Programme full

Friday 17 April 2015 11:00 - 12:30
PAPER SESSION 7
sector and often a requirement for entering Aidland which includes a variety of aid organizations, such as nongovernmental
organizations and UN agencies. Aidwork can be precarious employment and privilege of those who
have independent means, i.e. who can afford to forgo a regular income. Paradoxically, it is a privilege to participate in
low or unpaid precarious aidwork. Given intermittent work-patterns, aidwork is characterized by both high intensity and
by breaks in between assignments and living and working conditions in rural and remote areas can be understood as
a form of 'slow living' which involves a distance from consumer culture and a search for authenticity. Aidwork raises
important questions concerning the meaning of work and can be considered a vocation and a means to selfactualization.
It enables one to explore the complex and contradictory relationship between self-realization, trauma
and personal growth. Paradoxically, those who engage in aidwork experience well-being which is gained through
confronting the suffering of others which they try to alleviate or which demonstrates their own privileged position.
Moreover, given the increasing number of attacks on aid personnel, aidwork can be considered edgework or voluntary
risk-taking which is a response to alienating and highly regulated working conditions.
More than Just Money?: A Sociological Analysis of the Relationship between Feminist Organisations and
Funders in Scotland
Maxwell, T.
(University of Aberdeen)
Feminist researchers have sought to uncover women's experiences of violence (Walby 2009, Stanko 2003, Sweetman
1998, Kelly 1988) and have demonstrated, albeit with differing points of focus and emphasis, that tangible, systemic
and symbolic violence towards women is a cause and consequence of asymmetrical gender systems of power
(Kordvani 2002, Morgan and Bjorkert 2006, Zizek 2009). These insights have encouraged the spread of grassroots
feminist organisations across the world, many of whom are now, financially supported by local and national
government (Martin 2005, Metzendorf 2005, Ferree and Martin 1995, English 2011, Reineltl 1994). However how
stable and sustainable are feminist organisations? What are some of the benefits and challenges of receiving funding
from government?
In this paper, I will describe and reflect upon the experiences of workers in feminist organisations gathered through
qualitative interviews. I will argue that feminist organisations appear to be under considerable strain as a result of the
impacts of the financial crisis, coupled with increasing demand which is leading organisations to use more and more
creative and innovative strategies in order to survive. This paper will specifically focus upon specific funding streams
available to feminist organisations; the Violence Against Women Fund, Rape Crisis Specific Fund and the Strategic
Interventions Fund. These are financed by the Scottish Government's Equality Unit and administered by the Voluntary
Action Fund in Scotland. I will explore the relationship between funders and feminist organisations to examine if the
interactions and partnerships are about more than just money.
Work, Employment and Economic Life 2
W823, HAMISH WOOD BUILDING
Opting out and in: High and Low-income Women Working on Their Own Terms
Biese, I., McKie, L.
(Hanken School of Economics)
During the past decade opting out has been debated both academically and in the media. The debate has mainly
been about high-powered women who opt out of successful careers to stay home fulltime with their children. Recent
research has introduced a new definition of opting out, that is not limited to stay-at-home mothers, but that rather is an
opting out of mainstream career models to opt in to alternative lifestyles where one can live and work on one's own
terms. For women with children or other care responsibilities, this means opting in to lifestyles where they can
combine work and care in a meaningful way, not having to give one up for the other. However, it is not only highpowered,
high-income women who struggle to combine different areas of life. Low-income women struggle to find a
sense of control over their lives as it becomes increasingly difficult to create coherent life narratives in this hectic era
of globalization and individualization. Unlike high-income women, low-income women have less monetary resources
to create solutions that work for them. This paper examines the opting out and in experiences of high-income women
in Finland and the US and low-income women in Scotland. Narratives illuminate similar, yet different experiences.
Women talk of making sense of caring and working 'on their own terms' but these differ across spatial and economic
contexts as well as the women's social capital. We conclude by reflecting on women's embodiment of the tensions
concerning working and caring in multifaceted unequal societies.
283 BSA Annual Conference 2015
Glasgow Caledonian University