Abstract
This study aimed to understand the various vocational aspirations held by women belonging to marginalized populations residing in urban slums of Delhi. The study adopted a mixed-method approach including a survey of 220 women between the ages of 18 and 60 and a semi-structured interview of 20 women. The study views aspirations as socially shaped phenomena influenced by structural inequalities, cultural norms and personal agency taking into account the theoretical perspectives such as Bourdieu’s concept of habitus and social capital, Appadurai’s notion of the ‘capacity to aspire’ and Gottfredson’s theory of circumscription and compromise. A large percentage of women (46%) showed no desire to carry out any job outside the house citing various reasons. The study also revealed the major challenges and constraints faced by the women, which included the burden of early marriage, financial constraints, lack of family support, lack of awareness, inadequate educational attainment and vocational skills, shortage of time and poor health. Many of the challenges were interlinked with each other.
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