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“People with clenched fists can’t shake
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An ethnic portrait of women as labour force in Colombo, !
Sri Lanka !
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Pamela Grebe - 10918809
MSc. International Development Studies Graduate School of Social Sciences
University of Amsterdam
Thesis supervisor: Nicky Pouw / Second reader: Linnet TaylorT
pamela.grebe.kolde@gmail.com Date: 07.01.16
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Pamela Grebe - 10918809
MSc. International Development Studies Graduate School of Social Sciences
University of Amsterdam
Thesis supervisor: Nicky Pouw
Second reader: Linnet Taylor
Date: 07.01.2016
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Table of Content !
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Acknowledgement……….………5! Dedication………..……6!!
List of Figures, Tables and Boxes……….7 !!
List of Acronyms………8 !!
Abstract……….….……9 !!
Chapter 1: Introduction………..10 !!
Chapter 2: Theoretical Framework………..…14 !2.1 Looking through the wellbeing lens……….…14!
2.2 Women’s empowerment and decision-making processes……….……17!
2.3 Ethnicity: manifestations, relations and implications………..….23!
2.4 Conflict theory: variation in theory………..….25 !
2.5 Conclusion………..….….29 !
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Chapter 3: Research Methodology………32 !3.1 Methodological approach……….…32 !
3.2 Main research question and sub-questions……….…..33!
3.3 Research methods, scope and location……….…34!
3.4 Data analysis……….……35!
3.5 Limitations, research challenges and ethical considerations………36 !
3.6 Conclusion………38 !
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Chapter 4: Empirical Context of Sri Lanka………39 !4.1 Research location and brief historical context……….39!
4. 2 Expressions of nationhood………..…41!
4.2.2 The national emblem and anthem……….43 !
4.2.3 One country, two languages………..46 !
4.3 Females as labour force in Sri Lanka……….48 !
4.4 Conclusion………..55 !
! Chapter 5: The Dual Axes of Marginalisation, Unfolded………56!
5.1 The vicious circle: patriarchal system and gender-roles………..…57 !
5.2 Socio-economic differentiators: labour and conflict………62 !
5.3 Choosing not to choose………68 !
5.4 Conclusion………71!
! Chapter 6: Conclusion and Final Remarks………72 !
6.1 Revisiting the main research question………..…72 !
6.2 Policy recommendations……….………..76!
6.2.1 General recommendations………76 !
6.2.2 Specific recommendations………78!
6.3 Research agenda………80 !
6.4 Critical reflection on the project: theoretical, conceptual and methodological remarks………81 !
! Bibliography………..84 !
! Appendices……….…90 !
Appendix 1: Details of the research participants………..…….90 !
Appendix 2: In-depth interviews themes and questions………94 !
Acknowledgement!
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A big thank you to:!
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Hema Goonatilake !
For helping me during the very first steps of the project when I needed to establish key contacts to carry out my research, consolidate my ideas and get fully infiltrated in the Sri Lankan lifestyle. !
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Chulani Kodikara !
For sharing with so much transparency and accuracy her stories, experiences and investigations. For capturing my entire attention with each of her wise and inspirational words and reflections. !
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Sonali Dayaratne!
For providing me with assistance to fill in the gaps with official documents, empirical information and her clever insights and interpretations. !
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S. Satgunarajah !
For his contagious sense of humour and honest answers, no matter the topic. For being a person that simply stays in your memory throughout time. !
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Nicky Pouw!
For her constant supervision and for all her effort, time and dedication to guide me through this period. For her patience and feedback that helped me redirect both insignificant details and major
Dedication!
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This master’s thesis is for my beloved ones, for my mom who always encouraged me to interact with different cultures and to understand other perspectives than mine, for my dad who has always
shown me the bright side of things no matter how difficult a situation can be, for my sister for her ever-lasting support, company and understanding and for my love, who travelled miles and miles to
see me and be part of my adventures. !
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Specially, this thesis is for my research assistants who were my eyes when I could not see, my voice when I could not speak and my feet when I was lost.!
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Dear Safna and Paviththira, thank you for all your time and dedication to this project. For treating me like a sister and for adding humour and fun to one of the most exciting but also challenging periods of my life. For your patience, sincerity and for coping with my foreigner’s smell of sweat,
mosquito repellent and sunscreen. Through your questions dear friends, I found my answers…!
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This, is also for you dear Malika, Kodithuwakku, Nayana, Indra, Sadaseeli, Kala, Dhevi, Nisha, Chanthra, Pavith, Farima, Naeem, Fasmina, Jisthiya and Jainambu. Thank you for your smiles, your
reflections, your kindness and your beautiful and inspiring spirits. Every day you thought me a lesson (even on how to kill a cobra)…!
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List of Figures, Tables and Boxes !
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Figure 2.1: The Triangle of Wellbeing !
Figure 2.2: The Process of Change ! Figure 2.3: Trans-theoretical Model!
Figure 2.4: Actors within the Three Conflict (Sub-) Systems in Sri Lanka ! Figure 2.5: Conceptual Scheme !
Box 3.1: Main Research Question and Sub-questions ! Figure 4.1: Map of Sri Lanka!
Figure 4.2: Sri Lankan Flag! Figure 4.3: Sri Lankan Emblem !
Figure 4.4: Sri Lanka’s North under Military Occupation ! Figure 4.5: Cartoon - “Sinhala-only Act”!
Table 4.6: Percentage of Population by Ability to Speak, Read and Write Sinhala, Tamil and English! Figure 4.7: Unemployment Rate of Females in Sri Lanka!
Figure 4.8: Representation of Women in Parliament in Sri Lanka !
Figure 4.9: Reasons for Being Economically Inactive in Sri Lanka - 2012!
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List of
Acronyms !
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Bodu Bala Sena! BBS
Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women!
CEDAW
Centre for Poverty Analysis ! CEPA
Coping with Internal Conflict! CICP
Department of Census and Statistics! DCS
Focus Group Discussions! FGD’s
Growth and Economic Opportunities for Women ! GrOW
International Centre for Ethnic Studies! ICES
International Labour Organization ! ILO
Jathika Hela Urumaya ! JHU
National Freedom Front ! NFF
Social Institutions and Gender Index! SIGI
Transtheoretical Model! TTM
United Nations Development Programme! UNDP
United Nations Research Institute for Social Development!
UNRISD
Wellbeing in Development countries Research Group!
Abstract!
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Throughout history, women have made considerable inroads in labour markets all over the world breaking and modifying some of the most constraining barriers that have been systematically imposed upon them. Nonetheless, gender differentials in the market economy remain obstinately persistent and are continuously translated in substantial divergences when it comes to economic rights and independence such as access to employment, labour force participation and engagement, overall working conditions and lastly, control over economic resources. Particularly, in developing countries, where the bulk of world’s labour force is concentrated, interrelated social labellers such as gender and ethnicity, are used as markers of the injustice and abuse which can be found, deeply intertwined, with extreme cases of vulnerable employability. In many countries corresponding to the global south, including Sri Lanka, exploring the roots of the multifarious challenges that emerge from ingrained patriarchal social systems and conflict-prone societies, which often remain concealed in rigid societal structures, can be of vital importance to understand the real elements that contribute on a daily basis to maintain women at the margin of the labour market. !
Departing from inductive reasoning and with the use of qualitative data collected through a combination of in-depth interviews and focus groups discussions, the aim of this research is to explain how ethnicity as well as its implicit and explicit manifestations play a role when delineating women’s involvement and empowerment in Colombo’s labour market. As the findings show, which will be discussed thoroughly in the last chapter, identity attributes are still considered social
facilitators or constrainers, particularly when it comes to gender and ethnicity which ultimately can
be considered as the dual axes of marginalisation. In the current Sri Lankan post-war society, enduring gender-roles and staggering ethnic labelling handicap its population by coming to arouse memories from the past whilst constructing fragile and uncertain prospects for the future. The country’s recent political transition might provide the chance to break long-sustained grievances, exclusionary campaigns and narrow-minded stereotypes in order for the vernaculars to live up to their national salutation that wishes a long and prosperous life to everybody, ayubowan. !
Key words: gender, ethnicity, marginalisation, empowerment, labour market, Sri Lanka
Chapter 1:!
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Introduction!
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The case study of Sri Lanka in which high levels of education as well as a relatively stable economic growth are shadowed by the lack of female participation as labour force, has proven to be of extreme relevance with regard to ongoing pattern of gender inequality and overall lack of female empowerment as in this particular country, 70.3% of the economically inactive population accounts for women (UNDP, 2014:80) 1. In To work or not to work? Factors holding women back from
market work in Sri Lanka and as part of the ILO project Female Employment Trends in South Asia,
the main reasons which condition the amount of female participation and engagement in market work in Sri Lanka such as individual and household characteristics, socio-economic factors and familial responsibilities, are explored. Taking into account that most Sri Lankan women end up being married, special attention should be paid to the factors discouraging married women from entering the workforce or constraining their performance in such, which are normally cultural and household conditionings (ILO, 2013: xii). Following this criteria, this research exclusively focuses on exploring the interaction between gender and ethnic differentiators that are often used as social
markers which often accentuate the risk of reoccurring discrimination patterns which already
fuelled past confrontations that led to a bloody and demoralising civil war in the former Ceylon. ! Additionally, in a multi-cultural society such as the one of Sri Lanka in which ethnic and religious heterogeneity can be observed through different existing languages, beliefs, norms and behavioural patterns; identity and socialised gender-roles are extremely dominant aspects of every household and are critical components of female participation and decision-making strategies (ILO, 2013:4). Furthermore, cultural and locational contexts are determinant foundations for both men’s and women’s time use and can be utilised to explain one of the main challenges that comes with female participation in Sri Lanka which arises when women enter the workforce and have to spend an average of three additional hours working a day in order to complete their chores and meet their responsibilities. (ILO, 2013:37).!
These, are some of the arguments that urge the exploration of the relation between ethnicity and women’s economic participation, opportunities and growth in Sri Lanka which are just superficially
examined in the ILO report To work or not to work? Factors holding women back from market work
in Sri Lanka and which could provide a solid cultural framework in terms of participation, to the
GrOW research study Revisiting Empowerment: a Wellbeing Approach to Understanding Women’s
Economic Empowerment (GrOW proposal 2015:2). Exploring gender and ethnicity as the dual and
enduring axes of marginalisation in this country is not only relevant in order to break with long-sustained grievances, exclusionary campaigns and narrow-minded stereotypes that weaken the post-conflict reconstruction efforts. Besides of that and as suggested earlier, this research hopes to contribute to the creation of more knowledge in this particular area so that mainly other countries in the global south, also affected by deep-rooted patriarchal social systems and conflict-prone societies can tackle the inhibitors that maintain women at the margin of the labour market. Relevant to this, currently, 48.4% of the female workforce, globally, remains unutilized, at least with regard to the formal market economy (ILO, 2010:3). This shows the interconnection between gender inequality and economic performance. !
This study is also theoretically innovative as it integrates various elements of ethnic studies, wellbeing approach, conflict theory and empowerment in order to decipher women’s broader role in society, in this case associated to labour, encompassing elements that have been often overlooked in previous studies and which contribute importantly to marginalisation trends that are visible as products of the interrelation of multiple identity characteristics and delineators.The combination of the leading axes of marginalisation, gender and ethnicity in a sole research project enables the opportunity to explore the intersection of both delicate elements in a particular context, Sri Lanka, in which taboo topics related to social differentiators have been often underseen and avoided, mainly during the civil war, an extremely fragile period in the history of the country, in which for almost thirty years research activities were discontinued or conducted superficially. Particularly with regard to ethnic-related identity traits, which in Sri Lankan remain a highly sensitive topic, awareness, acceptance and overall knowledge needs to be raised so that this multi-ethnic country can live up to its heterogeneity and enjoy freedom from the confines of identity. !
Furthermore, this project is directed to obtain an understanding of what it is to be a woman and additionally a female element of labour force in Sri Lanka, Colombo, emphasising a specific interest in the ethnic background and origin of the participants of the study. Additionally, the use of an inductive approach will enable to position the women’s singular experiences in the labour market at the centre of the overall research including both, their personal objective circumstances and
subjective perception of wellbeing, empowerment, ethnicity and conflict 2. This small but illustrative
case study will combine in-depth interviews and focus group discussions as a bridge to answer the main research question “How does ethnicity and its implicit and explicit manifestations play a role when delineating women’s involvement and empowerment in Colombo’s labour market?”!
It must be added that specially in formally conflict-affected regions such as the Northern and Eastern Province of the country significant knowledge gaps, when referring to women empowerment and participation in the labour world, continue to exist. In line with this, numerous unfavourable and conditioning factors, principally noticeable in the Eastern area, reduce female possibilities of participating in the labour market even more, up to 11 per cent. This last remark can be extremely problematic as many more women are responsible for their households in current times than before the conflict, when economic vulnerabilities were reduced by the role men played in sustaining their families (ILO, 2013: xii). Unfortunately, the undertaking of research in the districts that were heavily affected by the war was rigorously limited by the government so that still in current times, now that the war is over, international visitors and students are denied the access to numerous sites and are not easily provided with a special permit to carry out fieldwork. This last, suggests that the important knowledge gap that is present in those areas remains difficult to be filled posing a major hindrance to the wider understanding of the country’s situation in terms of development and challenges. !
The remainder of this thesis is organised as follows. After the introduction, the second chapter will describe the theoretical framework including the conceptual scheme at the end, in which each of the theories and approaches discussed, will be portrayed in a visual matrix. In the third chapter, the research methodology will be profiled, including the main research question and its subsequent and complimentary sub-questions. The fourth chapter will integrate the empirical context of Sri Lanka in which the research site will be described including existing policies which are relevant to explore women’s integration or marginalisation in the labour market. The fifth chapter will consist of the analysis, to be more precise, in this section the primary data collected during fieldwork will be presented and dismantled in a series of sub-chapters divided by thematic blocks. In addition, the researched sub-questions will be answered providing the first concise outlook of relevant examined researched points. Finally, in the sixth and final chapter, the answer to the main research question will be presented. In addition, theoretical and methodological reflections, policy recommendations
for the Sri Lankan government and further research proposed ideas as well as overall research recommendations, will be added to this conclusive section.!
Chapter 2:!
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Theoretical Framework!
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In this section a number of theories and overarching concepts which are central for the research, will be discussed. Firstly and in order to step out of what can be considered a more conventional and material way to understand, conceptualise and consequently measure poverty and deficiency, the wellbeing approach will be explored. Secondly and to extend the introspection of what people do and are and how they feel about it, the concept of empowerment related to various decision-making processes, in this case focused mainly on gender, will be presented. Thirdly, the underlying meaning of ethnicity will be explained, making a distinction between what can be described as its movable or time-bound and immovable or enduring components. Lastly and as an encircling debate, conflict theory will be discussed and applied to disentangle the emotional, verbal and physical expressions of enmity, in this case, in the Sri Lankan society. It is relevant to mention that the understanding of some of these concepts thus theories, are subjectively conceived, at least partially, demanding the recognition of specific cultural considerations, structures and identities.!
2.1 Looking through the wellbeing lens!
When referring to the theoretical framework, the wellbeing approach will be used as the departing point for other additional theories related to empowerment, ethnicity and conflict to unfold. Such interconnection will be portrayed in the conceptual scheme which will be presented at the end of this chapter. Thus, this theory, particularly with regard to subjective wellbeing, will be central to the overall congruity when analysing the multidimensionality of both gender and ethnic issues in the singular context of Sri Lanka.!
To begin with and as described in Perspectives on Labour Economics for Development, “labour market plays a central role in determining economic and social progress in developing countries since employment status is one of the key determinants of exiting poverty” (ILO, 2013:2). Undoubtedly, employment can be considered as one of the major routes out of extreme cases of deprivation but simultaneously it is incorrect to assume that growth in the economy can have a direct positive impact on the mitigation of poverty. Specifically, when taking into account low and
segmentation, not only associated to the existent informal and formal sectors but also to a vast variation in the conditions of employability within those sectors. Additionally, the recognition of poverty by encompassing the notions of equity and inequality to its definition and not merely the relation of those concepts to the economic and material understanding of being underprivileged has become fundamental in this debate. !
According to the ILO and stated in the report Working out of Poverty, “the persistence of poverty is a moral indictment of our times (...) and while there are some signs of progress, the fact remains: never have we seen so much wealth while so many continue to live in abject poverty” (ILO, 2003:1). Poverty is a complex and deep-rooted phenomenon that is present in every society of the world, no nation, not even an industrialised one, is immune to its wide- spreading and devastating effects.!
Particularly, after the 2008 crisis, traditional economic frameworks began to be challenged as they started to appear unsuitable to cope with the major global quandaries of the century, poverty, undoubtedly, but also staggering inequalities and boundless environmental devastation (Pouw & McGregor 2014:6). This first universal recession after the Second World War was left without any efficient countercyclical responses so that the until then dominant and pivotal role of economics related to development and prosperity, was thoroughly questioned. This last, emphasised the need to move away from neoclassic economics towards a more holistic approach, the wellbeing approach (Pouw & McGregor, 2014; Stiglitz et al. 2011). In this theory, wellbeing and human capital are regarded as the cornerstones of progress and development rather than purely traditional and conventional welfare considerations, which have dominated human’s understanding of growth until quite recently. By taking into account a pluralist point of view, human wellbeing, placed at the middle of the equation, would enable the tackling of issues related to social equity and sustainability a priori and not posteriori as it has often been done following the market’s economy guidelines (Pouw & McGregor, 2014:10).!
Wellbeing is unquestionably a difficult concept to define particularly because it is most of the times a subjectively constructed term. Nonetheless, it is unanimously agreed upon that wellbeing “is the sense of having what you need for life to be good” (White, 2009:3). In addition to this and although wellbeing is a relatively new perspective, it builds upon already existing theoretical structures as the livelihood approach in which a person’s economic activity and engagement corresponds to a fusion of many elements such as influences, conceptions, plans, priorities, undertakings and interrelations which are manifested in social and economic resources. As
explained by White in Bringing Wellbeing into Development Practice, “wellbeing promotes an actor-oriented focus which emphasises people’s strengths rather than needs” which suggests that it encompasses issues of power, agency and ownership in its conjectural structure (ibid:3).!
In order to understand the abstract constituents of this approach, the Wellbeing in Development Countries Research Group (WeD) explanatory model will be employed. To begin with, WeD’s direct implication with wellbeing started with an interdisciplinary research in four countries which was funded by the UK Economic and Social Research Council in 2002. In consonance with their study, three pillars of wellbeing were recognised, namely the “material, what people have or don’t
have, the subjective, what people think or feel and the relational one, what people do or can’t do with it” (McGregor 2007:317).!
Figure 2.1: The Triangle of Wellbeing!
Interdependency is key within this framework and in order to portrait this characteristic, as accurately as possible, White’s attempt to categorise the elements of the variant dimensions of wellbeing will be considered. Firstly, the material dimension, the supposedly most objective one of them all, portraits whether an individual is living and leading a good life by taking into account natural, physical and financial assets. In other words, it encompasses everything a person owns materialistically and all the tangible assets at disposition of an individual including food, shelter and physical environment. Additionally, it also intakes components such as income and expenditure, quality and availability of health and education and infrastructure such as electricity, roads and water supply. !
Secondly the subjective dimension, makes reference to a person’s life fulfillment. In other words and as McGregor, another leading author in this theory, would describe, “subjective wellbeing can be explained the meaning that people give to the goals they achieve and the processes in which they engage” with the other pillars of wellbeing (McGregor 2009:105). This spectrum, focuses of a person’s emotional responses, concretely taking into account their feelings, wishes, hopes and fears which are most of the times oriented in a context-specific manner. !
Lastly, the relational dimension makes reference to the “resources a person is able to command and the extent to which they are able to engage with others in order to achieve their particular needs and goals” (McGregor & Summer, 2010:105). This explains wellbeing through all the interlinked networks of societal interaction which an individual experiences as part of a community and which are translated in the amount of support, acceptance, adaptation, togetherness, care and closeness that person encounters in that social setting (White, 2009:13). Taking into account a more inclusionary perspective of economics, the three existing dimension of wellbeing, concretely material wellbeing, relational wellbeing and subjective wellbeing, will be used during the theoretical and practical development of this research. Particularly and in the following sub-chapters, subjective wellbeing will be employed when taking a closer look to the first dimensions of power encompassed in the notion of empowerment and when ethnicity is regarded as a subjective phenomenon in society.!
2.2 Women’s empowerment and decisions-making processes!
According to the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD, 1999), when referring to empowerment, the idea of power 3can be used as the starting point to define one’s
ability to make choices which can be observed at different levels and through a range of various processes. In line with this, it can be argued that choice as such, necessarily entails the existence of alternatives and the consequent selection from those options. In addition, the disability to make choices, or even the manifestation of denied choice, could be easily portrayed as disempowerment, particularly when referring to a person who is unable to be part of “the process of change” (UNRISD, 1999:3). Thus, empowerment can be understood as the means to an end, to change.!
" Narayan, Pritchett & Kapoor (2009), highlight the existence of four types of power, namely “power to”, “power with”, 3
“power over” positive and lastly “power over” negative. This differentiation, is of extreme relevance and interest for development studies in general, specially with particular focus on poverty as a cause of “unequal power relations”. Nevertheless, for this research, power as such will be portrayed through a so-called “process of change” and a series of
Figure 2.2: The Process of Change !
Two different categorisations of choices can be found so that a distinction between first and second order choices, with regard to power and to the significance and consequences they have in people’s lives, can be found. First order choices that provide the framework for other choices to take place are the ones that encompass basic and strategic life elections such as choice of livelihood, of whom to marry, of whether to have children, among others. Second order choices such as the ability to choose what to have for lunch, which leisure activity to carry out and others, would correspond to less consequential decisions in terms of their impact in people’s lives. The latter is not considered an essential part of the theoretical composition of this particular topic of research thus will not be developed further (ibid:2) !
In the aforementioned first order choices and particularly in the process of social change, three interlinked stages can be identified. Firstly, the preconditions or resources, secondly the process or agency and thirdly the outcomes or achievements would constitute the choice paradigm. The first dimension of power relates directly to the pre-conditions or resources, encompassing material wealth in the traditional economic understudying but also multiple human and social capital in a broader and inclusionary sense (Sen, 1999:8). The acquisition of resources through social relationships and institutional domains including the state, market, family and community reflects the rules and norms that are in force as well as the principles of distribution and exchange within a society (ibid:xiii). Like this, power is exercised by delimiting the boundaries of choice and opportunity in people’s lives. As for the second dimension of power in this “first order choices category,” agency, reference is made to the capability to determine and recognise one’s aims and purposes in general and act upon them (UNRISD, 1999:10). This process, which is often operationalized as “decision-making” can either be embodied in a positive or negative form (ibid:3). Thus, it can be either understood as the process of imparting “power to” or exerting “power over” (ibid:4). With the use of the positive manifestation of power, people see themselves capable of defining their personal choices and reach out for their objectives autonomously of the opposition
of agency can be experienced when power is imposed upon others ignoring their needs, wishes and goals. This pattern can be often experienced in so-called “unequal interpersonal relations” when an actor or a collective set of actors force their will upon the considered weaker ones who have to endure a dominant and at times aggressive demeanour (ibid:4).!
Recapitulating, resources and positive agency combined can be also understood as what Amartya Sen would describe as “capabilities” (Sen, 1999:10). In other words, the constellation of these two elements would result in the real opportunities people have in order to live the lives they truly value (ibid:14). Central to this, by reaching valuable ways of being and doing also described as functionings by Sen, an individual could experience wellbeing and development as a result of a “capability expansion” (ibid:18). Lastly, the third dimension of power, the outcomes or achievements, represent the result of the fusion of the previously mentioned domains, resources and agency, in which the ability to choose, where it all starts, can be regarded as the cornerstone of empowerment (UNRISD, 1999:2-4).!
As it has been mentioned previously, empowerment, indubitably, entails change. Furthermore, this transformation can be experienced at various levels, at a deeper level, an intermediate level and an immediate level. The first one mentioned, represents the changes or alterations that are made on hierarchies and structures of the state or the economy and which normally take a considerable amount of time and effort, the second one occurs in personal and interdependent relationships such as the ones present in a family, friendship or romantic relationship and lastly, the third one are encountered within the individual. By using the example given by the UNRISD in The Conditions
and Consequences of Choice: Reflections on the Measurement of Women’s Empowerment, in the
hypothetical case that power of choice was denied to women in a particular society, deeper level change would be achieved by the remodeling of structural associations in which gender but also other social categories as caste or class would result directly implicated in the revisionism spiral. The intermediate level change would consist of a redistribution of resources or a redrafting and reconfiguring of internal rules within the household or personal spaces, which would affect all the parties involved in those spatial dynamics. Lastly, the changes in the immediate level would encircle the ones that result in individual agency and achievements which would stand for the sheerest form of a persons’ independent actions and free choices (ibid:10).!
In consonance with this, the manifestation of empowerment through change and vice-versa, at least when making reference to the immediate change, can be explained by a trans-theoretical model (TTM) proposed by Prochaska and DiClemente in the year 1983. Applicable to various
performances, populations and contexts, this model focused on the process of effective interventions that consequently trigger long-lasting change in order to restore problematic conduct or to acquire constructive habits. Concretely, the TTM suggests that change can be achieved through five interlinked phases which are firstly precontemplation, secondly contemplation, thirdly preparation, fourthly action and fifthly maintenance which all lead to decisional balance. These will be explained briefly next. !
Figure 2.3: Trans-theoretical Model!
During precontemplation, an individual is not ready for change yet as it might be in the stage of consciously wanting to ignore his/her problem or having simply no intention to change the situation he/she is in. Throughout the second stage, contemplation, an individual is more open to change but is not quite ready to take the leading step towards new chances or realities. The creation and sustenance of beneficial outcome expectations are fundamental in order to move to the next stage, preparation. When done so, an individual is ready for embarking in the journey of change and takes small steps towards the ultimate goal. The preparation can be described as the first action oriented stage which will demarcate greatly the phases to come. Action is the phase in which the change is taking place. This change includes behavioural change but can also be experienced by transformations occurring in others as well as in the environment. The belief in one’s ability to
change process can be also negatively affected by what can be understood as relapse, when the individual falls back into old behavioural patterns thus finding him or herself in an earlier stage of change, needing a reassessment of the existing barriers (Pro-change, 2015). In congruence with the TTM, when the benefits and drawbacks of change are being evaluated, particularly during
contemplation, the wellbeing approach can be mentioned. During this last, so-called “trade-offs”
can be identified through the which a person weights individual and collective wellbeing as well as “potential synergies” (Pouw & McGregor, 2014:18). Here again, social organisation and cohesion in all its expressions, play a crucial role when setting the norms, rules of behaviour and expectations about the trade-offs that will be expected from an individual or citizen, hence influencing its identity shaping and decision-making (ibid).!
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Going back to the previous distinction made by UNRISD, it can be mentioned that it provides a solid framework to envision empowerment as a dynamic decision-making process which is bound to cultural relativism and which has gone through many evolutionary phases since its first consideration. To explore this idea further, approximately two decades ago, a groundbreaking platform for gender equality and women’s empowerment, the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, was founded. During this particular event, the pursue of equal access in the labour market for all, elimination of all forms of occupational segregation, the buildup of women’s economic rights and independence and the harmonisation of family and work chores, were some of the long wished for objectives that passed to be at the top of the international agenda that aimed for female protection, empowerment and recognition (ILO, 2010: ix). Nowadays, gender inequality remains a day to day phenomenon that causes significant development but mainly human costs.!
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In every social organisation, gender-based discrimination and inequality are persistent realities which are projected through basic quotidian activities as well as various complex interactions at the very same time. Worldwide, many women are looked upon unfairly and negatively in comparison to the opposite sex, which can be translated into multiple and sustained forms of privation, lack of choices and opportunities and principally lower investment in their education, health and wellbeing (Kumar, P. & Sekhar, R. 2007:1-8). To be more concrete, this can be also expressed in high levels of dissatisfaction with regard to the goals that cannot be achieved in life that primordially and ultimately affect women’s subjective wellbeing, in a psychological and emotional manner. Gender-gaps are mainly observable in the existing mismatches that both men and women face when it comes to their overall presence in the labour market and particularly when taking a closer look to
In many countries of the global south, females are constrained by their unfreedom to make basic decisions regarding their skills development, job aspirations and choice, family and occupational roles and overall involvement to the labour market or the formal sector of economy which is highly male-dominated. This limited scope of movement to reach self-accomplishment and self-satisfaction can be expressed with the use of the antagonistic term of wellbeing, namely illbeing, which makes reference to negative feelings such as helplessness, powerlessness, frustration and isolation that are often observable as a “state of mind and being” in marginalised groups of society, including women (Narayan et al. 2000:21). !
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From a different angle, in many situations in which women have access to the market, they are usually overrepresented in the informal sector, making them an extremely vulnerable group to hostile and sometimes dangerous conditions, which contributes to their levels of poverty, and illness. Of the billion people who are living on less than a dollar a day, in developing countries, an approximate of 70% of them are females, which means that this group in society is one of the most affected ones to economic instabilities, fluctuations and depressions (Woman Moving Millions, 2015).!
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Taking into account an educational background for comparison, women with the same knowledge and skills than men and who are undertaking the same activities in the labour market as the opposite sex, earn an approximate of three-quarters of what they should earn. Additionally, it has been proven that women spend twice as much time than men on household chores and four times more on childcare. The management of multiple roles such as subsistence production, income generation, household maintenance and child raising activities can cause conflict with the process of empowerment and the status of wellbeing that women pursue and enjoy. According to a recent study, concretely in 2010, carried out by the International Labour Organization (ILO), almost half, so 48.4%, of the productive potential female population, worldwide, remained unutilized in the formal sector, in that same year (ILO, 2010:3). This last brings us to the particular case study of Sri Lanka in which high levels of education as well as a relatively stable economic growth are shadowed by the lack of female participation as labour force. This is mainly caused by individual and household constraining characteristics, socio-economic factors and familial responsibilities which are present in rural, urban and estate areas, making this phenomenon one of national importance and concern (ILO, 2013:xi-xv).!
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2.3 Ethnicity: manifestations, relations and implications!
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When making reference to ethnicity, most social scientist would broadly define it as “shared racial, linguistic or national entity of a social group” (Chandra, 2005:4). Nevertheless, it is primordial to remember that this concept can be perceived differently depending on the context, space and time. Specially, in the last 20 years, four major approaches respecting ethnicity can be distinguished: ethnicity regarded as a primordial phenomenon, ethnicity understood as an epiphenomenon, ethnicity viewed as a situational phenomenon and ethnicity conceived as a subjective phenomenon. The very first approach, the oldest in anthropological and sociological literature, suggests that ethnicity is a component given at birth that perdures in time providing the basic structure of human society. The other approaches, emerged as a result of criticism to this limiting primordialist approach suggesting that ethnicity goes beyond its reduction as something purely ascribed at birth (Isajiw, 1992:2).!
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The second approach, the epiphenomenon one, can be explained by Michael Hechter’s theory of cultural separation of labour and internal colonialism. To explain this idea further, the author suggests that the economic structure of society can be separated into two categorical sectors, which he would describe as the centre and the periphery. In the latter, where the marginalised jobs are concentrated, immigrants that count as the labour force of this sector develop and maintain their own culture and distance themselves from the centre. In this sense, ethnicity is something that derives from uneven economy or as a result of economic exploitation. This approach goes in line with the basic foundations of one particular school of thought in the 1970’s that rejected an independent definition of ethnicity stating that all culture is epiphenomenal to class. The third approach, however, challenged the epiphenomenal perspective by stating that ethnicity conceived that way may be significant and applicable in some confined situations but may be irrelevant and obstructing in others. The situational approach was founded upon the rational choice theory arguing that individuals may consider themselves as part of an ethnic group if benefit can be subtracted from the process and actions derived from a self-differentiating collectivity (ibid:3).!
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The last approach that conceives ethnicity as a subjective phenomenon stands as the contraposition of the previously presented perspectives by stating that ethnicity is not merely based on the pursuit of practical, material and advantageous benefits but that it encompasses a complex conception of identity and feelings. It argues that ethnicity is a social-psychological reality in which
reject the idea of objective aspects of ethnicity but stress the importance of what can be perceived individually as a fundamental component of an ethnic experience. One of the most relevant and transcendental subjectivist approaches with regard to ethnicity is the one that is related to the post- modernist movement in contemporary thought, concretely, constructionism. This suggests that ethnicity is negotiated and build upon quotidian activities that as Pierre Bourdieu defends, are the main factors that shape the social structure and overall phenomena. It also explores the idea that ethnicity is a process which continues to unfold representing an unpredictable trail of possible outcomes (ibid:4). In addition, this subjectivist approach of ethnicity portrays people as agents of culture and carriers of their own ethnic identity which can be interconnected to the wellbeing approach, concretely when referring to cognitive or subjective wellbeing. In this dimension of wellbeing, cultural relativism, in which ethnicity is embedded, can be regarded as a pivotal element that influences, at least until a certain extent, what people in a society hold dear and consider important to lead the lives they value (Sen, 1999:10). Both subjective wellbeing and ethnicity as a subjective phenomenon are continuously constituted “through the work of human subjects operating at interstices of social structure, institutional culture and political economy” (White, 2006:2) with special emphasis on a person’s particular vision, evaluation and understanding of their reality and quality of life (Pouw & McGregor, 2014:16). !
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Taking these various approaches into account, other definitions of ethnicity that have been widely accepted in different periods of time, should be highlighted:!
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M. Weber: “Ethnic groups are those human groups that entertain a subjective belief in their common descent because of similarities of physical type or of customs or both, or because of memories of colonisation or migration; this belief must be important for the propagation of group formation; conversely, it does not matter whether or not an objective blood relationship exists.” (Hutchinson & Smith 1996: 35).!
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D. Horowitz: “Ethnicity is based on a myth of collective ancestry, which usually carries with it traits believed to be innate. Some notion of ascription, however diluted, and affinity deriving from it are inseparable from the concept of ethnicity.” (Horowitz 1985: 52).!
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J. Fearon: ”An ethnic group is a group that has one or more of the following features: (1) Membership is reckoned primarily by descent (2) Members are conscious of group
are valued by a majority of members (5) The group has or remembers a homeland (6) The group has a shared history as a group that is “not wholly manufactured but has some basis in fact.” (Fearon 2003: 7).!
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Having already discussed ethnicity from a theoretical point of view, the case of Sri Lanka will be explained further. In a multi-cultural society such as the one that is present in the Asian country, ethic and religious heterogeneity can be observed through different existing languages, beliefs, norms, behavioural patterns and identity (ILO, 2013:4). Furthermore, cultural and locational contexts are determinant foundations for both men’s and women’s time use and ascribed roles (ILO, 2013:37). Concretely, in the ILO report, emphasis is being made on the existing “differences in individual and household characteristics and socio-economic class” to establish whether women are motivated or seek to work for economic remuneration or not (ILO, 2013:36). This last can be directly aligned to the wellbeing approach, mainly to the subjective and material perspectives. !
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2.4 Conflict theory: variation in conflict!
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Mainly in social sciences, conflict theory has been employed to explore and define the existing power dynamics, struggle and coercion in diverse contexts in which different groups are continuously and most of the times aggressively, competing for material and immaterial assets. In addition, it also aims to explain the multidimensional contours of conflict by answering where power is located and consequently who can make use of that power. Another central component of conflict theory is the process of reconnoitring the unequal redistribution of resources which often consolidates in an inexorable social stratification (Collins & Dahrendorf 2006: 211), and potential conflict and strive. Related to this last, the first influential author of conflict theory, Karl Marx, expressed his concerns, concretely about the dialectics of capitalism, by stating that the control of material production could be seen as the causal element for an unbreakable formation of economic social classes in which the bourgeoisie, owners of the means of production were differentiated from the proletariat, the working class. He believed that the rigid division of labour would result in a class struggle in which the exploited would unite and stand up for the oppression subdued upon them.!
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This initial statement of conflict theory was reformulated by Max Weber in which not only the economy but its interaction with the state were highlighted as the inducers of conflict. Nonetheless,
the groundbreaking collaboration of Weber to this perspective can be explained by his introduction of the idea of legitimacy. In other words, he believed that in every system of oppressive control, the key was on how the subordinates perceived the so-called existing authority. Thus, if that authority was not conceived as something legitimate, conflict would develop. He also argued that there were other fundamental components that triggered social inequality and consequently aggressive tensions such as power, understood as “the ability to impose one’s will on another, even when the other objects” and status, portrayed as “the likelihood that life chances are determined by social honour or prestige” (Giddens, 1970: 290).!
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Since then, a number of different authors have combined multiple elements creating at times, divergent theoretical ideas around this particular debate. For this research topic and as a juncture to the previous theories presented, the contributions of Lewis Coser, in what can be understood as modern conflict theory, will be exhibited. As a starting point, this author describes conflict as “a struggle over values and claims to scarce status, power and resources in which the aims of the opponents are to neutralise, injure or eliminate their rivals” (Mpofu, 2011:210).!
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Following the steps of one of the most renowned conflict theorist’s Georg Simmel, this author defends that conflict is both necessary, instinctive and innate to human beings and hence part of the intragroups and intergroups that comprise society. In line with this, conflict is often perceived as a safety valve as it has the ability to continuously release tensions, discrepancies and overall polarisations holding at least relatively, the existing social relations. He also challenges the mainstream understanding of conflict as the dominant originator of disintegration, civil unrest and violence by supporting the idea that every social structure is in need for “disharmony as well as harmony, dissociation as well as association (…) because conflicts far from being necessarily dysfunctional can be essential in group formation and in the persistence of group life” (Coser 1956:31).!
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According to Coser, conflict can be also goal oriented and by acknowledging this fact, the existence of multidirectional paths to reach that aim needs to be recognised as well. By doing so, a wide range of types and levels of conflict unfolds in which the intensity of the violence and the functional consequences of disputes are essential to establish the real variation in conflict. Although he introduces this new concept of functions of social conflict, he also concurs with many preceding authors that most of the social conflicts are originated by an uneven distribution of resources which
those structures and systems of inequality and stratification. In addition, he also recognises Marx’s elaboration on the source of conflict explained as a group’s feeling of deprivation induced by class differentiators. Related to this, distinction is made between absolute and relative deprivation. The former makes reference to the situation in which a person is unable to cover the essential in life thus has no willpower nor resources to engage in the process of social change or conflict. The latter stands for the condition of being relatively disadvantaged in which a group will count with the adequate emotional and material assets in order to uprise and stand up for themselves in conflict. Nevertheless, relative deprivation is not regarded as the motivational trigger for people to revolt, it is rather the change from absolute to relative deprivation.!
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In addition, both Simmel and Coser focus on the fluctuations of a conflict measured by the level of violence it holds. On the one hand, a conflict will be less violent if it is employed as the means for reaching a rational outcome in which disputes will be raised as exchange, in other words when negotiation is used as a bargaining method. On the other hand, a conflict will be more violent when there is “emotional involvement and transcendent goals” fuelling the engagement of one or more of the parties involved (Collins & Dahrendorf 2006: 217).!
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In Coser’s conflict theory and when making reference to the integrating forces of conflict, difference is made between an internal and an external conflict. For this particular research topic and due to the fact that the conflict studied in Sri Lanka is a civil war, focus will be placed on internal conflict. This type of clash usually occurs between the groups that are all confined within a social structure and is frequently characterised for its low-level of violence and ongoing hostility release that avoids the conflict from escalating and having a disintegrative effect. It is also suggested that this kind of confrontation enables the creation of orderly authorities, moral incentives and social integration facilitators. Nonetheless, it must be added that not every internal conflict can be denoted by its functionality, on the contrary. By examining the nature of the main antagonists involved in this type of conflict, the intensity of the threat imposed to the values, interests and unity of a particular social structure can be established. In line with this, attention can be drawn to two categorisations of antagonists, the renegades, the discontent people that disclose themselves from the original group they belonged to and that transfer their loyalty to another group based on conviction and the heretics, people that believe to embody the authentic and valuable characteristics of a group in contraposition to the others, based this time, on tradition.!
Coser also contemplates two basic types of internal conflict, the first being the one that imposes a threat to the defining assumptions of the relationship forged between groups and the second being the one that does not. So, if it challenges at least one of the main underlying features of the group it will be of dysfunctional nature putting the stability of the societal dynamic in danger. The composition of a group can be also utilised to determine the functionality or dysfunctionality of a conflict. The author defends this idea by stating that “social structures and intensities differ in the way in which they allow expression to antagonistic claims” (Coser, 1956:152). To explain this further, the network density can be considered as the essential element to establish the longevity of the group, the demands of its people and the frequency of their gatherings. Therefore, high network density can be experienced in situations where there is great personal involvement and where, in the hypothetical case of a conflict, high levels of violence and unrest would be perceived. As contraposition, in low network density groups, with less member interaction and less emotional engagement, a case of dysfunctionality would be less likely to happen (Collins & Dahrendorf 2006: 218-219). As an illustrative example and following Coser’s theory for internal conflict, primary, secondary and tertiary parties can be identified in the Sri Lankan Civil War or also known as intragroup dispute. The elaboration of a so-called conflict map can allow to establish the proximity of each of the antagonistic parties to the conflict as well as determine the existing sub-systems in which those actors operate which in this case are the military, the political and the ethno-societal ones (Ropers, 2008: 12).!
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Figure 2.4: Actors within the Three Conflict (Sub-)Systems in Sri Lanka !
2.5 Conclusion!
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As a finalising and concluding feature of this chapter, it is considered appropriate to present the conceptual framework that will merge all the pieces of the puzzle. Through this system of concepts that was produced and extracted from the theoretical approaches bestowed above, the relational connections that have motivated in this particular research and that consequently have become part of it, will be bestowed. Firstly, when observing this visual composition, it will be noticeable that the four theoretical pillars, concretely wellbeing, empowerment, ethnicity and conflict theory will be pointing towards the centre of the scheme, representing their direct influence over women’s access,
context as well as the existing gender-roles will be considered as crucial components when analysing women’s presence in the market economy specially with regard to this case study in which the patriarchal social system and the urban lifestyle in the commercial capital, Colombo, will have to be equally included in the debate. !
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Furthermore, when taking into account empowerment and conflict theory, one aspect that both have in common, will be central to the discussion, namely power, understood on the one hand as the instigator of change and on the second hand as the key element when analysing the struggle that arises from the competition for material and immaterial assets and benefits in any social structure. Power will be also fundamental when exploring the process of social change concretely when referring to the motivation behind a person’s first order choices in which agency in combination with resources, can be defined as the cornerstone of a possible capabilities expansion. In line with this last, the first dimension of power also understood as pre-conditions or resources will be interconnected to the material understanding of wellbeing, as both encompass material wealth in their definition and broader understanding. !
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When exploring ethnicity as a situational approach, in which individuals may consider themselves part of an ethnic group if benefit can be subtracted from the process and actions derived from a self-differentiating collectivity, a connection will be forged to both, the material and the relational categorisations of wellbeing. Both the situational approach and the wellbeing perspective will commonly share material dimensions and also aspects of social interaction and network building. Ethnicity understood as a subjective phenomenon will be linked to the subjective definition of wellbeing in which the recognition of feelings for the construction of a social-psychological identity and to define the sense and magnitude of life fulfillment experienced by an individual will constitute the overreaching bridge of both theories. Lastly and when taking into account a context-specific comprehension of this case study, ethnicity understood as an epiphenomenon will be associated to the differentiation of absolute and relative deprivation made in conflict theory. By doing so, a platform to explore the economic structure of society and the cultural separation of labour in the former Ceylon will emerge on the basis of these theoretical roots. Particularly, these various approaches and its connections will enable the answer to the main research question in which gender and ethnicity will be regarded as the stepping stones to both analyse and explain women’s involvement and empowerment in Colombo’s labour market. !
Figure 2.5: Conceptual Scheme 4 !
" When referring to women as “economically inactive”, as it is portrayed in the conceptual scheme, it is being meant 4
that they do not participate in the formal labour market. To clarify further, it is never meant to suggest that they do not produce goods and services, on the contrary. Many of those women are part of the informal sector or unpaid labour
Chapter 3:!
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Research Methodology !
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This chapter explores in general, the methodological departing points and criteria that have been employed to develop this project. To be more concrete, in the first subsection, the epistemology of this research will be discussed. After this, the main research question and its consecutive sub-questions will be presented. The third subsection, will portray the research methods and units of analysis. The fourth one, will include the data analysis that will be followed by the end of this chapter which will signal the limitations, research challenges, ethical considerations and a brief conclusion. !
3.1 Methodological approach!
As for the epistemological stance, it is relevant to mention that this research departs from a constructivist perspective. The reason behind it is that this particular case study in Colombo, Sri Lanka is intended to facilitate the understanding of what can be described as “the world of human experience” (Cohen & Manion, 1994:36). In other words, it pretends to study a socially constructed reality in which each of the participants’ subjective experience on and off the topic, which is being investigated, as well as their responses, interaction and engagement throughout the different research activities and methods, will be considered of great value. Their own personal backgrounds, experiences and interpretation of such will be used to enable an inductive development of patterns of meanings that ultimately will lead to the creation of other research exploration pathways. !
In addition, it can be established that the main research question as well as the sub-questions, of exploratory characteristics, will be answered with the use of qualitative research methods that include in-depth interviews, focus group discussions and participatory observation. In line with the inductive nature of this project and based upon its bottom-up approach, it must be added that the variables and indicators of most of the studied concepts have been established in the field taking into account the local context.!
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3.2 Main research question and sub-questions!
To explore the multilevel interaction of gender and ethnic differentiators and its consequent repercussion in enabling or denying access in the labour market, this research projects aims to answer the following questions:!
Box 3.1: Main research question and sub-questions !
The operationalisation scheme with the main concepts of this study has been added to the thesis in the form of an annex. Recapitulating, the major concepts of this project are: empowerment, ethnicity, wellbeing and conflict, which are also visible in the conceptual scheme. Keeping this conceptual design in mind, empowerment will be looked through resources, agency and outcomes linked to the material dimension of wellbeing and to the general notion of power. Ethnicity will be studied with the use of cultural separation of labour, conceptions of identity and processes and actions derived from collective self-differentiation. Emphasis will be made on exploring ethnicity as a epi-, situational and subjective phenomenon. Wellbeing, will be studied through human, material and social resources that again will be connected to elements belonging to other theoretical approaches such as ethnicity as a situational and subjective phenomenon and through the resources of the first order choices that are part of empowerment. Finally, conflict will be analysed through the
How does ethnicity and its implicit and explicit manifestations play a role when delineating women’s involvement and empowerment in Colombo’s labour market?!
• How do social-cultural practices and beliefs influence the creation or maintenance of gender-roles?!
• How do ethnic characteristics influence women’s identification and exploitation of labour opportunities?!
• How does the understanding and preconception of agency shape women’s labour decisions and aspirations?!
notions of relative and absolute deprivation and its interconnection to ethnicity regarded as an epiphenomenon.!
It must be remembered that although empowerment, encompassed in so-called second order choices is added onto the operationalisation table it will not be included as part of the research. Equally, ethnicity, as a primordial phenomenon approach, also visible in the operationalisation table, will not be part of the research as this perspective is irrelevant to this particular study. Focus will be placed on the three remaining approaches that derive from this theoretical departure. !
3.3 Research methods, scope and location !
As it has been expressed in the theoretical framework, women’s employability in Colombo is drafted based on the interplay of many interconnected aspects that are part of conflict theory, empowerment, wellbeing approach and ethnic studies. Taking into account this multifarious approach, the units of analysis within this research are twofold. To begin with, strategically selected actors that could provide a general overview on the problematic to be studied, including members of non-governmental organisations, higher educational institutions and policy advisors, most of them who were experts on gender or ethnicity issues, were studied. Moreover and also regarding the units of analysis, the researcher focused on Sri Lankan women from different ethnic groups, particularly from Sinhalese, Tamil and Muslim communities. In addition, special attention was given to the status of these women. In other words, only married women were selected as part of this study. As it has been mentioned in the introduction, almost all Sri Lankan women end up being married so that it was important to focus on the problematic that women who have their own family face when it comes to their incorporation or overall participation in the labour market. Taking these characteristics into account, particularly socio-cultural barriers as part of these women lives as work force, in Colombo, were closely looked at. !
In line with what has been previously mentioned, purposive sampling was used for this research project so that the relevant participants and actors to be included, were selected deliberately. Nonetheless, the group of women that was intended to participate in the research, corresponding to the garment sector, was not possible to be approached as it had been expected. Therefore and as a second option, women with different occupations, indiscriminately, were selected, taking into account their ethnicity and their civil status as required characteristics. Concretely, five women of each of the corresponding ethnic groups were included in the research, all of them married. !
