Working the Night Shift

by Patel, Reena

• ISBN13: 9780804769143
• ISBN10: 0804769141
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-03-25
• Publisher: Stanford Univ Pr

Summary

Relatively high wages and the opportunity to be part of an upscale, globalized work environment draw many in India to the call center industry. At the same time, night shift employment presents women, in particular, with new challenges alongside the opportunities. This book explores how beliefs about what constitutes "women's work" are evolving in response to globalization. Working the Night Shiftis the first in-depth study of the transnational call center industry that is written from the point of view of women workers. It uncovers how call center employment affects their lives, mainly as it relates to the anxiety that Indian families and Indian society have towards women going out at night, earning a good salary, and being exposed to western culture. This timely account illustrates the ironic and, at times, unsettling experiences of women who enter the spaces and places made accessible through call center work.

Author Biography

Reena Patel is a feminist scholar and currently serves as a Foreign Service Officer with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). She also advises companies on gender issues in the workplace.