Precarious Work and Insecure Lives. De Facto Informalization in Cambodia’s Garment Factories

Motivation: Sexual harassment of women in the workplace is considered to be one of the reasons holding back women from entering work and a major reason for women dropping out of work in Bangladesh. However, paid work is an important pathway to empowerment. To enable and sustain women's entry into the formal sectors of the economy, it is important to understand their voice and agency in preventing workplace sexual harassment and from the obstacles they face in doing so. Purpose: The article explores how language and social and gender norms constrain young women's voice and agency in response to sexual harassment. Our research asked how language, gender norms, and informality in work arrangements influence young women's voice and agency in response to sexual harassment at work. Methods and approach: Based on case studies with factory workers in agro-processing firms in the outskirts of the capital, Dhaka, 21 indepth interviews were carried out, supplemented by participatory techniques of gender safety audits and body mapping. Findings: I show the informal nature of formal workspaces and the failure of formal institutions which create precarity for the women working there. Young women's experiences, perceptions, and articulation of sexual harassment and attempts at prevention or redress are determined by gender norms and how these norms influence the factory workspace and interactions with others in that space. I argue that sexual harassment is normalized, formal complaints mechanisms do not work, and so informal means aligned with social norms may be the only option available. Policy implications: The policy implications of the research include the need to recognize the informal mechanisms being used and the importance of developing a common language that will allow the "victims" to speak openly about their experiences and make complaints, increasing access to and confidence in formal complaints mechanisms and developing young women's civic and political capacities to protest harassment and seek redress.

Section: Conte X Tmentioning

confidence: 93%

Section: Working Conditionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Preventing and protesting workplace sexual harassment: Women agro‐processing workers in Bangladesh

Sultan

2023

“…The regulation of labour markets has promoted the rise of “flexible labour” and non‐standardized work, such as casual, part‐time, and outsourced labour (Englert & Runciman, 2019; Standing, 1999). This trend has seen an increasing informalization of labour arrangements, with the formal sector also creating large numbers of informal jobs (Salmivaara, 2021). In some settings, labour is kept deliberately informal to undermine unionism (Salmivaara, 2021).…”

Section: Workplace Sexual Harassmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This trend has seen an increasing informalization of labour arrangements, with the formal sector also creating large numbers of informal jobs (Salmivaara, 2021). In some settings, labour is kept deliberately informal to undermine unionism (Salmivaara, 2021). Informality, as indicated, strongly increases women's risk of experiencing sexual harassment in the workplace.…”

Section: Workplace Sexual Harassmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Informal workers are relatively vulnerable, especially with respect to job retention (Henry & Adams, 2018; Tijdens et al, 2015). With the increasing informalization of jobs within otherwise formal sectors across low‐income, middle‐income and high‐income countries alike (Hammer & Ness, 2021; Salmivaara, 2021), new dynamics and challenges are being created for anyone wishing to have recourse to formal structures for reporting sexual harassment, where these exist.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Introduction to special section: Workplace sexual harassment

Oosterom

Nazneen

2023

SummaryMotivationPaid work is key for women's empowerment, but many women work in precarious employment where they experience workplace sexual harassment. Articles in this special section explore how social norms and job informality influence women's perceptions about—and their voice and agency to counter—workplace sexual harassment.PurposeThis introductory article highlights the academic and policy contribution of the special section by establishing how the articles collectively explore the relationship between social norms, job informality, and women's agency with respect to workplace sexual harassment, and the kinds of policies that may strengthen women's agency.Methods and approachResearch in two countries explored how gender norms and informality in work arrangements influence young women's voice and agency in response to sexual harassment at work. This article introduces four articles based on the research findings and presents the themes that are explored in case studies with domestic workers and workers in agro‐processing factories in Bangladesh and Uganda.FindingsThe findings show that gender norms regarding sexuality and notions of family honour and shame constrain young women's ability to voice incidents of sexual harassment and their agency in seeking support from family and other actors; normalize male aggression; and sustain the perpetrators' impunity. These norms, alongside class and power hierarchies, affect the responses of the actors and institutions both within and outside their workplace. Given the precarious nature of their work, most workers avoid lodging formal complaints and rely on informal mechanisms for self‐protection.Policy implicationsThe policy implications of the research include the importance of developing common language that will allow women to speak openly about their experiences; increasing access to and confidence in formal complaints mechanisms; developing young women's political capacities to challenge harassment; and address social and gender norms that constrain women and normalize harassment.

Workplace sexual harassment as a feature of precarious work in Uganda's agro‐processing factories: “Mince your words and watch yourself”

Oosterom

Namuggala

Nankindu³

2023

Motivation:The agro-processing sector in Uganda provides jobs to large numbers of workers. While paid work is supposed to be empowering for women, the factory jobs are informal and unsafe, and workplace sexual harassment undermines women's empowerment. To enable decent jobs for women, it is important to understand what constrains their voice and agency in responding to workplace sexual harassment. Purpose: The article aims to show how workplace sexual harassment is a key feature of precarious work for women working in low-skilled, informal jobs in factories. The study asked how gender norms and informality in labour arrangements that are part of global capitalist labour relations influence young women's voice and agency in response to sexual harassment at work. Methods and approach: Twenty in-depth interviews were carried out with factory workers in seven different agro-processing factories in Uganda's capital Kampala, supplemented with participatory methods like Safety Audits and Body Mappings. Findings: We show the informal nature of jobs in factories and how precarious working conditions create the risks of experiencing sexual harassment by managers and supervisors. Keeping jobs informal enables factories to eschew workplace policies. Young women's experiences and articulation of sexual harassment are constrained by social and gender norms; and norms influence factory-based mechanisms, where they exist. Women rely on informal tactics to prevent sexual harassment. Policy implications:The policy implications of the research include the importance of improving the implementation of formal complaints mechanisms; and especially developing young women's political capacities to protest collectively against harassment and seek redress, and addressing social and gender norms.