Liminality of Professional Identity and Caregiving Identity Among Women Professionals Working in Rural Development Nonprofits in India

Abstract

While the unique socioeconomic conditions of the Global South have created opportunities for women to work in rural development nonprofits, obstacles exist in the form of gendered social expectations. This study examines the experiences of women professionals working in rural development nonprofits who live in the liminality between “ideal professional identity” and “traditional caregiving identity.” We conducted in-depth interviews with 21 women professionals working in nonprofits in seven states of India. Our findings suggest that women professionals experience constant guilt in the liminality due to the conflicting obligations of caregiving and professional worker identities and their inability to justify both. We discuss how they use various performative practices and identity work, and sometimes engage in patriarchal bargaining to resolve the struggles arising from the conflicting obligations. Our study adds to the scarce research on women in the Global South working in rural development nonprofits and also discusses its practical organizational implications.