Social Upgrading in Global Value Chains from a Perspective of Gendered and Intersectional Social Inequalities

Although there is a broad range of feminist research on the role of gender relations in global production since the 1970s, gender has not systematically been included into (mainstream) theoretical concepts of Global Value Chains (GVCs) and Global Production Networks. The article reconstructs the theoretical shortcomings of such concepts and argues that the shape and power dynamics of GVCs cannot be fully understood without integrating an intersectional perspective on social inequalities, that is the interrelatedness of different dimensions of inequality such as gender, class and race/ethnicity. The article builds on early assumptions of the World System Approach, which point to the entanglement of paid and unpaid, formal and informal work as well as the exploitation of gender, race/ethnicity and (mainly unpaid female) reproductive work. With such perspective, the article aims at analyzing and criticizing concepts of social upgrading in GVCs. A comprehensive understanding of intersectional social inequalities and the underlying power relations as well as an integration of informal and unpaid reproductive work is important for the development of appropriate concepts of economic and social upgrading that do not have adverse effects on women or migrants and improve agency of workers as a whole.