Labor markets are still heavily gendered everywhere, even when women's participation in the labor market is greater now than at any other time in history. Existing research shows poor women's participation in the informal economy is higher than men's in many parts of the Global South. However, this is not the case in Bangladesh. Poor Muslim women's participation, particularly where they require access to public space, is lower than men due to persistent patriarchal norms, reflected in social and religious expectations of women. Drawing on interview data with female street vendors from a slum in Dhaka, this article explores the dynamics of social and religious norms that constrain poor Muslim women's access to public space to earn income. This article contributes to the literature on gender, religion, and work by highlighting that the parochial realm offers a safer space for operating businesses without breaking social norms and by arguing that poor Muslim women experience social and religious barriers rather than legal ones. Non‐legal barriers are more amenable to change as a result, which is important for empowering women.
PurposeThis paper explores the importance of building trust and rapport with participants using gatekeepers and insider-outsider dynamics in accessing vulnerable research participants in the Global South.Design/methodology/approachThis paper draws data from a qualitative case study conducted in Sattola slum in Dhaka.FindingsFindings suggest that access to participants can be gained through building rapport and trust with participants. A trusting relationship further helps the researcher to explore the processes of social exclusion experienced by the participants.Originality/valueFew studies is published on female researchers building trust with vulnerable research participants negotiating gatekeepers and their subjectivity in the field. The paper contributes original insights into this from fieldwork carried out by a middle-class female researcher in Dhaka. It raises important issues in securing the trust of participants when they are part of disadvantaged, exploited or generally vulnerable populations.
Digital platforms are the newest technological wave that is reshaping and reconfiguring the economic and labour landscape. Digital platforms often known as the gig economy are increasingly adopting app-based models to connect consumers with workers to complete their on-demand tasks.However, on-demand platforms continue to rely on the unequal division of labour and the precarious nature of the work to create labour markets that can respond accordingly to the increase in service provision. This review highlights two main themes that have emerged within the on-demand gig economy in the current literature-mythical autonomy and algorithmic control and misclassification of labour and the complexity of migrant workers in navigating this space.Finally, this review calls for further research into the inside/ outside dichotomy of migrant labour within the gig economy and their experiences of labour exploitation through app-based digital platforms.
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