Precariousness, gender, resistance and consent in the face of global production network’s ‘Reforms’ of Pakistan’s garment manufacturing industry

Author Affiliation

Muhammad Ayaz is Assistant Professor and Director Business Administration Programs at Institute of Business Administration (IBA), Karachi

Faculty / School

Faculty of Business Administration (FBA)

Department

Department of Management

Was this content written or created while at IBA?

Yes

Document Type

Article

Source Publication

Work, Employment and Society

ISSN

0950-0170

Disciplines

Accounting | Business | Econometrics | Economics | Human Resources Management | Political Science | Social and Behavioral Sciences | Sociology

Abstract

This case study of the restructuring of Pakistan’s garment manufacturing industry explores how attempts to increase capital’s control over the labour process intersect with local patriarchal structures and trigger workers’ reflexivity and agency causing unanticipated consequences. Using Archer’s notion of agency, the article examines the theoretical space where capitalism meets patriarchy, and both are reproduced. The focus on reflexivity, anchored between objective contexts and agents’ personal concerns, helps theorize capital–labour–gender relations in global supply chains and explains workers’ impactful resistance to protect a supposedly precarious work regime. Our findings challenge the notion that globalization reduces workers’ agency and their potential for impactful resistance.

Indexing Information

HJRS - W Category, Scopus, Web of Science - Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI)

Journal Quality Ranking

Impact Factor: 5.116

Publication Status

Published

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