Women's Work in London's Turkish Ethnic Economy

Abstract

While strolling through Green Lanes in Haringey one comes across many restaurants with Turkish names, such as Gökyüzü, Hala, Yayla, Antepliler, Diyarbakır and many others. A short glance reveals that there are not many women workers in these restaurants. The most visible ones are those working as waitresses. During the day, one can see women pastry-makers through the shop window where they appear to be sitting and making pastry. This is the most visible type of female labour in the Turkish ethnic economy but it is only the tip of the iceberg. There are many other categories of women involved in the ethnic business. However, their contribution remains invisible, and is classed as domestic work or reproductive activity. This chapter aims to highlight the invisible work carried out by women and to analyse it in relation to the textile work that women used to do in the 1980s and 1990s in London.