THE STRUCTURE OF REVEALED PREFERENCE - RACE, COMMUNITY AND FEMALE LABOR SUPPLY IN THE LONDON CLOTHING INDUSTRY

This article takes as its starting point the overwhelming concentratio n of Bangladeshi women in the homeworking sector of the clothing indus try in London. This pattern forms a contrast to the large numbers of m ale Bangladeshi workers also concentrated in the garment industry but who are to be found mainly in the factories and sweatshops. The articl e uses the accounts given by the Bangladeshi homeworkers themselves fo r their concentration in this form of work to explore different theore tical explanations of female labour supply behaviour, focusing in part icular on questions of choice and constraint, culture and economy. The study suggests that the 'preferences' revealed by the labour market b ehaviour of Bangladeshi women cannot be attributed solely to them, but must be seen in terms of bargaining and negotiation with other, more powerful members of the family. Furthermore, the intra-household decis ion-making process is itself embedded within a broader institutional e nvironment which determines the access enjoyed by different groups to socially-valued resources. For Bangladeshis, a key factor in this broa der environment is the operation of racially-based forms of exclusion from the mainstream opportunities. Consequently, community solidarity and networks represent important symbolic and material resources for m embers. However, these resources are distributed in highly gender-spec ific ways, with very clear implications for women's place within the c ommunity. The article argues therefore that any attempt to explain Ban gladeshi women's concentration in homework has to move beyond a focus on either individual circumstances or cultural norms to an exploration of the interaction of racism, community identity and gender relations in shaping women's labour market options.