RIPESS Europe Scientific Committee - Round I Session II (September 2021)
Session II : Where are the minority women in the European Solidarity Economy agenda?
Swati Banerjee, Professor at the Centre for Livelihoods and Social Innovation, Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai.
Luciane Lucas Dos Santos, from CES-UC and Ripess Europe Scientific Committee member.
Playlist : video.transformadora.org/my-library/video-playlists/ae3437ac-5023-4e2c-b8f9-71388ca768b6
Intervention from Swati Banerjee
ABSTRACT
The context of lifeworld and the dynamics of solidarities and participation of people at grassroots is located within the inherent heterogeneity of groups and communities and the power hierarchies of caste, class, ethnicity, race, gender and intersectionalities that operates within the same. This plays out in the everyday struggles and lives of people which needs a deeper understanding in the discourse of solidarity economy and social innovation. This talk will therefore focus on the journeys of marginalized women and their intersectional and lived experiences of marginalization, disempowerment, solidarities and agency from India. The understanding and unpacking of such experiences and local practices will also attempt to highlight the key constructs and perspectives that engages with the questions and relevance of highlighting the need for critical intersectional perspectives to relook and reimagine Solidarity Economy and Social Innovation in glocal contexts, especially in complex times like this.
Intervention from Luciane Lucas Dos Santos
Abstract
Given that solidarity economy is particularly concerned with fostering economic democracy, by questioning the social asymmetries that might hinder its achievement and/or by reinforcing the communities’ resilience, this seminar highlights the relevance of intersectional approaches to economic issues, particularly the solidarity economy debate within European countries. This intersectional approach might not only deepen the debate on the (dis/re) connection between the solidarity economy agenda and social inequalities in Europe but also to the design of more fine-tuned public policies and advocacy towards social and environmental justice.
Grounded on the contributions from scholars such as Cecilia Rio, Rose Brewer, Cecilia Konrad, Mary King, and Monique Constance-Huggins – in the fields of Black Feminist Economics and Black Economic Thought – I argue that Solidarity Economy in Europe could benefit from feminist and black studies’ contributions to better understand and address inequality problems and material constraints experienced by minority women, black women in particular. As a result, public policies towards local development, advocacy for environmental and social justice, and mapping by support organisations could be enhanced through a more detailed look at locally-situated factors undermining communities’ resilience and economic democracy.