‘Put me on to a male agent’: Emotional labor and performing gender in call centers

Abstract

This article aims to shed light on the gender dynamics in the context of performing emotional labor in Turkish call centers. Based on qualitative interviews, this study aimed to illuminate how gender is done and undone, providing a perspective on the relationship between gender and emotional labor in call centers, a highly gendered and interactional line of work. Gender relations are complex and gender performativity in call center work allows us to observe different ways in which employees do and undo gender. This study reveals that female employees are more inclined to undo gender and display competence as a work strategy to elevate their position, whereas male employees struggle between job demands and adhering to masculine norms.