Communicative Mechanisms of Political Exclusion: Power, Discourse, and the Limits of Women’s Representation in Indonesia’s Garment Global Production Networks
Abstract
The feminisation of labor in export-oriented garment industries is frequently portrayed as a pathway to economic inclusion. However, increasing evidence suggests that such integration occurs within unequal and exploitative in global garment production, limited attention had been given to the communicative mechanisms through which the political exclusion of women workers is reproduced. This study investigates how communicative practices shape and constrain the political representation of women garment workers within Global Production Networks (GPN) in Indonesia. Employing a critical qualitative approach, the research draws on in-depth interviews and focus group discussion with 18 participants, comprising 15 women workers and three labor union representative from two garment factories in North Jakarta. Data were analysed using Critical Thematic Analysis (CTA), integrating Nancy Fraser’s theory of justice with Michel Foucault’s perspective on discourse and power. The findings show that political exclusion is reproduced through interconnected mechanisms, including economic exploitation, disciplinary practices fostering fear and self-censorship, the dominance of managerial discourse, restriction on union activities, organisational fragmentation, and gendered social norms that marginalise women’s voices. These mechanisms collectively undermine workers’ ability to express, negotiate, and institutionalise their interests. The study argues that political exclusion is mediated through everyday communicative practices, extending Fraser’s framework by demonstrating how communicative mechanisms operationalise structural injustice through the regulation of voice, knowledge, and participation within global production regimes.
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