Abstract
This article is based on a research project on the lived experiences of precarious workers in Toronto, Canada. Using interviews with women in part-time, contract, and temporary jobs in three sectors (telemarketing, retail, and garment), the project explores the ways in which racial hierarchies structure jobs as well as forms of resistance that women exercise at work. The authors find that racialized processes stereotype workers and their skill sets, organize their work, determine their access to and exclusion from certain types of jobs, and impose cultural rules that classify and essentialize them in terms of race, language, and ethnicity. In this article, the authors use ethnodrama to represent their findings from this research project. Ethnodrama is a form that is well suited for this work because it allows us to bring the data to life through an embodied performance.
Ethnodrama is a popular and powerful presentational choice (Saldana, 2003) often used to communicate research findings with the specific intent of educating and raising awareness of social justice issues (Butler-Kisber, 2010, p. 136). It has been used by researchers to investigate impacts of racism (Jenkins, 2010; Ward & Weems, 2010), how gender is performed (Berbary, 2011), personal and educative responses to homophobia (Adams, 2006; Goldstein, 2008), make visible processes of decolonization (Bhattacharya, 2009; Park, 2009), and raise awareness of unfair workplace conditions (Fenwick, 2008). In this article, we present both our ethnodrama in its entirety and an overview of our process of creating, performing, and disseminating our empirical data through ethnodrama.
This ethnodrama is based on a research project (funded by Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada) entitled “Skilled In Vulnerability: Work-related Learning in the Racialized Culture of Contingency,” which involved qualitative interviews with 50 female workers in precarious jobs in the Greater Toronto Area. 1 Precarious work encompasses “forms of work characterized by limited social benefits and statutory entitlements, job insecurity, low wages, and high risks of ill-health” (Vosko, 2006, p. 11). Participants in our study worked in female-dominated sectors in jobs that were part-time, contract, temporary, or precarious in nature. This work environment created a sense of insecurity and vulnerability—actual or perceived—regardless of the forms and types of work.
The jobs examined in this study depend on highly “flexible” and captive workforces who have few employment alternatives and are forced to accept low wages and unstable work schedules. Newcomers, especially recent immigrant women, who are attempting to support spouses and children while they acquire English language skills and local accreditation form a significant part of this labor pool. Our aim was to explore the subtle processes of hierarchy and segregation (often based on the enactment of gender and race stereotypes) that structured workers’ jobs and their daily interactions at work.
A total of 42 of our respondents were immigrants to Canada, and a majority had immigrated more than 3 years ago. We interviewed women who had migrated from China, Hong Kong, Pakistan, India, Tanzania, Philippines, Jamaica, Bangladesh, West Indies, Nigeria, and Sri Lanka. With respect to income and education levels, 80% of the women earned $20,000 (Canadian) per year or less; 36% of the women earned less than $10,000. More than half of the women in our sample had advanced degrees in education, engineering, accounting, and business management. Of the 15 garment sewers we interviewed, 7 had university degrees. Among the supermarket cashiers, 4 of the 15 women we interviewed had university degrees. In the call centers, 18 of the 20 women we interviewed had university degrees. The immigrant women were generally more highly educated than the Canadian-born women; whereas 62% of the immigrant women had postsecondary education, only 38% of the Canadian born had similar qualifications.
There was considerable variation in the ages of the workers in our sample. All the garment sewers were older than 30 years. All but six of the call center workers were also older than 30 years. Among the supermarket cashiers, 11 of the 15 women interviewed were younger than 30, and 7 (all were supermarket cashiers) were also high school or postsecondary students. While youth workers were a significant proportion of the supermarket cashiers interviewed, the majority of the sample for this study was comprised of women in their 30s and 40s.
We conducted interviews in six languages—English, Bengali, Hindi, Mandarin, Tagalog, and Urdu—to gather data that are normally omitted from research due to a bias of interviewing in English only. Between the members of our diverse research team, we had the ability to reach the workers in their communities and to interview them in their own languages when necessary. We employed a pair interviewing strategy in which every interview was conducted by two members of the team. Depending on language requirements and location, team members conducted interviews in different pairings across the three sectors. This format allowed one researcher to be the lead and for the second researcher to take thorough notes and carefully monitor the content of the interview, interjecting when necessary.
The interviews revealed serious and persistent employment standards violations and gave some evidence about the gendered and racialized nature of precarious work. Women, many of whom were highly educated, found themselves routinely channeled into jobs characterized by low wages, schedule instability, and job insecurity. Their family lives, educational endeavors, and social and leisure activities were frequently disrupted as a result of constant and unplanned schedule changes in their paid work. Often, the fear of job loss at a moment’s notice overshadowed their labor market participation. Their jobs forced them to live within an all-prevalent environment of instability, vulnerability, and insecurity.
While we prepared the research findings in traditional academic formats for academic venues, 2 we also investigated how our data could be presented using ethnodrama. We hoped to convey some of the passion, emotion, and tension that emerged during the interviews as women often gave us, at times, shocking accounts of their working conditions. We wanted to represent these data in a way that brought these women’s experiences to life and revealed both their struggles and their agency. Through ethnodrama we tried to capture the complexity of the women’s experiences by creating the script based on verbatim data and actual events that were revealed to us in our interviews. Ethnodrama allowed us to disseminate our findings in a representational form that was “aesthetically sound, intellectually rich and emotionally evocative” (Saldana, 2003, p. 220).
After extensively studying the transcripts as a group and reflecting on the emotions we experienced and perceived during the interviews each of us conducted, we identified the setting for the scenes, significant incidents we wanted to portray, and our goals for the ethnodrama. Jasjit Sangha played a key role as the principal scriptwriter, infusing fluidity, emotion, and creativity into the script through the development of characters, dialogue, and action. Consultations with the wider group provided feedback and guidance on the accuracy, relevancy, and focus of the content. We debated issues of language and representation as we attempted to create composite characters in the play to capture the experiences of the women we interviewed.
Several of our respondents had limited English language skills and noted that because of their lack of proficiency in English, managers and coworkers assumed they had poor skills and abilities. Since our interviews were often conducted in the respondent’s mother tongue, they were able to speak fluently without hesitation. We decided to depict this linguistic comfort in the script, and therefore, did not reconstruct their words in fractured English. Rather, we decided that hearing speakers eloquently reflect on their deskilling due to their poor English language skills would draw further attention to the arbitrary nature of this connection between English language and ability and skill. As a group, we developed the monologues to give the audience a chance to learn more about the worker’s history and develop a greater understanding of how the workers’ skills were being diminished through workplace training. Over a period of 2 years we also made revisions based on our experiences of performing the ethnodrama and the feedback we received from our audiences.
Through this work not only do we convey what we heard from our participants about their work conditions but also collectively think through how the strategies and processes we describe here can be disrupted and interrupted. It is our hope that the ethnodrama will foster an epistemological shift for the reader through a more critical understanding of the workplace experiences of racialized immigrant women. Ideally, this may lead to social action in some way. This can take many forms: from a small gesture of kindness directed toward a cashier at a busy grocery store to a bigger commitment to lobby for changes to employment or immigration policies. By disrupting and interrupting inequitable social processes both researchers and readers can contribute to social change.
The following ethnodrama is composed of six short scenes. The first three depict women working in a call centre, a supermarket, and a garment factory. The last three scenes are set in the same places but are focused on the resistance of the workers.
Scene 1: Falsity in a Call Center
Namisha, Paul (Manager).
The cubicle of an employee at an outbound call center.
Namisha is worried. She is having trouble meeting the quota for the day.
[Looking at her watch] Only two more hours! If I don’t meet the quota I will be sent home soon!
[She picks up her headset and starts making calls.]
Hello?
Hello?
[Sounding very enthusiastic] Hi my name is Namisha, and I’d like to talk to you about. . .
[Caller hangs up. She makes another call.]
Hello?
[Still trying to sound enthusiastic] Hi, my name is Namisha and I’d like to. . . . [Caller hangs up.]
[Sighs and dials again] Hello?
Hello?
[Talking very fast and sounding a little desperate] Hi, my name is Namisha, and I’d like to ask you a few questions about breakfast cereals.
Yes?
[Surprised for a moment that the caller stayed on the call] Do you eat breakfast cereal?
Yes. I eat a bowl of cereal before I go to bed every night.
[Looking at the script] What else do you eat along with your cereal . . . in . . . the . . . morning?
[Sounding confused] I don’t eat cereal in the morning.
[Studying the script and looking confused as she reads it] How much time do you have to eat your cereal in the morning?
Ummm. I’m sorry I have to go [caller hangs up].
[She takes off her headset totally perplexed] This script doesn’t make sense! If a person’s answer is a little different than what is expected the rest of the questions are irrelevant! How am I ever going to get another completed survey? [She seems dejected then brightens up] Oh, I know what I’m going to do! [She puts her headset back on and makes another call] Hello?
Hello?
Hi! Do you eat breakfast cereals?
Yes.
Do you eat anything alongside your cereal?
Yes. I usually eat fruit.
How long do you take to eat your cereal?
Usually about ten minutes or so.
Do you favor a certain brand?
Oh yeah, I only eat Grain Goody organic cereals.
[Very happily] Thank you very much for your time!
You’re welcome.
[She takes off her headset. She is beaming] Only one more survey, and I’ll meet my quota! [Namisha puts her headset back on. The manager walks over to her. Namisha is all smiles. She thinks the manager is coming over to tell her she is doing a good job.]
[In a monotone voice, not responding to Namisha’s smiles] Please stop for a moment.
[Namisha presses the button to stop the calls from coming and puts down her headset.]
[In a matter of fact voice] I was listening to your calls today and you made some big mistakes. Your dialing speed was low. You need to increase your speed; you have not met your quota.
[Surprised] Oh?!
In fact, I monitored your calls several times today, and you were often making more than one mistake.
[Short pause. Namisha looks at the manager expectedly not sure what she has done wrong.]
You did not always introduce yourself and in your last call you even altered the script.
Ohhhh . . . I was just modifying the script a little bit so I could complete a survey.
[In a condescending tone] I think we have been very clear about the rules during your training period. You are not allowed to alter the script in any way, and you must maintain a professional attitude while on the calls. You definitely cannot change the script to meet your quota…
[Interrupting] But the questions were repetitive, and I had a caller hang up on me in the middle. . . .
[Interrupting and looking straight into Namisha’s eyes] The script was written by professionals. I know there are no problems with it.
But sometimes we need to adapt the questions. . . .
[Firmly] I have already sent home two people today. We taught you about following the script in the training. You were told not to modify or alter the script. [Short pause] You should change your name when you are on the phone. Nobody will talk to someone with a name like Namisha. They won’t be able to relate to a name like that. I will continue to monitor you for the rest of your shift.
[Answers the manager reluctantly] Okay. [She turns to face the audience] Oh, I am so frustrated. I want to just walk out of this place . . . I didn’t come all the way to Canada to be spoken to so disrespectfully. I used to supervise a team of people his age when I worked as an engineer in India. I could teach him a few tricks about dealing with people. . . . But my options are so limited here. How many times have I been told that I need Canadian work experience? There are so many people in this call center in the same boat as me. Ali used to be a doctor in Pakistan; Samar was an accountant. I do like working in a professional environment, but I wish we were doing our real professional work or at least allowed to be more than a robot. I thought that this job would be a lot better than working in a factory or flipping burgers. At least this is a clean office environment. But I have to put up with this? My hours are erratic, and even when I do start my shift there is always the possibility of being sent home after 3 hours if I don’t meet the quota. I can’t survive on the money they pay, and it is even worse when I am not sure how many hours I will work in a day. If I didn’t need the money and experience, I would be out of here in a second. . . . [She slowly picks up her headset and a call comes in.]
Hello?
[Namisha does not answer for a minute but just swallows hard and stares at the phone. The caller hangs up. She dials another call.]
Hello?
Hi my name is [she pauses] Nancy and I’d like to ask you a few questions about breakfast cereals.
Sorry. I have no time to talk right now. [Caller hangs up. Another call comes in.]
Hello? Namisha: Hi my name is [she pauses] Nancy and I’d like to ask you a few questions about breakfast cereals.
Are you a telemarketer?
No, I’m trying to do a survey.
[Makes an annoyed sound and hangs up] [Another call comes in.]
Hello?
Hi my name is Nancy and I’d like to ask you a few questions about breakfast cereals.
Pardon? I can’t understand what you are saying?
Should I repeat myself again or should I continue?
Yes . . . yes . . . repeat.
[Talking slightly louder and slightly clearer] My name is Nancy, and I’d like to. . . .
[Interrupting her rudely] I can’t understand!
[Realizing that this call is not going to work and trying to end it politely] Okay, if you can’t understand that it fine, have a good evening.
[Quite belligerent now] No, you have to repeat again!
[Irritated and losing her patience] If you can’t understand what I am saying that is fine. . . .
[Interrupting her again] Your accent, I don’t understand your accent!
Ok. People are different that’s why you don’t understand my accent.
[Very forcefully] Repeat these words after me.
[Interrupting with disbelief] You want me to repeat after you?
[In a sharp and arrogant tone] Yes! I want to teach you how to speak!
[Trying to get rid of this caller in a professional manner] I’m really sorry, but I am doing a survey right now so if you don’t understand then I don’t want to continue.
[Very angry] You stupid immigrant! Go back to your country! [Namisha slumps her shoulders, leans her head down, and covers her face with her hands.]
[She slowly lifts her head up and dials another call] Hello?
Hello?
[Trying her best to regain her composure] Hi, my name is Nancy, and I’d like to ask you a few questions about breakfast cereals. . . .
Scene 2: Racial Segregation in Grocery Stores
Sheila (Retail cashier), Tom (Manager), Sonali (Retail cashier).
A busy supermarket.
The customers are lined up at all the registers. Sheila is about to start her shift. She sees Tom as she is walking over to her cash register.
Hi Tom!
[Taking a quick glance at Sheila’s name tag] Hi Sheila, how are you? [Tom stops to talk for a minute with Sheila but is glancing elsewhere and fidgeting.]
[Speaking hesitantly] I heard that there are some new openings in the front desk photo lab. I’ve been interested in working there for a long time.
Oh really?
Are there any positions available?
Actually, there are no positions open in the photo lab. We don’t get a lot of turnover over there. But I’ll let you know when there’s an opening.
[Happily surprised at his response and smiling broadly] Oh that would be great! Thanks! [Sheila walks over to her cash register feeling optimistic. She logs in to the register and looks up at a customer in the next line over.]
[Speaking loudly] May I help you? [The customer puts the food on the belt, and Sheila scans the food.]
Hello.
Hello. [Sheila scans the items, but one of the items does not have a sticker on it so she tries to punch in a code but it is wrong. She does this a couple of times.]
[Sighs really heavily] Is something wrong?
I am trying to figure out the code for this item, but it doesn’t have a sticker on it.
[Sheila holds the item in her hand and examines it. In the meantime, a line-up is starting to form behind the customer, and they are peering across the line trying to figure out what’s going on. They are making remarks to themselves under their breath that Sheila can hear.]
[Muttering to herself] This is taking forever!
[Standing there with groceries in her arm that are awkwardly balanced] Come on lady this stuff is getting heavy!
[Not visibly bothered by these comments and still trying to figure out the codes. She calls the cashier beside her] Hey Sonali, do you know the code for this? [She holds up the item for her to see.]
Oh yeah, that was on the list of 100 new codes we were given last night to memorize. It is 443872.
Thanks! [Sheila scans the customer’s groceries, and one item slips out of her hand and back on to the conveyor belt. She picks it back up to scan it.]
[Yelling at her] I don’t want that apple! It will have a bruise on it!] Sheila takes a deep sigh.]
Sorry about that.
I don’t want it anymore. [Sheila tries to retain her composure as she puts the apple aside. She is breathing heavily; her mouth is drawn tightly together. She continues scanning. In the meantime, Customer 3 sets her items down on the conveyor belt.]
[Speaking in a condescending tone] You should be more careful when you are scanning. Nobody will want fruit that’s bruised. [Sheila looks at the customer but does not respond to her comments. She forces herself to speak to the customer politely.]
That will be $30.00 please.
Have a nice day. [Customer 1 picks up her bags and leaves.]
[She has a baby in one hand, and the baby is starting to cry as she puts the groceries on the conveyor belt. She is flustered and disorganized] Hi!
Hi!
[The baby is crying loudly while she is speaking to Sheila. She raises her voice to be heard over the baby’s cries] Are these on special? I couldn’t tell what price they are.
No, these aren’t on sale. The Cushies are on sale.
Oh okay, I’m going to get the Cushies.
Jeeez!! How long is this going to take! [Customer 2 comes rushing back in a couple of minutes.]
[In an appreciative tone] Thanks!
No problem! That comes to $5.25.
[Hands Sheila her debit card; Sheila is rubbing her arm]. Is your arm OK?
Yes, it’s been hurting for a long time.
Have you been to the doctor?
I did but she just said that I need to change my job.
[Taking her receipt from Sheila] Thanks. Good luck.
[Smiling] You too!
[She looks at Customer 3] Hello!
[Customer 3 smiles reluctantly.]
[She speaks in a lighthearted and cheerful tone] Just so you know these bagels are cheaper by the dozen.
[She replies with irritation] I don’t have time to go all the way back there and stand in line again.
Okay.
Can you just please hurry? I am late for an appointment.
Sure. Your total is $25.36.
Are you sure that is right price? [She looks over at the screen] I think you overcharged me for the pears. I have Bartlett not Anjou Pears!
Oh sorry, my mistake! [Sheila adjusts the bill on the computer.]
Who hired you! Don’t you know how to do cash! You’re trying to rip me off!
[She tries to reason with the customer, explaining herself in an even tone] I’m sorry, I’ve adjusted your bill by [pause] 12 cents, I am sorry. Your new total is $25.24.
[In a loud voice] I don’t care that it is only 12 cents; you don’t know how to do cash! I’m going to complain to your manager!
[Tom is walking by; noticing the commotion he rushes over to see what is happening. Sheila is now visibly nervous.]
[Trying to calm the situation down by speaking in a calm and respectful voice to the customer] Hello, is there something wrong?
Yes! Your cashier is trying to scam me! She tried to overcharge me!
We’re very sorry about this. It won’t happen again.
I hope not, or I won’t shop here again!
[Speaking to Sheila authoritatively] What is her total?
[Her voice is shaking] $25.24.
[The customer pays Sheila with cash. She gives her change and gives her a receipt.]
[Looking at Tom] You should make sure your cashiers know what they are doing!
Yes, we will. [The customer storms off with her groceries.]
[Speaking quietly to Sheila] This is a warning. Do not let that happen again, okay?
[She is visibly shaken up, her eyes are lowered, her shoulders are hunched forward, and she is busying her hands with an old receipt] Okay. [Tom walks away. Sheila starts cleaning up around her, and she notices a group of people standing around the photo lab.]
[Speaking to the cashier beside her] Hey, Sonali. What are all those people doing at the front desk? [Sheila continues to clean and organize her cash as she is talking to Sonali.]
They are waiting to be interviewed for the photo lab.
[She stops for a minute and her mouth drops] Tom said there are no more openings! [She turns to face the audience] I don’t believe this. I’ve been asking about a job there for months! I’ve submitted my application three times! I didn’t even get an interview! I am so sick of this place. It is so segregated. Black people are always hired for the hardest jobs—either cashier or deli. If you are Asian you are in the flower shop, and Irish or Italians are in the bakery. Only White people get to work at the photo lab or get a chance to be manager. Immigrants never get promotions! I wonder whether I should approach the union. But who do I talk to? I’ve never seen anybody from the union around here. I am so fed up with being a cashier. My shoulders are aching from scanning and bagging all day. I wish I could just sit down for a minute, but the security cameras and managers are always monitoring us to make sure we are standing. Worst part is that somehow I am supposed to do this with a smile on my face for my whole shift. That was reinforced over and over during my training—be polite, be friendly, don’t talk back, the customer is always right. Even if they yell or swear at you—don’t react. I have no idea how I have survived in this place for two years! One thing I do believe is, “You find your own way and you do it.” I’m going to keep applying for another job— somewhere better than here.
Scene 3: Favoritism in the Garment Factory
May (Garment sewer), Joana (Supervisor), Lee (Garment sewer), Nitu (Garment sewer), Meera (Garment sewer).
A hot afternoon in a crowded garment factory.
It is May’s first day on the job. May walks onto the garment factory floor with the supervisor. It is noisy and chaotic with activity going on all around her. She is told to sit at an empty sewing machine between some workers. They give her a quick look as they continue to work and ignore her presence.
[Places a garment in front of her] I’ll give you one hour. If you can learn to sew this garment, I have work for you. [May hesitates. The Supervisor walks away. May is left on her own with the garment and not sure what to do next. She tries to talk to the people around her.]
[Speaking hesitantly] Excuse me?
[Lee gives May a suspicious glance but does not raise her head.]
Excuse me? I just have a question to ask about this pattern. [Nobody acknowledges her Question.]
[Murmuring to herself] The last time I helped somebody learn a pattern they started to do so well that there was no work left for me.
[Speaking hesitantly again and trying to get the attention of the other women] Excuse me? Is this double needle or single needle? [None of the women raise their heads or even look at May. She does not know what to do next. Her shoulders are slumped, and she has a glum look on her face.]
[Sharply] Split open the garment and sew it back together so you can learn the pattern. How else do you expect to learn it? [May appears startled and then she gets to work. Garment Sewer 3 coughs intermittently. The supervisor walks by.]
What is the problem?
It’s hot and dusty. I need to get some water.
Sorry. You have had too many breaks today; you’ll have to wait. [May looks at the supervisor quickly, surprised at the rigidity of the factory. She puts her head back down quickly so she can appear to be working hard. The supervisor walks away and Garment Sewer 3 is fuming.]
[Murmuring to herself] Who does she think she is? I have to get some water! [Meera slows down her pace of work, coughing. The supervisor walks by again.]
[Angrily] What do you think you are doing? You are working too slowly!
I can’t work faster. I need to get some water!
[Relenting but still harsh] You better hurry! [Meera walks away quickly. May is still trying to figure out how to stitch the pattern.]
[To May] Do you get the pattern?
Yes. I learn quickly.
[The supervisor picks up the garment and examines it closely.]
[To May] You used the wrong thread, and you did single needle instead of double needle.
[To Lee] Teach her how to do this pattern. [Lee ignores her and keeps working. The supervisor speaks more forcefully this time] Teach her!
[To May, authoritatively] I will be back soon to check on your work. [Lee puts her chair beside May and starts to show her how to sew the pattern.]
[Speaking to May curtly while threading the needle in the machine] You have to use polyester thread for this pattern. [She points to the stitch] It’s double needle. [Lee stitches the garment for a minute then she gets up and goes to her own seat. Meera returns to her seat and continues to work fast.]
[To Lee] Thanks. [Lee ignores May] [May continues to sew the garment. She tries her best to watch the other women to see how they are sewing. May adjusts her seat so she can see over the shoulders of the women in front of her. The women ignore her] These people are treating me as if I am stealing money from their pockets. People in my previous workplace were much nicer. Too bad that it’s low season and the rate was getting worse over there. I really don’t feel good about this factory. Look at this place – dirty, stuffy, noisy, and sweaty. I feel like I’m going to be sick. I can’t believe that workplaces in Canada could be so depressing. I thought I was going to improve my standard of living by coming to Canada, not make it worse. In China, I had a middle-class lifestyle and a job as an office administrator. But here, just because I can’t speak English properly, people think I am stupid. Employers don’t care that I have a good education from China. They won’t even recognize my degree! I started doing garment work because I knew how to sew—my mother is a great sewer. I thought it would just be temporary, but now this is the only kind of work I can get. I hope that the English classes that I am attending every evening help me out – I need to find a job better than this.
[To May] Let me see your work. [She examines May’s garment again] Good job. You can stay for the rest of the afternoon. If you continue to work well, you can come back tomorrow.
[May nods her head and stays silent. The supervisor brings her a bundle of garments to work on and walks away. May is working faster now. She knows how to sew the garment well so she finishes up the next two pieces quickly. Lee is glancing over at May and noticing how fast she is working.]
[Whispering to Meera] She will bring down the piece rate if she does not slow down!
[To Nitu] Look at how fast she is working! [Nitu and Meera look at May, visibly frustrated.]
[To May] You’d better stop working so fast or you will lower our pay! [May looks over at them with a confused expression on her face; the supervisor comes back again. She has another bundle of garments for everyone to sew, and she hands Lee a pile of new garments.]
Here is the latest order. You need to learn this pattern right now. The piece rate on this is higher because it is more complicated.
[Mumbling to herself] How come I was not asked to do that work!
[In a loud whisper to Meera] She always favors her! She always gets more work than us! How am I going to feed my family with only these clothes to stitch!
I have even less than you! She is really playing favorites today! [May looks at her own small pile of clothes and shrugs her shoulders.]
[To Nitu] What’s your piece rate today?
30 cents per garment.
[Angrily] She told me 25 cents! [May is eavesdropping on their conversation, and her ears perk up when she hears about the rates.]
[Speaking loudly] She told me it’s 20 cents! [The other women look at her with a little sympathy showing in their eyes, and the tension cracks just a tiny bit.]
This is what they do around here. They are always giving different piece rates. [Lee keeps working, ignoring the conversation of the others. Meera points to Lee and speaks in a whisper] Some people are always favored and given a better piece rate and better work to do. [May nods her head. The women continue to work. May is finished with one of the garments and goes to pick up another garment that is of the same pattern. Joana walks by and hands out cheques to everyone except May.]
[Authoritatively] Here are your cheques. Do not cash them yet. I will tell you when it is okay. [She walks away quickly before anybody can make a comment. Nitu and Meera are really angry and they start to speak to each other in their native tongue.]
[In Hindi] This is ridiculous! This is the third week we haven’t been paid!
[In Hindi] How much longer does she think we will work without getting paid! She’s making fools out of us!
[In Hindi] I’m leaving! Enough is enough!
[In Hindi] Me too!
[Nitu and Meera pack up their things and walk away. May watches them leave. She is completely baffled. May and Lee continue to work silently for a while. May then cautiously questions Lee] May:
Do you know what is going on? [Lee does not respond at first] Why did they leave? [Lee barely looks at her. May continues to work.]
[Still looking down at her work] They are unhappy with the supervisor.
Why are they so unhappy?
She has been giving us empty cheques. This is the third week in a row.
Empty cheques?
There is no money in their bank account.
Ohhhhhhh [A look of understanding washes over her face] How long will it take to get paid? I need to pay my rent. [Lee continues to work at a swift pace and ignores May’s questions. May watches her for a minute.]
Why do you continue to work so hard?
[Looking at May directly] I need my money so I have to wait. [Their eyes lock for a second, and then Lee gets back to work while May continues to look confused. After a few moments they both pick up the garments and walk away.]
Scene 4: Asserting Self-Identity
Sheila, Tom (Manager).
The supermarket.
Sheila is standing at the cash, counting money. She is about to start her shift. Her manager walks toward her. It is her first time wearing her hijab to work.
[She looks up] Hi Tom! [She goes back to counting her money.]
[He is confused, searching for the right words to say to her] Oh, Sheila, what’s that on your head?
[She is confident when she looks up at him] It is my religious headgear. It is called a hijab. [She goes back to counting.]
[His voice is tense] When did you decide to wear this headgear?
[She looks up at him and stops counting] Oh, I have been thinking about it for a long time.
[Trying to maintain some authority] You should have told us about this when we interviewed you.
[Pauses for a moment before answering] Why?
Scene 5: Resisting and Exerting Power
Namisha, Paul (Manager).
The Call Centre.
Namisha is returning from the bathroom. She finds her manager sitting near her cubicle with his legs sprawled in the hallway. She gives him a look, expecting him to move his legs so she can pass, but he does not move. She is forced to walk around him so she can get back to her cubicle. After Namisha is seated in her cubicle and about to put on her headset, he gets off his chair and walks over to her.
[Speaking condescendingly] You took 10 minutes. Washroom breaks are only 5 minutes.
[She rolls her eyes before she turns her head to face him] I am sorry, I didn’t realize that. [She turns back to face her computer.]
[His voice is more demeaning] If you do that again, I will deduct it from your pay.
[She is breathing heavily now, trying to retain her composure. She turns her head towards him again] It won’t happen again.
[He moves closer to her now] You know, I had to fire someone last week because they kept coming back late from the washroom. [Namisha sighs heavily to herself.]
[He is cocky and self assured] It’s a good thing you took my advice and changed your name, or you’d be out of a job—you’d never meet your quota. [Namisha straightens her back and gathers her courage to respond to her boss.]
You . . . [He is interrupted by Namisha.]
[She keeps her voice steady, and she stands up and faces her boss. She takes something out of her purse] Here, why don’t you take this candy? It will make your mouth sweet. [She looks right at him and does not move. The Manager is stunned, and then looks away from her. He fidgets for a second not sure what to do next, then gets up and walks away.]
Scene 6: Holding Her Ground
May (Garment sewer), Joana (Manager).
The Garment Factory.
The manager is pacing back and forth. She is waiting for May to come to work. Her anger is increasing by the second. She tries calling her, but there is no answer; finally May answers the phone.
Hello?
[Fuming with anger] Where are you this morning? I have so much work to do! I need you here on time! [May does not respond to her.]
[More angry] Why didn’t you come to work this morning?! We need to finish that order today!
[Speaking to her calmly] I need to get paid more.
[Surprised and angry] What?! You can’t tell me to pay you more money! I will decide if you deserve more money!
[Calm but firm] I am your best sewer. If I don’t come to work you won’t get your order completed.
[Furious] I have many good sewers I can manage without you!
Then you don’t need me. [There is a long pause. The manager still has the phone clenched in her fist, but she is not responding to May. May can hear her breathing heavily.]
Okay, be here in an hour.
Reflections and Considerations
We gave three live performances of this ethnodrama at academic conferences—Researchers and Academics of Colour for Equality (RACE) conference in Toronto (May 2007); Who’s Working What’s Working?, a conference held by the Toronto Training Board and the Centre for the Study of Education and Work, University of Toronto (October 2006a); and Skills, Jobs, and Immigrants: Work and Learning Network, a conference at the University of Alberta (October 2006b). The audiences consisted of academics, graduate students, employees of immigrant serving agencies, union representatives, and social justice activists. Audiences responded positively, expressing both an outrage at the working conditions for these immigrant women and interest in ethnodrama as an educational medium for social sciences research. For nonacademic audience members there was an appreciation of our efforts to make our research accessible to a wider group of people using a form that was provocative and compelling. These public performances informed the development of the script by stimulating our creative process. For example, in our performance at the RACE conference we were encouraged by the chair of our session to portray moments of disruption and resistance. 3 This led to an improvisational performance in which audience members were encouraged to join our cast and act out scenes of resistance, which in turn led to the development of the final three scenes.
In these performances, we wanted to show the rich detail of the workplaces as much as was possible while using minimal staging. We used props that were not intended to be realistic, but gave a sense of the scene. For example, for the supermarket scene we used a child’s toy cash register and plastic food items. To demarcate the manager, we used the same suit jacket and clipboard in each scene. For each of the live performances we gave, we reflected extensively on issues surrounding casting and the ways in which casting can be used to reinforce or disrupt implicit assumptions made about people of color. Our casting decisions were also a topic of audience discussion each time we performed the play, provoking reflection on the process of racialization, that is, the mechanism through which physical characteristics are assumed to map onto social positions.
We used three casting strategies: (1) race- and gender-blind casting, (2) casting to disrupt accent expectations, and (3) shifting roles. Race- and gender-blind casting served to maintain the focus of our analysis on the processes of exclusion rather than the traits of the individual workers or employers. We used gender- and race-blind casting deliberately to disrupt essentialist notions of identity while still showing how racism and racialization shaped these workplaces. For example, a member of our group who was a woman of color played the role of “Tom,” the manager in the supermarket. This served to show that managerial positions in supermarkets, irrespective of the race or gender of the worker, require the often dehumanizing treatment of workers and the acceptance of customer aggression.
In another case, we decided to cast specifically to disrupt accent expectations. In the call center scene, Namisha was performed by a group member who had grown up in Canada and had a Canadian accent and the caller who wanted to correct her English was performed by a member of the group who was a recent immigrant from China. The interaction between the two characters that involved the hostile reaction of the caller who spoke English with what is conventionally assumed to be the “wrong” accent toward the call center worker who was speaking what is conventionally assumed to be the “right” accent never failed to generate laughter from the audience. In this laughter, however, was the recognition of the normative hierarchies surrounding correct and wrong English accents.
Finally, with very minimal costume changes, we shifted characters between scenes, and these shifts often involved shifts in power positions. The member who played the role of the garment sewer in one scene was an aggressive caller in another. The role of the supermarket cashier was played by a member who was a supervisor in the call center. This reinforced the notion that precarious as well as supervisory jobs engender particular behaviors and responses. It also allowed us to challenge the stereotype that all immigrant workers or people of color are uniformly oppressed and do not hold positions of power.
In addition to the live performances we created a DVD of the performance, which included the introduction and analysis of the issues that we also used in our live performances. The DVD format allows us to use the ethnodrama as an enduring pedagogical tool, capturing the energy of the performance and allowing us to bring it into the classroom. Through ethnodrama we are able to bring the audience into the workplaces and observe familiar situations in a new way. While we have all been in a supermarket and witnessed an impatient customer being rude to a worker, or received phone calls—at inconvenient times—from an enthusiastic telemarketer, we normally do not ponder over how the work is organized, what kind of training the workers go through, or even the stories of the worker’s lives. Through this ethnodrama we document the ways in which workers engaged in work-related learning despite the constant instability in their jobs and shed light on the nexus between the racialized and gendered organization of precarious work, the worker’s learning, and their lived experiences.
As academics, our venture into writing and performing in an ethnodrama was a big leap. For all of us, this was the first time we were merging our interests in artistic expression with our academic work. Our group dynamic, trust, and ability to give honest feedback and criticism were vital to our success. Equally important was a commitment to trust the creative process and see how the stories would unfold. Initially there was some ambiguity about how the stories would emerge from the data. It was through the process of writing, revising, and rewriting the ethnodrama that clarity about storylines, characters, and voice arose. By stepping out of our academic comfort zones and experimenting with a new art form, we in turn expanded our understanding of how academic research should be represented and understood. Both seeing and feeling the research we conducted come alive on stage and witnessing the audience response reinforced our decision that ethnodrama was the best representational form for this work.
To other academics interested in using ethnodrama we recommend it wholeheartedly. Although producing an ethnodrama can be more labour intensive, messy and unclear compared to traditional options, using the arts is “transformational in process and possibilities”, offering rewards that can not be attained otherwise (Sameshina & Knowles, 2008, p. 108). We felt that our project was analytically enriched through our attempt to capture our findings in the ethnodrama. Writing the play gave us an opportunity to discuss the politics of our work as researchers, and the continual processes of representation in which we engage in as academics and scholars.
Footnotes
The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
The author(s) declared the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. Funding was provided for this project through the Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada, grant number 501-2001-0080.