Changing Cultural Practices, Self-Identifications and Gender Roles of Kurdish and Turkish Catering and Retail Business Owners in London

Abstract

This paper focuses on the changing cultural practices, self-identifications, and gender roles of Kurdish and Turkish (KT) communities in London. It explores the research question of how the occupational shift from industrial waged labour to self-employment affects the cultural practices, gender roles and identity construction processes of Kurdish and Turkish business owners in catering and retail sectors in London. Depending on a field study consisting of 40 in-depth interviews, this paper draws the conclusions that identification of shared interests and interest alignment in Britain promote bonds of solidarity, new forms of ethnic attachment, which are not salient in the home country and may be helpful to overcome various problems of the KT communities in London.