Abstract

ABSTRACT Feminist activism persisted even in the isolating times of the COVID-19 pandemic. But how did the crisis shape feminist solidarity, especially for subjects facing multiple marginalities? In this article, based on in-depth interviews and participant observation, I examine how women tech workers in India – as gendered labour in the Global South – participated in various online groups to overcome their isolation. These women ostensibly acted as compliant neoliberal and heteronormative subjects, but their compliance paved the way for feminist solidarity. I theorize this paradox as the ‘praxis of compliance.’ As a theoretical framework, ‘praxis of compliance’ foregrounds the structural barriers to women workers’ participation in collective feminist activism. It also reveals some alternative strategies of building feminist solidarity within the constraints of the neoliberal economy as well as local and global crises that deepen inequality. I identify three potential areas of praxis of compliance for women tech workers in India: professional, personal and labour activism.

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