Our study illustrates how boundary mechanisms exacerbated the marginalization of paid domestic workers in India, after they resumed their employment at the end of the lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic. We draw upon in-depth interviews with the middle-class employers of these workers to show how the employers renegotiated boundary rules and created bubbles of safe interaction for themselves. We contribute to boundary theory by explaining how pre-existing symbolic boundaries intensify and materialize into social boundaries. Social boundaries often result in unequal access to resources, further increasing disparities. But how do these boundaries get invoked? What forms do they take? So far, we do not have enough empirical research examining the creation and maintenance of social boundaries. This study shows how social boundaries get created and stabilized within gated communities through deployment of material resources, regulations and routinization of boundary tactics. These exclusionary social boundaries are further strengthened by the presence of an external agency, emerging as a new and significant actor in the hitherto private employer–worker relationship. Finally, we note that these boundaries result in normalized differential treatment of domestic workers, thus accentuating the class divide.

中文翻译：

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通过排除边界创造“安全”空间：检查印度 COVID-19 大流行期间雇主对家庭工人的待遇


我们的研究说明了边界机制如何加剧了印度带薪家庭佣工在 COVID-19 大流行期间封锁结束后恢复就业后的边缘化。我们对这些工人的中产阶级雇主进行了深入访谈，以展示雇主如何重新谈判边界规则并为自己创造安全互动的泡沫。我们通过解释预先存在的象征性边界如何强化并具体化为社会边界来对边界理论做出贡献。社会界限往往导致资源获取机会不平等，从而进一步扩大差距。但如何调用这些边界呢？它们采取什么形式？到目前为止，我们还没有足够的实证研究来检验社会边界的创建和维护。本研究展示了如何通过物质资源的部署、法规和边界策略的常规化，在封闭社区内创建和稳定社会边界。外部机构的存在进一步强化了这些排他性的社会界限，成为迄今为止私人雇主与工人关系中新的重要参与者。最后，我们注意到这些界限导致对家庭工人的差别待遇正常化，从而加剧了阶级分化。