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Cracking IT: Negotiating Working-Class Gender Capital through Group Enterprises in India

Author

Listed:
  • Shoba Arun

    (Manchester Metropolitan University, UK)

  • Thankom Arun

    (The University of Essex, UK)

Abstract

Digital work is often associated with higher levels of earning and increased social mobility. Working in the digital economy will not benefit all women equally or act as an enabler of broader social change. The article draws attention to the intersection of gender and class in work in the information technology (IT) sector of India, where women have increased their visibility and participation. Through a gender capital approach and intersectional analyses, the article points to the incontrovertible impact of class and gender when women from low-income backgrounds engage in IT-based group enterprises in the state of Kerala. A central insight from the study is the need to disaggregate types of IT work as women’s experiences in IT are shaped by the simultaneity of working practices, intersectional inequalities and gendered behaviours, often with limits to gender capital and spill-over impact on broader gender and social relations.

Suggested Citation

  • Shoba Arun & Thankom Arun, 2023. "Cracking IT: Negotiating Working-Class Gender Capital through Group Enterprises in India," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 37(4), pages 823-840, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:woemps:v:37:y:2023:i:4:p:823-840
    DOI: 10.1177/09500170211054951
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Aparna Mitra, 2014. "Son Preference in India: Implications for Gender Development," Journal of Economic Issues, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 48(4), pages 1021-1037, December.
    2. Heller, Patrick & Harilal, K.N. & Chaudhuri, Shubham, 2007. "Building Local Democracy: Evaluating the Impact of Decentralization in Kerala, India," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 35(4), pages 626-648, April.
    3. Vanessa Beck & Paul Brook, 2020. "Solidarities In and Through Work in an Age of Extremes," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 34(1), pages 3-17, February.
    4. Shoba Arun & Thankom Arun, 2002. "ICTs, gender and development: women in software production in Kerala," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 14(1), pages 39-50.
    5. Richard Heeks & Shoba Arun, 2010. "Social outsourcing as a development tool: The impact of outsourcing IT services to women's social enterprises in Kerala," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 22(4), pages 441-454.
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