IV ISA Forum of Sociology (February 23-28, 2021)

JS-36

Marginal, Informal, Precarious: Studying Work from an Intersectional Perspective in Different Societal and Spatial Contexts

Abstract Submissions Closed

RC35 Conceptual and Terminological Analysis (host committee)
RC32 Women, Gender and Society

Language: English

Session Type: Oral

In the 21^st century different phenomena of intersectional exploitation like global care chains have been detected. Concepts like racial capitalism have become a mainstay to address economic structures deriving value from the subordination of people of color and migrants. Big theoretical concepts such as coloniality and patriarchy have reentered sociological analyzes of the global labor market. While many share a common intersectional perspective, discourses and receptions differ strongly: different language areas do not rely on the same theoretical frameworks, and one region might find a concept fruitful while others might not believe it to be a central pillar of analysis. While many agree in a pessimistic assessment of our time – especially in analyzing today’s labor markets and their future social embedding – different concepts are used in different societal and spatial contexts.

In our session, we want to shed a light on three central theoretical concepts used in feminist and intersectional analyses of the labor market – marginal, informal, and precarious work. Why has the deterioration of workers’ social status within the Global North been evaluated with the theory of precariousness and precarization (e.g. Aulenbacher et. al. 2014), while sociologists from the Global South are applying the concepts of informalization (e.g. Chen 2013) or marginalization (e.g. Moraña et al. 2008)? What conceptual differences lie in the different terminologies, and what are their implications to a feminist intersectional perspective? Finally: which concepts do we apply when analyzing an increasingly global labor market?