“Argued in the debate on democracy that economic hardship caused by austerity policies aggravates feelings of frustration with the crisis and dissatisfaction with policies implemented by respective governments across Europe” – claims Iza Desperak. Her text analyzes the origins and evolution of the term and concept ‘precariat.’ Moreover it focuses on the gender dimension within precarity in contemporary work and life, and points out the particular phenomenon of the ‘un-grateful slave,’ previously used to describe gender-related mechanisms of labor market discrimination. The empirical basis is drawn from several researches, conducted by the author in Łódź, Poland, between 2004 and 2010.
Keywords: precariat, precarious, labor, feminism, gender, discrimination, women, inequality
