Educational mobility among women from stigmatized caste groups: A study of high-achieving middle-class Dalit women

Abstract

ABSTRACT The article explores the distinct upward social mobility trajectories of six high-achieving Dalit women in government services in Chennai in south India. Their mobility, primarily driven by education, makes them a very ‘select’ group given the larger relatively abysmal social, educational and occupational inequality of the Dalits as minority caste groups in India. Social mobility is understood here as a qualitative, subjective, and family praxis. It is argued that collective family resources, affirmative action policies, and the agency displayed by the women were key in facilitating their mobility trajectories. However, intersectionalities of caste, gender, and class make their mobility pathways complex and strewn with emotional challenges – the ‘hidden costs of mobility.’ Strikingly, following the minority culture of mobility the world over, the women also shared a strong sense of belonging to their group of origin and were cognisant of paying back to the community.