Carswell Geoforum paper - 6thOct16 Accepted version pre proofs.pdf (474.6 kB)
Struggles over work take place at home: women’s decisions, choices and constraints in the Tiruppur textile industry, India
Examining women’s choices around paid work in south India, this article shows the need to pay greater attention to the sphere of reproduction, and in particular the way that women endeavour to fit their productive work around their reproductive roles and responsibilities. Focussing on the region of the Tiruppur garment cluster in Tamil Nadu, India, it outlines the opportunities available to rural women, shedding light first on women’s decisions whether to work or not, and second, on how women choose between particular types of work available to them. The article demonstrates the primacy of the reproductive economy in shaping women's movements in and out of paid work, particularly the importance of stage in life course, household composition and patriarchal control to women’s decisions. Main findings of the article are that most women work, but their particular job choices reflect multiple social and reproductive constraints, while those who withdraw from work have been subjected to new expressions of patriarchy. The article advances understandings in feminist geographies of work by drawing on ethnographic insights to highlight the mutual embeddedness of the reproductive and productive economies.
Funding
ESRC-DFID; RES 167 25 0296
The materiality of citizenship and state-society interaction: A study of peoples engagement with official documents, cards and paperwork in India; G1688; BRITISH ACADEMY; SG151257
History
Publication status
- Published
File Version
- Accepted version
Journal
GeoforumISSN
0016-7185Publisher
ElsevierExternal DOI
Volume
77Page range
134-145Department affiliated with
- Geography Publications
Full text available
- Yes
Peer reviewed?
- Yes
Legacy Posted Date
2016-11-17First Open Access (FOA) Date
2018-10-27First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date
2016-11-17Usage metrics
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