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Informal Work and the Appropriation of Social Reproduction in Home-Based Work in India

Informal Work and the Appropriation of Social Reproduction in Home-Based Work in India Home-based work is among the largest forms of employment in the informal economy in India and is overwhelmingly represented by women. Employing a social reproduction framework that reframes what is counted as labor, this article asks how women’s unpaid work activities are appropriated as labor in subcontracted home-based work. Applying this analytical framework, it becomes clear that domestic work in the home, often completed by women, is needed and exploited in this production process as a result of gendered constructs of care. The contribution considers how unpaid work is directly appropriated by capital as surplus value. The context of informal work is key here because of the irregular and fragmented production process, the space where work occurs, and the use of unpaid family workers. The goal of this research is to offer empirical evidence that broadens analytical perspectives to account for the context of informality in the Global South. HIGHLIGHTS Subcontracted home-based work in India relies on a gendered, fragmented, and precarious labor force. Unpaid caregiving and household work directly contributes to profit-making. Western analytical concepts of the economy need to be reexamined in the context of the postcolonial informal economies. Research tools that measure economic participation need to capture how unpaid activities directly or indirectly contribute to economic processes. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Feminist Economics Taylor & Francis

Informal Work and the Appropriation of Social Reproduction in Home-Based Work in India

Boeri, Natascia
Feminist Economics , Volume 29 (3): 23 – Jul 3, 2023
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23 pages

Informal Work and the Appropriation of Social Reproduction in Home-Based Work in India

Abstract

Home-based work is among the largest forms of employment in the informal economy in India and is overwhelmingly represented by women. Employing a social reproduction framework that reframes what is counted as labor, this article asks how women’s unpaid work activities are appropriated as labor in subcontracted home-based work. Applying this analytical framework, it becomes clear that domestic work in the home, often completed by women, is needed and exploited in this production process...
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Publisher
Taylor & Francis
Copyright
© 2023 IAFFE
ISSN
1466-4372
eISSN
1354-5701
DOI
10.1080/13545701.2023.2210586
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Home-based work is among the largest forms of employment in the informal economy in India and is overwhelmingly represented by women. Employing a social reproduction framework that reframes what is counted as labor, this article asks how women’s unpaid work activities are appropriated as labor in subcontracted home-based work. Applying this analytical framework, it becomes clear that domestic work in the home, often completed by women, is needed and exploited in this production process as a result of gendered constructs of care. The contribution considers how unpaid work is directly appropriated by capital as surplus value. The context of informal work is key here because of the irregular and fragmented production process, the space where work occurs, and the use of unpaid family workers. The goal of this research is to offer empirical evidence that broadens analytical perspectives to account for the context of informality in the Global South. HIGHLIGHTS Subcontracted home-based work in India relies on a gendered, fragmented, and precarious labor force. Unpaid caregiving and household work directly contributes to profit-making. Western analytical concepts of the economy need to be reexamined in the context of the postcolonial informal economies. Research tools that measure economic participation need to capture how unpaid activities directly or indirectly contribute to economic processes.

Journal

Feminist Economics – Taylor & Francis

Published: Jul 3, 2023

Keywords: Social reproduction; home-based workers; informal economy; India

References

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  • Conceptualizing the Labor Force: The Underestimation of Women’s Economic Activities
  • Accounting for Women’s Work: The Progress of Two Decades
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  • The Informal Economy Worldwide: Trends and Characteristics
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  • Revisiting the Domestic-Labour Debate: An Indian Perspective
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  • Understanding Women’s Work Using Time-Use Statistics: The Case of India
  • Counting Outputs, Capital Inputs and Caring Labor: Estimating Gross Household Product
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  • Women in the Urban Informal Sector: Perpetuation of Meagre Earnings
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