Mobility Towards Work and Politics for Women in Kerala State, India: A View from the Histories of Gender and Space
TL;DR: In this paper, historical analysis and qualitative fieldwork are combined to question the belief that recent efforts in Kerala to induct women into local governance and mobilize poor women into self-help groups implies continuity with the earlier history of women's mobility into the spaces of paid work and politics.
Abstract: In this paper, historical analysis and qualitative fieldwork are combined to question the belief that recent efforts in Kerala to induct women into local governance and mobilize poor women into self-help groups implies continuity with the earlier history of women's mobility into the spaces of paid work and politics. For a longer view, the histories of gender-coding of spaces and of women's mobility into paid work and politics are examined. In the twentieth century, while the subversive potential of paid work was contained through casting it within ‘feminine terms’, politics was unquestionably ‘unfeminine space’. However, recent efforts have not advanced women's mobility in any simple sense. The subversive potential of women's mobility towards work in self-help groups is still limited. In local governance, unlike the experience of an earlier generation of women, the ability to conform to norms of elite femininity now appears to be a valuable resource.
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors focus on the influence of social contexts such as networks, family and household embeddedness of women entrepreneurs or the institutional environment for women's entrepreneurship and identify three further themes, based on a systematic literature review: how to conceptualise the spatial and institutional contexts for women entrepreneurship and their intersections, as informed by entrepreneurship, gender and geography studies; the paradox of empowering women and the debate around mumpreneurship.
Abstract: The paper builds on the understanding of context as suggested by Welter (2011) who introduced different dimensions of context along a continuum of where entrepreneurship takes place and when this happens. Where context has been studied in relation to gender and women, the focus has been on the influence of social contexts such as networks, family and household embeddedness of women entrepreneurs or the institutional environment for women's entrepreneurship. We contribute to the literature by identifying three further themes, based on a systematic literature review: how to conceptualise the spatial and institutional contexts for women's entrepreneurship and their intersections, as informed by entrepreneurship, gender and geography studies; the paradox of empowering women and the debate around mumpreneurship. Our analysis highlights the influence of spatial-institutional contexts on entrepreneurship: Entrepreneurial behaviour is gendered because of place which itself is gendered, reflecting local institutions such as accepted gender norms which may force women into specific industries or business sizes. We also highlight the agency of women entrepreneurs in influencing their spatial-institutional contexts.
67 citations
Cites background from "Mobility Towards Work and Politics ..."
...…such as urbanity or rurality (Forsberg, 2001b); workplaces, household and homes (Estrada, 2002); specific peoples (Abu-Rabia-Queder & Karplus, 2013; Devika & Thampi, 2010; Essers & Benschop, 2009), countries or groups of women and their role in creating, influencing and changing space and place…...
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TL;DR: Kudumbashree, the Poverty Eradication Mission for the Indian State of Kerala, operates through female-only Neighbourhood Groups, which aim to con....
Abstract: This article examines the operation of Kudumbashree, the Poverty Eradication Mission for the Indian State of Kerala. Kudumbashree operates through female-only Neighbourhood Groups, which aim to con...
47 citations
Cites background from "Mobility Towards Work and Politics ..."
...…provides opportunities for those who have demonstrated their competence and leadership potential within neighbourhood groups and the ADSs: evidence from our field sites and elsewhere (Devika and Thampi, 2010) shows that this can be one path towards women’s engagement with formal politics....
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...The reservation of 33 per cent of seats for women within local government institutions provides opportunities for those who have demonstrated their competence and leadership potential within neighbourhood groups and the ADSs: evidence from our field sites and elsewhere (Devika and Thampi, 2010) shows that this can be one path towards women’s engagement with formal politics....
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TL;DR: In this paper, identity economics with intersectional and institutional theories is used to shed light on the agency of elected women representatives (EWRs) in different federal states of India, showing that institutions, including social norms, entail specific identity costs that reinforce stereotyped accounts on women's political agency.
Abstract: In India, since 1992, quotas for women in local councils are a key policy mechanism to secure gender equality in political participation and foster rural development. Affirmative action measures were expected to particularly enhance women's agency regarding decisions on decentralized service delivery. However, to date, this potentially transformative reform to the local government system has produced mixed results. This study updates identity economics with intersectional and institutional theories to shed light on the agency of elected women representatives (EWRs) in different federal states of India. The findings show that institutions, including social norms, entail specific identity costs that reinforce stereotyped accounts on women's political agency. Additional policy measures are required to address the incurred costs and render quotas for women effective. The analysis illustrates that an identity economics perspective, grounded in feminist thought, can yield valuable insights for investiga...
17 citations
Cites background from "Mobility Towards Work and Politics ..."
...For instance, women from elite groups, who have already been long-term members of political parties (Devika and Thampi 2011) are likely to incur no additional identity costs....
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...For instance, some EWRs in Kerala have been characterized by “the relative lack of near-total dominance of any one political party and a popular struggle beyond political divisions” (Devika and Thampi 2011: 1173; see also T. G. Suresh 2009)....
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors find that high dependency ratios in the family are correlated with such ethical violations, and also find that ethical violations have a significant economic cost, consistent with prior scholarship in family-business domain.
Abstract: The microfinance business model focuses largely on lending to the woman in the household, rather than the man. The belief is that women are more trustworthy borrowers than men, and that lending to women may have increased social impact. Yet in several cases, women do not have control over the loan backed business despite being the borrower of record. Such takeover of the business by the man constitutes an ethical violation. We find that high dependency ratios in the family are correlates of such ethical violations. Further, we also find that ethical violations have a significant economic cost, consistent with prior scholarship in the family-business domain. While access to microfinance increases household welfare, this beneficial impact reduces by over 50% in the presence of an ethical violation. Our results suggest that microfinance lenders need to move beyond the traditional role of just being a lender to providing advice on issues like family planning, and money management, and enforcement, thus moving closer to the solidarity economy paradigm of integrating savings and credit into broader canvases of social relationships and social structures.
11 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a primary survey of candidates in a recent panchayat election in Malappuram district of Kerala has shown that reservation has resulted in improving the constitutive political freedom of educated-young women in Kerala, but the instrumental political freedom has not been as evident.
Abstract: Based on the capability approach, this article tries to see the implications of reservation policy on the political freedom of women in Kerala. Using a primary survey of candidates in a recent panchayat election in Malappuram district of Kerala it establishes the role of reservation in bringing many educated young women into local politics and decision-making bodies. It also reflects on the role of party and non-party forces such as family and religion in local politics and political freedom of women. The article concludes that the new reservation has resulted in improving the constitutive political freedom of educated-young women in Kerala, but the instrumental political freedom resulted from reservation has not been as evident.
10 citations
Cites background from "Mobility Towards Work and Politics ..."
...In the past, women’s mobility into the spaces of paid work and politics was ‘largely limited only to new elite women, such as the presence of the husband/ male member as escort and guide, and interestingly, access to cash’ (Devika & Thampi, 2011)....
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TL;DR: This article argued that the defense of place by social movements might be constituted as a rallying point for both theory construction and political action, and argued that place-based struggles might be seen as multi-scale, network-oriented subaltern strategies of localization.
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01 Jan 1994
TL;DR: Scattered hegemonies: postmodernity and transnational... Locations of Learning: Transnational Feminist Practices... Scattered hehemonies Postmodernity And Transnational Inderpal Grewal | Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Scatteredhegemony : postmoderny and trans national... The Legacy of Scattered HegemonIES ScatteredHegemonie: post modernity and Transnational... Scatter hegemonicies : post-modernity as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: Scattered Hegemonies: Postmodernity and Transnational ... Locations of Learning: Transnational Feminist Practices ... Scattered Hegemonies Postmodernity And Transnational Inderpal Grewal | Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Scattered hegemonies : postmodernity and transnational ... The Legacy of Scattered Hegemonies Scattered hegemonies : postmodernity and transnational ... Locations of Learning: Transnational Feminist Practices ... Scattered Hegemonies: Postmodernity and Transnational ... Scattered hegemonies : postmodernity and transnational ... Scattered Hegemonies: Postmodernity and Transnational ... Caren Kaplan Wikipedia Scattered hegemonies : postmodernity and transnational ... Scattered Hegemonies: Postmodernity and Transnational ... Inderpal Grewal Wikipedia Transnational Feminism notes Santa Clara University Scattered Hegemonies — University of Minnesota Press 0816621381 Scattered Hegemonies: Postmodernity and ...
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