Working the Night Shift: Women in India’s Call Center Industry

by Reena Patel

Relatively high wages and the opportunity to be part of an upscale, globalized work environment draw many in India to the call center industry. At the same time, night shift employment presents women, in particular, with new challenges alongside the opportunities. This book explores how beliefs about what constitutes "women's work" are evolving in response to globalization. Working the Night Shift is the first in-depth study of the transnational call center industry that is written from the point of view of women workers. It uncovers how call center employment affects their lives, mainly as it relates to the anxiety that Indian families and Indian society have towards women going out at night, earning a good salary, and being exposed to western culture. This timely account illustrates the ironic and, at times, unsettling experiences of women who enter the spaces and places made accessible through call center work. Visit the author's website at and .

Genres: Nonfiction, Anthropology, School, Read For School

208 pages, Hardcover

First published March 24, 2010

About the author

Reena Patel, Ph.D. is a feminist scholar and currently serves as a Foreign Service Officer with the U.S Department of State. She also advises companies on gender issues in the workplace.

Raised in Massachusetts, she is a first-generation American from an Indian family. Her parents emigrated from East Africa over 40 years ago. After graduating from the University of Massachusetts at Boston with a business degree, she went on to work in San Francisco and thereafter Hawaii. She then served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ghana on an IT development project funded by USAID.

Reena currently lives in Madrid, Spain and in her spare time, she loves to take road trips and eat tapas.

Reviews

[Floral-Aesthetic · Rating 4 out of 5]

~ 3.5 Stars ~

Basic Plot: This is the research of Reena Patel and her investigation into the women in India who work in the call center industry at night.

My Thoughts: Considering I had to read this book for school, I actually somewhat enjoyed it. Personally I'm not that interested in this topic, but Patel's writing style was good and kept me engaged. There was no part in the book where I found myself struggling to stay focused or anything. Solid book, definitely recommend if you are interested in this subject area.

[mai-linh nguyen · Rating 5 out of 5]

super interesting analysis of mobility, autonomy, and economic opportunities/development with women in india!

[Ashley Simpson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting information on women in the call center industry in India. Interviews with actual residents of New Delhi on their experiences and the dangers they face everyday for working in this industry. Also touches on cultural differences and beliefs such as women not being able to go out at night unescorted by a male member of their family or their husband and the thought that if a women held a job at a call center (often operated by US companies) they were considered undesirable or unmarriable and even considered a hooker.