The Impact of Everyday Racism on the Occupations of African Canadian Women

Abstract

As occupational therapy increasingly attends to issues of cultural difference, it is critical to also attend to racism. This means learning to ask thoughtful questions about how racism may shape clients' occupations. Attention to this aspect of the social environment will enhance practice with African-heritage clients and clients from other racial minority groups.

Situating occupation in social relations of power: Occupational possibilities, ageism and the retirement 'choice'

“…Narrative inquiry informed by a critical occupational perspective can make a valuable contribution to such scholarship, addressing the call to link individual experiences and social forces and focus "... on the concept of social change as an important framework for understanding ageing in Africa past, present and future" 34:110 . More broadly, these findings add to the recent body of work that has de-stabilised the assumption of occupational choice as an individualised phenomenon 3,12,23 . A common feature of this body of work has been to show how occupational choice, or agency in relation to occupation, is 'bounded' within various layers and aspects of contexts.…”

“…For example, Beagan and Etowa studied the impact of everyday racism on the occupations of African American women in Nova Scotia, Canada 12 . Drawing upon the work of Essed, they defined racism as inherently connected to power, specifically, as "... taken-for-granted ways of being that unwittingly enact social power relations, privileging some and marginalising others" 12:292 .…”

“…Indeed, 9 of the 17 informants reported receiving an incentive package and retiring prior to age 65. The majority of the informants were married (10), reported adequate finances (12), and lived in private homes (10).…”

“…However, building on foundational work related to occupational justice and the political nature of occupation 6,7 , there has been increasing recognition of the need to employ theoretical and methodological approaches that address social relations of power 8,9,10 . To date, work addressing the situated nature of occupation has tended to neglect how social relations of power are enacted in ways that create and perpetuate situations of discrimination, marginalisation and oppression 11,12,13,14 . Attention to social relations of power is essential if the study of occupation is to critically raise awareness of the mechanisms through which ocKey words: Narrative, discourse, occupational injustice, later life cupational injustices are enacted and, in turn, inform practice aimed at transforming socio-political practices, systems and structures to create more occupationally just conditions 15,16,17,18 .…”

“My Legs Affect Me a Lot. … I Can No Longer Walk to the Forest to Fetch Firewood”: Challenges Related to Health and the Performance of Daily Tasks for Older Women in a High HIV Context

“…Personal beliefs and attitudes, as well as cultural and societal values, shape the meaning of older persons' lives (Doble & Santha, 2008). Further, culture can influence the person, environment, and participation in daily tasks (Beagan & Etowa, 2009).…”