Gender Relations during Pandemic Era in Indonesia: Negotiation and Resistance of Urban Woman Workers at Work From Home (WFH) in Family

Abstract

This study discussed the condition of urban women workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia, a new condition (new normal) that changes many human activities. Through this study, women were not only seen as objects of domestication, exploitation of workers, verbal or physical violence, and other discriminatory behavior. However, the study revealed another position of women as active subjects in negotiating between their domestic and public roles. The new condition during the pandemic (approximately two years) had certainly changed women's work from home activities with their families. Using qualitative methods with in-depth interviews, the researchers mapped out a new condition for women who could negotiate and resist during a pandemic in the family. This study was conducted in Surabaya, Sidoarjo, and Gresik with the subjects of working mothers. This study concluded that the practice of negotiating and resisting the role of urban woman workers often occurred. It meant that gender roles or relations were not static but were always in the process of being.