‘Qualified to work’: Anthropological insights into employee empowerment

Abstract

Drawing on research conducted in a life insurance company, this paper looks at qualities and behaviour of a group of black financial consultants in terms of the notion of empowerment. It attempts to show that empowerment, in the sense of creating conditions where people can achieve their aims, is an ongoing process, consisting of dimensions grounded in particular empowering agencies, institutions and practices, which in this discussion are described and placed in the context of aspects of South African society as well as the company concerned.

Keywords:

• financial consultants
• empowerment
• previously disadvantaged people
• life assurance industry
• emerging market