Gender at Work in Pakistan

"This book is a tour de force, offering an unparalleled, intersectional analysis of gender and work in Pakistan. It masterfully weaves together rich empirical analysis using diverse methodologies to reveal the complex interplay of gender identities, class, caste, and colonial legacies in shaping access to, experiences of, and resistance within the world of work. This book is a vital contribution, challenging conventional wisdom by foregrounding diverse voices and experiences, from invisible home-based workers to political elites and gender-nonconforming individuals. By broadening our understanding of gender beyond binary confines and integrating practitioner perspectives, this volume not only enriches academic discourse but offers fresh perspectives that resonate far beyond Pakistan's borders."

Uma Rani Amara, Senior Economist, International Labor Organization.

“Gender at Work in Pakistan brings together an exciting body of scholarship that moves beyond narrow conceptions of gender by exploring how gender intersects with class and caste to shape people’s working experiences across productive and reproductive spheres, and by including people of diverse genders rather than focusing solely on women’s experiences. It further expands debates on gender dynamics by demonstrating how gender identities and roles may function both as obstacles and as resources. Bringing together multiple disciplinary perspectives and diverse methodological approaches, the volume makes a significant contribution to emerging scholarship on gender and work in Pakistan."

Sidra Kamran, Assistant Professor, Department of Methodology, London School of Economics and Political Science, University of London.

"If you want to understand how gender shapes work in its varied and complex intersections with respectability, femininity and masculinity, this book is a must-read! The authors examine deeply gendered perceptions of work reflected in the production of national statistics, paid and unpaid care work including domestic service, the ‘work of war,’ home-based work, sexual labor and sexual harassment as well as resistance to low-paid work and unacceptable work conditions. Though rooted in Pakistan, the wide-ranging methodological approaches and diverse subjects provide policy and theoretical insights that go far beyond the Pakistan experience."

Saba Gul Khattak, Independent Researcher.

“This book makes an essential and long-overdue contribution to the study of gender and work in Pakistan. Drawing on foundational debates on gender orders and classical patriarchy, it offers a rich and perceptive analysis of women’s labor in the country, that moves beyond conventional framings. By weaving together insights from social reproduction feminism, feminist critiques of mainstream statistics, and renewed perspectives on empowerment and resistance, this rich collection offers an in-depth exploration of the lived realities of women’s work in Pakistan across multiple domains. An invaluable read for scholars, students, and practitioners engaged with gender, development, and South Asia.”

Alessandra Mezzadri, Professor in Global Development and Political Economy, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London.

“This is a foundational volume of feminist analysis of gender at work in contemporary Pakistan. The book makes visible hidden stories buried in diverse realms of work, to explore how meaning-making and work experiences are articulated by those laboring in Pakistan - where gender and sexual hierarchies are constitutive elements of social relationships. Collectively, the chapters broaden narrow readings of ‘decent work’, to appreciate local understandings of honour and respectability. The editors draw attention to threads of coloniality, Islamic traditions, intergenerational hierarchies, women’s life courses, and patriarchal dividends shaping power dynamics as key anchors. The book brings together different disciplinary perspectives and with them, diverse methodologies to appreciate the hierarchies modulating gender at work. It is a must-read for those interested in feminism, gender and sexual politics, work, labor studies, area studies and international development; and speaks to scholarship beyond Pakistan through the fine-grained engagement offered.”

Kanchana Ruwanpura, Professor in Development of Geography, University of Gothenburg.