Ethnicity as an Opportunity

This research examines the challenges of gaining access to participant observation in two foreign factories pseudonymously named Blue Apparel Company (BAC) and Green Garment Company (GGC) located in Bole Lemi Industrial Park (BLIP) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Accessing foreign manufacturing firms that have employed thousands of local workforces is difficult because they do not want observers to know their “mysteries of the abode of production”. Establishing personal connections and friendships is thus crucial in gaining access, particularly in settings where multiple approvals are required for fieldwork. In this piece, I will explore how my ethnicity turned a barrier into an opportunity, allowing me to gain access to BAC. I will discuss how the match between my ethnic background and the person who manages a foreign factory at BAC helped me get data for my PhD thesis, aligning the adage “birds of a feather flock together” and how a lack of co-ethnic connection hindered me from accessing GGC.