Gender Inequalities in India's New Service Economy: a Case Study of the Banking Sector
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View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Queen Mary Research Online Gender inequalities in India’s new service economy: a case study of the banking sector Bezbaruah, Supriti For additional information about this publication click this link. http://qmro.qmul.ac.uk/jspui/handle/123456789/2479 Information about this research object was correct at the time of download; we occasionally make corrections to records, please therefore check the published record when citing. For more information contact [email protected] Gender inequalities in India’s new service economy: a case study of the banking sector Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Supriti Bezbaruah Queen Mary, University of London Department of Geography 1 Declaration I hereby declare that the work presented in this thesis is my own. Supriti Bezbaruah 2 Abstract This study explores women’s experiences of work and employment in the banking sector in India, addressing the paucity of research in this area. The research assesses how the assumptions of theories on gender, work and employment, primarily based on empirical experiences from the Global North can be interpreted in the Indian context. It argues that experiences of gender inequalities are geographically reconfigured in the Indian banking sector through the interplay between gendered organisational practices, local cultural discourses on femininity, institutional factors, particularly government laws and organisational structures. The research draws upon a case study of the banking sector in the National Capital Region (NCR), one of India’s largest consumer financial centres, combining a questionnaire survey of 156 female bank employees with 74 qualitative interviews with female and male bank employees in three types of banks. The study uncovers how gender discrimination, albeit covertly, is widespread in Indian banks. Gendered organisational practices create universal constraints for Indian women’s career development. This study, however, reveals how local cultural discourses on femininity, emphasising respectability and family values lead to distinctively Indian patterns of gender inequalities in the banking sector serving to highlight the intersection of gender with class identities. Crucially, the comparison of government-owned, foreign-owned and Indian private banks demonstrates that local cultural norms and gendered organisational practices are mediated through different organisational structures to create varied experiences of gender discrimination for women in the different banks. Finally, the study provides new conceptual perspectives for addressing the limitations of existing theorisations on gender, work and employment. It develops the concept of ‘family-based femininity’ highlighting the influence of the family in shaping the nature of gender inequalities in the workplace. Where previous typologies focused on resistance in the workplace, this research introduces the notion of ‘compliance in the workplace’, whereby women passively conform to gendered organisational practices, with little intention to create change. 3 Acknowledgements First of all, I wish to specially thank Dr Cathy McIlwaine for her tremendous support, encouragement and patience throughout. She went out of her way to help me through difficult personal circumstances, without which, this thesis would not have been possible. Many thanks also to Dr Al James, for his clear, insightful comments on several drafts of this thesis. In India, I am thankful to all the participants in this research study for sparing valuable time in their busy lives to share their thoughts and insights. I have thoroughly enjoyed my interactions with them, and have learnt a lot from them. I acknowledge with thanks the following organisations for allowing me access to their documents and library facilities: the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), the Council for Social Development, the Centre for Women’s Development Studies (CWDS), the Indian Banks Association (IBA), the National Commission for Women (NCW), the National University of Singapore (NUS), and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), New Delhi. The Asia Research Institute (ARI) deserves a special mention for accepting me as a visiting affiliate, providing me with the necessary research environment to write the thesis. Also, I thank the members of the Department of Geography at the NUS, in particular, Dr Tracey Skelton, for opening their doors to me, and making me feel like a part of their research community. The University of London Central Research Fund provided assistance for this study by financing part of the costs of the fieldwork, for which I am very grateful. Finally, I wish to thank my family and friends, especially my parents, parents-in- law, sister and brother-in-law for their support and encouragement. To my husband, Chanaka, without whom none of this would have happened and to my daughter, Ila, without whom this thesis would have been completed much sooner, but would have been far less meaningful. 4 Contents Page No Abstract 3 Acknowledgements 4 List of Tables 13 List of Figures 13 List of Acronyms 14 Chapters 1. Introduction: illusion of equality? 16 Women in the banking sector in India The importance of research on women’s 20 employment in India’s new service economy The research questions 24 Outline of the thesis 28 2. Women’s employment and gender 32 equality in the new economy: patterns and theoretical explanations Introduction 32 Patterns of women’s increasing 33 employment in the new economy Feminisation of services in the 35 new economy Women’s increasing 39 employment in services in the Global South Gendered dimensions of labour market 42 segmentation in the new economy Explanations for gendered labour market 44 inequalities The deskilling of women’s work 45 5 Women, work and domestic 48 responsibilities Gender, work and organisations 51 The utility of gendered 57 organisation theory in South Asia Conclusion 60 3. Improving women’s experiences of 63 employment: empowerment, resistance and the role of the state Introduction 63 Feminist interpretations of 64 empowerment Empirical insights into empowerment 68 and the employment of women The exploitation of women in the 71 workplace Collective action for achieving gender 74 equality in the workplace Silent revolution: covert tactics of 78 resistance Women’s paid employment and the state 82 Social policies, welfare and 83 women’s employment The impact of state policies and 84 legislation on women’s employment The implementation of 88 legislation at the organisational level Conclusion 90 6 4. Female employment, banking and 92 government legislation in India: an overview Introduction 92 The nature of the banking sector in India 93 Women’s employment in the 96 banking sector in India Trends in female labour force 102 participation in India Liberalisation and feminisation 103 of employment in India Female employment in India’s 104 new service economy: key features Gender relations in the Indian workplace 105 Understanding female employment in 108 the context of wider gender roles and relations in India Women’s employment, empowerment 111 and the role of the state in India The influence of legislation on 113 reducing gender inequalities in the workplace in India Conclusion 116 5. Research methodology for 118 understanding experiences of gender inequalities in the banking sector in India Introduction 118 Feminist methodologies and 118 epistemological principles Research on gender inequalities in 120 services: the use of multiple methods 7 Methodological framework for the study 124 Selection of NCR as the case 124 study site Selection of banks and research 126 participants Using questionnaire surveys 128 Using qualitative interviews 129 Conducting participant 131 observation Collecting information from 131 secondary sources Summary of evidence base for my 132 research Profile of research participants: women 134 employees Profile of female interviewees 138 Research process in the field 138 Negotiating access and doing 138 research with elites Power, positionality and feminist 143 diasporic research Interpreting and representing my 147 research data Ethical considerations 148 Conclusion 148 6. Gendered patterns of work and 150 employment in the banking sector in India Introduction 150 8 The feminisation of the banking sector 151 in India? A brief note on jobs in the banking 155 sector Gender segregation in the Indian 158 banking sector Patterns of gender inequalities: 161 discrimination in recruitment Gender differentiation in pay 162 Gender discrimination in promotions 164 Women and career progression: the 168 pressures of long working hours Barriers to career progression: 171 geographical mobility Respectable femininity and 173 mobility Barriers to career progression: 174 networking Barriers to career progression: 177 pregnancy and maternity Sexual harassment in the Indian banking 181 sector Everyday workplace interactions and 185 women’s exclusion Conclusion 189 7. Explaining gender inequalities in the 191 Indian banking sector: the role of institutional factors Introduction 191 Banking as a respectable occupational 192 choice for women? 9 Explaining horizontal segregation 197 through supply-side factors: the role of the family Employer preferences and gender 200 segregation: gender stereotyping Organisational structures and 201 discriminatory recruitment practices The influence of organisational 208 structures on female career progression Accountability,