Labor contractors in India’s garment sector don’t all face the same struggles. This research finds that Dalit (formerly “untouchable”) contractors experience much greater precarity than their upper-caste peers—even when doing the same jobs—because they are excluded from the social networks that secure contracts and resources.
Dalit contractors are stuck in a cycle of job insecurity and lower pay. They struggle to recruit workers, are excluded from lucrative deals, and lack the financial buffers to survive tough times. Even their leadership is undermined by caste-based dynamics, which destabilize their businesses and block paths to upward mobility—while upper-caste contractors leverage community connections to get better rates and more consistent work.
For global brands, addressing supply chain inequality requires more than wage audits—systemic discrimination keeps marginalized workers trapped at the bottom. Policymakers must recognize that job security programs will fail if they don’t consider identity-based barriers to opportunity. And for researchers, this case shows that occupational precarity is deeply intersectional and context-dependent, rooted in who you are—and who you know—not just what you do.