An economic sociology perspective on informal domestic work relations: a study of domestic workers and their employers in Pakistan

IF 3.2 2区经济学 Q1 ECONOMICS

Socio-Economic Review Pub Date : 2023-06-15 DOI:10.1093/ser/mwad030

Muhammad Shehryar Shahid, Jawad Syed

引用次数: 0

Abstract

Abstract The scholarship on informal domestic work remains heavily dominated by the marginalization discourse, describing this form of work as being an exploitative and abusive endeavour. In contrast, drawing on the relational work perspective from economic sociology, we conceive of informal domestic work as embedded in a relational infrastructure of social ties and reciprocal favours. In doing so, our article addresses the following overarching question: to what extent are the informal domestic work relations reciprocal instead of [or in addition to] being only exploitative and abusive? Drawing on in-depth interviews with 90 paid domestic workers and their employers, our findings reveal that while these domestic workers typically operate within the constrained opportunity structures, their work relations comprise a tacit sociological element of reciprocal benefits. However, we also conclude that by infusing these work relations with reciprocal elements, the domestic workers indeed gain something but also ultimately reinforce their unequal position.

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非正式家庭工作关系的经济社会学视角:对巴基斯坦家庭工人及其雇主的研究

关于非正式家务劳动的学术研究仍然被边缘化的话语所主导，将这种形式的工作描述为一种剥削和虐待的努力。相反，从经济社会学的关系工作角度来看，我们认为非正式的家务劳动嵌入在社会关系和互惠的关系基础结构中。在这样做的过程中，我们的文章解决了以下首要问题:非正式的家庭工作关系在多大程度上是互惠的，而不是[或除了]只是剥削和虐待?通过对90名有偿家庭佣工及其雇主的深入访谈，我们的研究结果表明，虽然这些家庭佣工通常在受限的机会结构中工作，但他们的工作关系包含了互惠互利的隐性社会学因素。然而，我们也得出结论，通过在这些工作关系中注入互惠因素，家庭佣工确实获得了一些东西，但最终也加强了他们的不平等地位。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Socio-Economic Review Multiple-

CiteScore

6.80

自引率

10.80%

发文量

期刊介绍： Originating in the Society for the Advancement of Socio-Economics (SASE), Socio-Economic Review (SER) is part of a broader movement in the social sciences for the rediscovery of the socio-political foundations of the economy. Devoted to the advancement of socio-economics, it deals with the analytical, political and moral questions arising at the intersection between economy and society. Articles in SER explore how the economy is or should be governed by social relations, institutional rules, political decisions, and cultural values. They also consider how the economy in turn affects the society of which it is part, for example by breaking up old institutional forms and giving rise to new ones. The domain of the journal is deliberately broadly conceived, so new variations to its general theme may be discovered and editors can learn from the papers that readers submit. To enhance international dialogue, Socio-Economic Review accepts the submission of translated articles that are simultaneously published in a language other than English. In pursuit of its program, SER is eager to promote interdisciplinary dialogue between sociology, economics, political science and moral philosophy, through both empirical and theoretical work. Empirical papers may be qualitative as well as quantitative, and theoretical papers will not be confined to deductive model-building. Papers suggestive of more generalizable insights into the economy as a domain of social action will be preferred over narrowly specialized work. While firmly committed to the highest standards of scholarly excellence, Socio-Economic Review encourages discussion of the practical and ethical dimensions of economic action, with the intention to contribute to both the advancement of social science and the building of a good economy in a good society.