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Relational Work in the Shadow of Caste: The Case of Women Domestic Workers in India

Aiman Nida

Business and Society2026https://doi.org/10.1177/00076503261421145article
AJG 3ABDC A
Weight
0.50

Abstract

While prior research has explored how marginalized caste workers cope with caste-based indignities, less is known about the interactive processes through which caste is relationally negotiated at work. Addressing this gap, I investigate how women domestic workers engage in relational work to navigate caste-based oppression and the outcomes such efforts produce. Drawing on 37 in-depth interviews in Lucknow, India, my analysis identifies three relational work tactics — establishing trustworthiness , performing deferential appeasement , and eliciting empathy , that enable workers to manage caste-inflected workplace dynamics. These tactics, however, yield ambivalent outcomes of conditional acceptance , revocable concessions , and transient compassion . To conceptualize the simultaneous negotiation and reproduction of caste structures, I advance the concept of relational ambivalence , which demonstrates the agency of marginalized workers operating within entrenched social hierarchies.

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https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1177/00076503261421145

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@article{aiman2026,
  title        = {{Relational Work in the Shadow of Caste: The Case of Women Domestic Workers in India}},
  author       = {Aiman Nida},
  journal      = {Business and Society},
  year         = {2026},
  doi          = {https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1177/00076503261421145},
}

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Evidence weight

0.50

Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40

F · citation impact0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20
M · momentum0.50 × 0.15 = 0.07
V · venue signal0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03
R · text relevance †0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20

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