English summary

We invite practitioners, scholars, researchers, and activists to submit their contributions for a panel discussion in an interdisciplinary conference exploring the political ecology of gendered labour flabourrginalised groups in Africa and South Asia (Global South). We aim to investigate the complex interactions between power relations, social categories, and environmental dynamics that shape the experiences of individuals in the workplace. Using an intersectional lens and incorporating principles of political ecology, we aim to develop a comprehensive understanding of agency, access, and power dynamics within underrepresented/gendered labourlabourrts.

English argumentary

We invite practitioners, scholars, researchers, and activists to submit their contributions for a panel discussion within an interdisciplinary conference that explores the political ecology of divisive labor for marginalized groups in Africa and South Asia (Global South). We aim to investigate the complex interactions between power relations, social categories, and environmental dynamics that shape the experiences of individuals in the workplace. Using an intersectional lens and incorporating principles of political ecology, we aim to develop a comprehensive understanding of agency, access, and power dynamics within underrepresented/gendered labor cohorts. 

The conference’s theme, “Marginalized Groups and Work Experience”, examines the work experiences of marginalized groups (ie women, disabled communities, LGBTQIA + and other subaltern communities). Considering the dynamics of structural power dynamics, economic inequalities intersecting with gender, caste, race, and other social categories, such as Changes in the Racial Division of Labor in Africa vis-a-vis apartheid policies or discriminatory workings of the labor market and its unequal outcomes concerning employment, wages, occupations, and its impact on the poverty of Scheduled Caste wage workers in India, we aim to uncover the complex interplay between social hierarchies and work experiences.

 Ariel Salleh’s quote, “As the integration of global economic processes is being associated with multiple crises – financial, ecological, and cultural – it supports a transformative agenda by ‘counterbalancing deconstructive critique with reconstructive remedies,'” emphasizes the potential for political ecology to offer both critical analysis and constructive solutions in the face of the challenges posed by global economic processes. By integrating political ecology into the examination of marginalized groups’ work experiences, we can move beyond critique and strive to develop transformative approaches that address the complex crises and inequalities present in the global system. 

In conclusion, we explore the work experiences of marginalized groups, the influence of power relations and intersecting oppressions, considering how economic inequalities intersect with social categories within gendered labor and analyze the modes of organization, resistance, compromise, claim, or contestation employed by individuals . Let us engage in critical discussions that advance our understanding of the political ecology of labor dynamics for the marginalized Global South.