Exploring the unintentional production of seemingly feminist
outcomes In India, elite law firms offer a surprising oasis for
women within a hostile, predominantly male industry. Less than 10
percent of the country’s lawyers are female, but women in the
most prestigious firms are significantly represented both at entry
and partnership. Elite workspaces are notorious for being
unfriendly to new actors, so what allows for aberration in certain
workspaces? Drawing from observations and interviews with more than
130 elite professionals, Accidental Feminism examines how a range
of underlying mechanisms—gendered socialization and essentialism,
family structures and dynamics, and firm and regulatory
histories—afford certain professionals egalitarian outcomes that
are not available to their local and global peers. Juxtaposing
findings on the legal profession with those on elite consulting
firms, Swethaa Ballakrishnen reveals that parity arises not from a
commitment to create feminist organizations, but from structural
factors that incidentally come together to do gender differently.
Simultaneously, their research offers notes of caution: while
conditional convergence may create equality in ways that more
targeted endeavors fail to achieve, “accidental” developments
are hard to replicate, and are, in this case, buttressed by
embedded inequalities. Ballakrishnen examines whether gender parity
produced without institutional sanction should still be considered
feminist. In offering new ways to think about equality movements
and outcomes, Accidental Feminism forces readers to critically
consider the work of intention in progress narratives.
General
Imprint: |
Princeton University Press
|
Country of origin: |
United States |
Release date: |
2021 |
Firstpublished: |
2021 |
Authors: |
Swethaa S. Ballakrishnen
|
Dimensions: |
235 x 155 x 19mm (L x W x T) |
Format: |
Paperback
|
Pages: |
288 |
ISBN-13: |
978-0-691-18253-7 |
Categories: |
Books
|
LSN: |
0-691-18253-1 |
Barcode: |
9780691182537 |
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