Social reproduction theory as a lens and method: multiplying struggles for equality beyond the workplace

This chapter advances Marxist feminist social reproduction theory (SRT) as a theoretical lens and method to theoretically expand analyses of diversity (e.g. gender, ‘race’, ‘ethnicity’, migration status, disability, sexual orientation, age and their various intersections) and inequality in management and organization studies (MOS) by integrating socially reproductive work. After delineating the key tenets of SRT, I illustrate how it can be used through the analysis of the Belgian Service Voucher Scheme. The Scheme is a publicly funded program that turns domestic workers into regular workers, extending important social protections to them. This case shows how a SRT analysis expands current critical theorizations of diversity and inequality to surface its underpinnings in capitalist political economy. This in turn allows to identify new locales of struggle for equality beyond the workplace. I conclude with a reflection on what this perspective might entail for critical research on diversity in MOS.