The Ethnicization and Feminization Process of Labor: Women and Georgian Labor in Tea Agriculture

Abstract

Ethnicization and feminization of labor are intertwined processes. Although each has its own internal history, they have been taken to new dimensions with capitalism and neoliberalism. In this respect, gender and race are instrumentalized for the exploitation of labor. There have been several studies on the inclusion of race and gender in the labor market in considering wage labor. However, not many studies focus on nation-state building before labor markets, race, and women as unpaid family members. In this study, the issue of unpaid female labor in tea agriculture is examined. It also considers the ethnicization processes of Georgian labor. These two processes are explained by the labor value theory by placing tea agriculture at the center. Moreover, the effect of the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on the processes will also be discussed. Because the process of ethnicization and feminization are multidimensional and multi-agency processes, qualitative interviews were conducted with 48 people from different structures and actors. The interviews were recorded, resolved, and multiple structure analyses were performed. Survey data applied in a different context in another study for Georgians were also used as data sources in this study as ethnicization and feminization of labor are fed from a similar background and are used interchangeably in case of crisis.