ABSTRACT
The previous two chapters looked at the work sites and labour processes of call centres and the way in which the experiences of working in these places have impacted upon the construction of women’s identities. Contingent upon these processes are the production of socio-spatial relations found in the NCR. If we follow the call centre workers from home to work and explore the way in which spatial relations are reproduced or transgressed at home, en route and at the office it becomes evident that clothing functions as spatial practice (Secor 2002) to negotiate unsafe places. Spaces are increasingly important, particularly in geographies of women’s fears, and as Delhi negotiates its status as a global city, the call centre functions as a ‘Synopticon’ (Bauman 1998), a retreat from the ‘Panopticon’ of society, offering safety from the many who watch the few. The popularity of dhabas, road-side eateries, and an in-depth look at Zaika, a dhaba in Gurgaon, determine the extent to which socio-spatial relations have been shaped by the workers of transnational call centres and, in particular, how women have transgressed the boundaries of the private/public divide into ‘male only’ social spaces.
