Housewives or Working Women? Self-Perception of Home-Based Female Workers in Kayseri, Turkey in Times of Pandemic

Authors : Semra Purkis, Ezgi Ceylan

Pages : 132-162

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Publication Date : 2023-09-30

Article Type : Research

Abstract :Abstract Home-based work, which faded away at the beginning of the twentieth century, has become widespread again in parallel with the deepening economic crisis since the 1980s and is expected to become more prevalent with the addition of pandemic conditions to the process. It has become a source of livelihood for poor women in Kayseri as well, which they can carry out without overstepping the limits of gender roles deemed appropriate for them, but dialectically same process may bring up some positive effects. In this study, we tried to explore self-perception of home-based working women in one of the central districts of Kayseri, Kocasinan. Based on the findings of our field research we argue that even in the most conservative places where patriarchal values are more prevalent, home-based work can comparatively improve status of women in the household, increase their self-confidence and enhance their self-perception as well.
Keywords : Home Based Work, Flexible Accumulation, Kayseri, Patriarchal Capitalism, Pandemic