politics that arose in nineteenth and twentieth century Europe. They develop this point by analysing the rise of India’s informal workers and its agrarian producers. After decades of being excluded from the formal labour movement, self-employed workers, domestic workers, recycling and sanitation workers, and home-based garment workers have organized to gain legal recognition as workers and secure new forms of labour protection. In agriculture, despite the political decline of ‘bullock capitalists’ in recent years, Agarwala and Herring analyse a new basis for agrarian mobilization—the right to grow genetically engineered Bt cotton. Their analysis of these cases shows that the mutual constitution of class, caste, and local culture affects the success and direction of political mobilization.

Economic Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic: Who are the Big Sufferers?

2020 ◽  
pp. 320-326
Keyword(s):  
Informal Economy ◽  
World Economy ◽  
Mitigation Measures ◽  
Economic Activities ◽  
Informal Workers ◽  
Indian Economy ◽  
The World ◽  
Daily Wage ◽  
Liberalisation Policy ◽  
The International Monetary Fund

The COVID-19 pandemic identified in Wuhan, China in December 2019, has spread almost to all the countries of the world. The mitigation measures imposed by most of the nations to prevent the spread of COVID-19 have badly hit the global economic activities. As per the latest estimates, the world economy is predicted to decline by 5.2 percent, and world trade is expected to drop by 13-32 percent in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In this way it has created havoc in the world economy and the Indian economy is no exception. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has estimated the Indian GDP growth at 1.9 percent and showed the worst growth performance of India after the liberalisation policy of 1991. According to the World Bank, the Indian economy will contract by 3.2 percent in 2020-21. Daily wage labourers and other informal workers, particularly migrant labourers of economically poor states were the worst hit during the lockdown period and will continue to be adversely affected even after the lockdown was relaxed. The paper suggested multiple measures to support the Indian economic and financial support to all the families of the informal economy workers to tide over this crisis.

Situating Self-Employed Urban Women Conducting Business through Contemporary Social Media

2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shruti Kalyanaraman
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Women Workers ◽  
Informal Economy ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Technological Advancement ◽  
Economic Activities ◽  
Self Employment ◽  
Home Based ◽  
Business Women ◽  
Employed Women

Informal economy includes varied set of economic activities, enterprises, jobs, and workers. The economy typically consists of enterprises and/or people that are not regulated or protected by the state. The concept originally applied to self-employment in small unregistered enterprises. It has been expanded to include wage employment in unprotected jobs. A home-based self-employed women worker can be involved as a fashion designer, a tiffin service provider, a home tutor, a person working with vendors, selling and reselling apparel, accessories to name a few. Informal self-employment is very large and heterogeneous as a category itself. There are different people working within in an informally self-employed category. The review tries to understand home based business women within the ambit of informal employment. The focus of research turns to technological advancement, social media and its impact on womens economic and business efforts. The review, using a feminist lens, understands academic researches on womens economic efforts. The reviews focus will largely be owners and own account (individually run enterprises) women workers of informal enterprises in urban areas which for ease of reference, I have termed as home-based self-employed urban woman.

The social uses of the law at a Soweto garbage dump: Reclaiming the law and the state in the informal economy

2016 ◽  
Vol 65 (2) ◽  
pp. 222-234 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melanie Samson
Keyword(s):  
Informal Economy ◽  
Research Agenda ◽  
Legal Theory ◽  
Social World ◽  
The State ◽  
Informal Workers ◽  
The Social ◽  
Critical Legal Theory ◽  
The Law ◽  
Social Uses

The informal economy is typically understood as being outside the law. However, this article develops the concept ‘social uses of the law’ to interrogate how informal workers understand, engage and deploy the law, facilitating the development of more nuanced theorizations of both the informal economy and the law. The article explores how a legal victory over the Johannesburg Council by reclaimers of reusable and recyclable materials at the Marie Louise landfill in Soweto, South Africa shaped their subjectivities and became bound up in struggles between reclaimers at the dump. Engaging with critical legal theory, the author argues that in a social world where most people do not read, understand, or cite court rulings, the ‘social uses of the law’ can be of greater import than the actual judgement. This does not, however, render the state absent, as the assertion that the court sanctioned particular claims and rights is central to the reclaimers’ social uses of the law. Through the social uses of the law, these reclaimers force us to consider how and why the law, one of the cornerstones of state formation, cannot be separated from the informal ways it is understood and deployed. The article concludes by sketching a research agenda that can assist in developing a more relational understanding of the law and the informal economy.

scholarly journals Evaluation of a Brief Intervention to Improve the Nursing Care of Young Children in a High HIV and AIDS Setting

2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda M. Richter ◽  
Tamsen J. Rochat ◽  
Celia Hsiao ◽  
Thembelihle H. Zuma
Keyword(s):  
Young Children ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Hiv And Aids ◽  
Child Interaction ◽  
Home Based ◽  
Care And Support ◽  
Nurse Burnout ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Infant Pain ◽  
Outcomes For Children

The HIV epidemic in South Africa is putting great strain on health services, including the inpatient care of young children. Caregivers and young children (107 pairs) and 17 nurses participated in an intervention to improve the care of young children in hospital in a high HIV and AIDS setting. The intervention addressed caregiver expectations about admission and treatment, responsive feeding, coping with infant pain and distress, assistance with medical procedures, and preparation for discharge and home care. Following a preparatory and piloting phase, measures of nurse burnout, caregiver physical and emotional well-being, and caregiver-child interaction were made before and after intervention. No changes were found between before and after intervention on assessments of caregiver wellbeing. However, mothers in the postintervention phase rated nurses as more supportive; mother-child interaction during feeding was more relaxed and engaged, and babies were less socially withdrawn. While the intervention proved useful in improving certain outcomes for children and their caregivers, it did not address challenging hospital and ward administration or support needed by caregivers at home following discharge. To address the latter need, the intervention has been extended into the community through home-based palliative care and support.

scholarly journals How has technology been used to deliver cardiac rehabilitation during the COVID-19 pandemic? An international cross-sectional survey of healthcare professionals conducted by the BACPR

BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. e046051
Author(s):  
Alasdair F O'Doherty ◽  
Helen Humphreys ◽  
Susan Dawkes ◽  
Aynsley Cowie ◽  
Sally Hinton ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Risk ◽  
Cardiac Rehabilitation ◽  
Technology Use ◽  
Healthcare Professionals ◽  
Hospital Admissions ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Rehabilitation Service ◽  
High Risk Patients ◽  
Home Based ◽  
Risk Patients

ObjectiveTo investigate whether exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation services continued during the COVID-19 pandemic and how technology has been used to deliver home-based cardiac rehabilitation.DesignA mixed methods survey including questions about exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation service provision, programme diversity, patient complexity, technology use, barriers to using technology, and safety.SettingInternational survey of exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation programmes.ParticipantsHealthcare professionals working in exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation programmes worldwide.Main outcome measuresThe proportion of programmes that continued providing exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation and which technologies had been used to deliver home-based cardiac rehabilitation.ResultsThree hundred and thirty eligible responses were received; 89.7% were from the UK. Approximately half (49.3%) of respondents reported that cardiac rehabilitation programmes were suspended due to COVID-19. Of programmes that continued, 25.8% used technology before the COVID-19 pandemic. Programmes typically started using technology within 19 days of COVID-19 becoming a pandemic. 48.8% did not provide cardiac rehabilitation to high-risk patients, telephone was most commonly used to deliver cardiac rehabilitation, and some centres used sophisticated technology such as teleconferencing.ConclusionsThe rapid adoption of technology into standard practice is promising and may improve access to, and participation in, exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation beyond COVID-19. However, the exclusion of certain patient groups and programme suspension could worsen clinical symptoms and well-being, and increase hospital admissions. Refinement of current practices, with a focus on improving inclusivity and addressing safety concerns around exercise support to high-risk patients, may be needed.

Measuring the Employment Vulnerability Among Female Workers in Uttar Pradesh

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 307-322
Author(s):  
Nomita P. Kumar ◽  
Achala Srivastava
Keyword(s):  
Women Workers ◽  
Composite Index ◽  
Uttar Pradesh ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Vulnerability Index ◽  
Informal Workers ◽  
Garment Workers ◽  
Principal Component Loading ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Component Loading

This article attempts to measure employment vulnerability among women workers in Uttar Pradesh by constructing a multidimensional vulnerability index (MVI). The index is based on 23 dichotomous (binary) variables corresponding to various dimensions of vulnerability related to employment. A composite index of vulnerability is developed for each occupational category, sector of employment and gender. Here, MVI is the average of five indices which are computed for the respective dimensions of employment vulnerability. The findings suggest high levels of vulnerability among informal workers with the MVI values ranging from 0.087 (low) to 0.783 (high).The overall MVI (measured by principal component loading [PCA]) was 0.768 for the construction and domestic workers, followed by tailors (0.629) and garment workers (0.635). Appropriate policies are needed to help lift women from the cumulative neglect that they experience in unorganised labour market.

Doctoral capital and well-being amongst Australian PhD students: exploring capital and habitus of doctoral students

2021 ◽  
Vol 121 (3) ◽  
pp. 322-336
Author(s):  
Wayne Usher ◽  
Brittany A. McCormack
Keyword(s):  
Doctoral Students ◽  
Social Reproduction ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Social Reproduction Theory ◽  
Self Confidence ◽  
The Right ◽  
Australian Universities

PurposeThe Higher Degree Research (HDR) journey is known for its difficulties, complexities and challenges (Lees-Deutsch, 2020), with many students experiencing multi-faceted issues and concerns (Skopek et al., 2020). Therefore, the purpose of this research is to investigate the relationships that exist between variables, vulnerability factors and doctorial capital of candidates (n = 532) studying at Australian universities (2019).Design/methodology/approachA quantitative cross-sectional correlational research design and Bronfenbrenner's socio – ecological framework (personal, home, university, community) was utilised to collect participants' (n = 532) descriptive statistics. Bourdieu's social reproduction theory was used as a lens to examine how experiences, across the PhD candidature, are influenced by several psychosocial factors and doctoral capital.FindingsFrom such a dual methodological approach, the findings from this study suggests that (1) age, (2) gender, (3) nationality, (4) financial/work status, (5) years of PhD and (6) attending postgraduate (PG) student events, go to significantly (p < 0.001) impact (positively and negatively) on students' experiences and correspondingly, impacts on their self-confidence, motivation and mental health and well-being status.Research limitations/implicationsResearch limitations are related to the recruitment of more doctoral students across more Australian universities. Further research is required from HDR supervisors, so as to “balance” the experiences of the PhD journey in higher education.Practical implicationsIn order to succeed in academia and HDR programs, students need to identify with and develop the “right kind of capital” to successfully navigate fields of social and scholarly play. Investigating how the participants perceive their social and scholarly habitus is seen as crucial in helping students to develop positive dispositions relevant to being a doctoral student.Social implicationsThe concept of doctoral capital and well-being, amongst Australian PhD students, is under researched and requires further investigation as a precursor to developing more specific policy designs aimed at providing heightened positive learning environments/HDR programs tailored to support doctoral students.Originality/valueWhilst reforms to improve PhD experiences are well established across the international literature (Geven et al., 2018; Skopek et al., 2020), evidence for Australia is largely missing. It is envisaged, that findings from this research will further assist in the development of quality policies that would go to provide effective services and support for doctoral students within Australian universities.

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