Vulnerable or Poor? A study of Ethnic and Gender Disadvantage Among Afro-Caribbeans in Limón, Costa Rica

Abstract

Drawing on recent debates on poverty which have stressed the non-economic and dynamic elements of disadvantage, this article explores the concept of vulnerability with reference to Afro-Caribbeans in Costa Rica. The argument focuses on how this group have made impressive inroads in overcoming socio-economic inequalities, yet remain racially disadvantaged in gender-differentiated ways. This relates primarily to labour vulnerability through their occupational entrenchment in ethnic and gender niches. While Afro-Caribbeans, and women in particular, are often employed in relatively privileged segments of the labour market, they are constrained by their lack of occupational mobility. At a broader level, this is compounded by their sense of powerlessness within the national polity. The article suggests that the concept of vulnerability may be useful in other contexts. First, in assessing more intangible elements of disadvantage; second, in examining the evolution of ethnic and gender relations over time, and finally, in contributing to debates on the effects of structural adjustment policies on ethnic groups.