Shoba Arun

The effect of career breaks on the working lives of women

In this paper we examine the effect of career breaks on the working lives of women using survey data from the state of Queensland in Australia. After estimating the income penalty faced by women with career interruptions – according to the duration of, and reasons for, the interruptions – we seek to address a wider set of issues regarding: patterns of job change and income gains or losses related to job change; determinants of career re-entry plans; and satisfaction with hours worked. As women increasingly combine motherhood and employment, they face both penalties and costs, particularly if they have taken a career break in order to care for their young. This general labor market failure that penalizes motherhood should be addressed by relevant measures related to their income, working hours, and the type and status of employment, particularly on their re-entry into employment after a child-related career break.

Does land ownership make a difference?: Women's roles in agriculture in Kerala, India

Drawing on a 12-month study, this paper explores the role of women in agriculture in Kerala, India. Despite claims that women enjoy high status in Kerala, economic, social, and cultural factors interplay to reinforce gender differences in ownership, control over, and access to critical agricultural resources, including land. Although women may gain access to land through inheritance, marriage, or informal networks, none of this guarantee effective control over it. The traditional rights of women to land have not been adequately recognized: the gender gap in the ownership and control of property is the only most significant contributor to the gender gap in the economic well-being, social status, and empowerment of women. The existing socioeconomic changes and crisis which render agricultural land as a main source of livelihood, is leading nair womens share of land being sold, with gains going to men, thus decreasing women¿s ownership of land to the status of male-controlled dowry. The case of the Christian succession laws in Kerala illustrate that legal provisions alone can have a limited impact on changing gendered power structures. The role of women in agriculture needs to be recognized, and institutional support must be increased in order for women to gain access to agricultural inputs and technology, which in turn, leads to better agricultural practices and a higher income from farming in the country. Most importantly, there should be a concerted effort to enable women to function as independent farmers who control their own land.

‘We are farmers too’: agrarian change and gendered livelihoods in Kerala, South India

Increased rural diversification has seen a number of changes in farming livelihoods in developing countries. The paper explores the gender dimensions of the changing nature of agricultural households in northern Kerala, India. Rural livelihoods are constructed through differences of gender and class, riddled with complex and multiple negotiations and processes. As household livelihood strategies are increasingly based on male migration and non-agricultural diversification, gender roles are reconstituted and renegotiated, which may then challenge prevailing gender ideologies. Nevertheless, gender-specific constraints need to be taken into account in the light of changed social roles, and institutions and policies should be responsive to the needs of local farmers, particularly in the milieu of the diverse and complex nature of farming households.

Transforming Livelihoods and Assets through Participatory Approaches: The Kudumbashree in Kerala, India

This article explores to what extent decentralized structures can contribute to asset accumulation among disadvantaged groups, and improving livelihood choices. The process of asset accumulation is tied to the wider context of participatory institutions and opportunities within which social actors can transform assets into meaningful livelihood outcomes. Given its level of social development and civil society in the Indian state of Kerala, the Kudumbashree Initiative, an innovative community-based, decentralized participatory structure aims to build meaningful forms of assets at grassroots levels. Such participatory public action, based on social relationships as well as the combined efforts of the state and grassroots community organizations may provide valuable lessons for developing asset accumulation strategies.

Managing Assets and Vulnerability Contexts: Vistas of Gendered Livelihoods of Adivasi Women in South India

In general, indigenous livelihoods are often adversely incorporated within development processes and policies on account of their multiple disadvantages and discrimination. The paper argues that the ability to build on or manage livelihoods is largely gendered, often exacerbated through the nuanced working of socio-economic forces as women’s experiences of poverty should be located and deconstructed within the configuration of local, political, social and economic forces. Despite notable state led development initiatives in Kerala, the multidimensionality of deprivation among different groups of poor and women within these communities is yet to be seriously considered. Only then, responsive measures can be developed, that will bear any significant difference and meaning to a historically neglected social group. Their social, economic and political participation is important to develop responsive and specific policies and institutions in lieu of those that are designed on the basis of preconceived notions of ‘modernisation’ and ‘homogeneity’ of indigenous livelihoods.

Earnings Inequality in Sri Lanka

This paper addresses the question of how greater equality by gender and race/ethnicity in the distribution of earnings would affect earnings inequality in Sri Lanka. The decomposition exercise of male-female earnings indicates the significant extent to which the gender disparity in earnings represents ‘discrimination’ against women. The findings showed that men had higher average earnings that attributed fully to discrimination in favour of male earners. Despite commendable achievements in social indicators, it is imperative to address persistent ethnic and gendered inequalities in order to maintain social and political cohesion.

‘Society does treat me differently and that is a shame’: understandings and feelings of Britishness amongst visibly observant young Muslims

ABSTRACT There has been increasing media and political questioning of the national loyalties and identities held by young British Muslims, with a particular focus on those seen to separate themselves through strict and religiously observant dress and lifestyles. This paper draws primarily on research focusing on the meanings of ‘Britishness’ held amongst a group of visibly observant young Muslim adults. Empirical evidence is provided to demonstrate that although these young adults demonstrated an explicit and visible sense of Muslim identity, this co-existed without any conscious conflict with their British identity. The young adults’ acknowledgement of their religious attachment developed from a positive and proactive identification with Islam rather than one in opposition or rebellion against a British identity. Therefore, in a wider context, their lives must not be analysed only through the lens of religion, dress and appearance as this has repercussions in relation to national policy formation and subsequent perceptions of wider society.

Do All Networks ‘Work’? The Mediating Role of Social Networks on Consumption Expenditure in India

The article sheds light on the mediating role of social networks on consumption behaviour, a significant facet of social mobility and well-being. Based on the Indian Human Development Survey, the article explores to what extent households across India participating in social networks have increased their consumption levels. While participation in formal social networks does result in improved household consumption levels, the type and number of networks are pivotal to this change. Nevertheless, not all networks lead to similar effects, although the number of social networks per se has a positive effect on consumption. Furthermore, the networks based on homogeneous groups, such as women’s self-help groups, have a negative or lesser effect on smoothing consumption, while those affiliated with heterogeneous networks have a positive effect on increasing consumption.

Assessing the Development Impact of Social Outsourcing of IT Service

Governments in developing countries are increasingly involved in outsourcing: contracting out to a third party the provision of goods or services which could otherwise be provided by the client organization. We can characterize two quite different models used, each of which has some potential shortcomings.

‘Caring’ Professionals: Global Migration and Gendered Cultural Economy

Women’s participation in the complex fabric of global capitalism is continually changing. In many ways, the contradictions and complexities of women’s lives have increased, altering the ways that the redefined relations of the state, the market and civil society are gendered (Mohanty 2003). Debates on transnationalization, particularly the role of social networks among skilled migrants, are well documented (Smith and Guarnizo 1998; Massey et al. 1999; Vertovec 2002), yet little has been written about the gendered aspects of such global skilled migration and networks. The increasing presence of, and demand for, non-European migrant workers in the Western labour market, particularly in social sectors, offer interesting counter-narratives to existing studies on international migration and networks, particularly on issues of race, class and gender. This paper explores how the processes of the global cultural economy highlight intersections between race, class and gender in the context of transnational skilled migration.