 The politics of gendered space: Social norms and purdah affecting female informal work in Dhaka, BangladeshLutfun Nahar Lata, Peter Walters and Sonia Roitman Gender, Work and Organization, 2021, vol. 28, issue 1, 318-336 Abstract: Labor markets are still heavily gendered everywhere, even when women's participation in the labor market is greater now than at any other time in history. Existing research shows poor women's participation in the informal economy is higher than men's in many parts of the Global South. However, this is not the case in Bangladesh. Poor Muslim women's participation, particularly where they require access to public space, is lower than men due to persistent patriarchal norms, reflected in social and religious expectations of women. Drawing on interview data with female street vendors from a slum in Dhaka, this article explores the dynamics of social and religious norms that constrain poor Muslim women's access to public space to earn income. This article contributes to the literature on gender, religion, and work by highlighting that the parochial realm offers a safer space for operating businesses without breaking social norms and by arguing that poor Muslim women experience social and religious barriers rather than legal ones. Non‐legal barriers are more amenable to change as a result, which is important for empowering women. Date: 2021 Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:bla:gender:v:28:y:2021:i:1:p:318-336 Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from Access Statistics for this article Gender, Work and Organization is currently edited by David Knights, Deborah Kerfoot and Ida Sabelis More articles in Gender, Work and Organization from Wiley Blackwell |
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