The material and symbolic in young women’s negotiation of precarious employment: the case of the Israeli service and care sectors

ABSTRACT

The literature focusing on young people’s negotiations of precarious employment has tended to split between material and symbolic resources and has mainly stressed coping mechanisms, which support young people’s ability to persist in precariousness at work as opposed to resisting precariousness and demanding change. Analysing interviews with 20 socially marginalised young women working in the Israeli service and care sector we could validate earlier scholarly emphasis on those resources which build young people’s capacity to bear precarious employment. These were topped; however, by young women’s knowledge of workers’ rights and labour law which we interpreted as a symbolic resource building self-advocacy and the capacity to demand change.

KEYWORDS:

• Young women
• precarious employment
• material and symbolic resources
• social marginalisation
• employment

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Dr. Michal Komem, Prof. Ori Schwartz and the PhD. group at The Department of Sociology and Anthropology in Bar-Ilan University - Netta Feldman, Yael Segev, Sari Alfi-Nissan, Rona Ziv Tjoerneland, Dalia Perez, Liat Sheffer, Hadas Nur and Merav Ben Hillel for their insightful comments on earlier versions of this manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 This must be understood in the context that the minimum wage in Israel is currently 5300 NIS per month (approximately £1325) and as will be shown in the findings, most of them did not work full time.

2 This is also in contradiction to the ‘The other is me’ campaign that operated during 2013–2014 and aimed to endow principles of equality and inclusion within the education system in Israel.

3 In a highly militarised country like Israel it is customary that at the entrance to public institutions (Schools, malls, universities, hospitals, etc.) guards supervise incomers and goers. Guarding service is usually run by subcontracting companies that provide outsourcing service for the local authority/private organisations. This is considered an entry level, low skilled vocation and training (specifically, carrying and using a gun) is conducted by the subcontracting company.

4 In Israel, there is a higher rate for work hours beyond an eight-hour shift and on a Sabbath (Saturday).

5 The ultra-orthodox Jewish community in which Samantha is also a member.

Additional information

Funding

The research was funded by The Israeli National Insurance Institute; The Ministry of Welfare and Social Service - Yated Program for Young Adults at risk; Naamat - Israeli Working Women's Association; Research Excellence Fund, Bar-Ilan University.