An Ethnographic Study of Appalachian Women Working in the New Economy

This paper explores how Appalachian working women negotiate the challenges of a changing workplace and documents personal work histories and narratives about work among female manufacturing and service workers. The Appalachian region has long endured devaluation of labor through boom and bust cycles of dominating industries and the off-shoring of manufacturing jobs. Following the 2008 economic crisis, which exacerbated such labor conditions in this region, sectors vulnerable to market fluctuations have intensified their use of a flexible workforce. They seek workers who will submit to ongoing training and self-development, adapt to unpredictable work schedules, or work as temporary employees. While these changing expectations of workers may present new challenges for those living in rural areas of the region where long commutes, even for precarious minimum wage work, are common they may also affect men and women workers differently. This paper explores how Appalachian working women negotiate the challenges of a changing workplace and documents personal work histories and spoken narratives about work among female manufacturing and service workers. It will describe the daily circumstances of women workers at factory and service worksites and include topics such as childcare responsibilities, dress and appearance, and the effects of precarious employment on women. It is based on 15 months of dissertation fieldwork in a manufacturing plant and among women in a job training program on the edge of the Appalachian region of Kentucky. Data will be part of a new collection in the Berea College Sound Archives titled Appalachian Women in the Modern Workplace