Mapping Beyond Dewey's Boundaries: Constructing Classificatory Space for Marginalized Knowledge Domains - Dewey Decimal Classification excludes some groups

The second option is to use the number for interdisciplinary works on international movement of people in 304.82:

Entry from DDC:

   304.82  International movement
           Class international emigration in 304.809; class
           international immigration in 304.83-304.89

The number 304.82 is a subdivision of movement of people under the broader concept of social behaviors, thus taking this issue out of the political realm of colonialism. It does allow for geographic subdivision in either direction--the country to which people went or the country which they left. The latter applies to the postcolonial diaspora, but it uses the less preferred number. Preference will be given, according to DDC's rule of zero,(4) to international immigration rather than emigration. Therefore, people leaving India for other places in general will be classified with movement from India, but people leaving India for specific destinations will be classified with movement toward each of those places (such as movement toward England) thus diasporizing the diaspora.

These details about the siting of colonialism in DDC help to reveal that the apparently neutral transparent space is actually skewed toward a mainstream interpretation because it has been constructed by a mainstream discourse.

A second example is the poor representation in mainstream schemes of the concept of unpaid labor. The heading in A Women's Thesaurus is:

Entry from A Women's Thesaurus:

   unpaid employment

   UF  nonwage labor
   BT  employment
   NT  unpaid household labor
   RT  economic value of women's work
   homemaking
   unpaid labor force
   valuing children
   volunteer work

The term unpaid employment in A Women's Thesaurus is a subdivision of employment. However, when we try to classify it in the same way in DDC, we find that the relative index sends us to 331.125, Labor actively employed:

Entry from DDC:

   331.125  Labor actively employed
            That portion of the total available supply of labor
            employed at any given time
            Including types of employment
            Class here utilization of human resources, employment,
            comprehensive works on employment and compensation
            DDC Index Terms:
              Employment
              Human resources--utilization--economics
              Occupations--active employment

The "class here" note indicates that the number includes "comprehensive works on employment and compensation" implying only paid labor. This implication is confirmed by hierarchical force since 331.125 is a subdivision of 331.12:

Entry from DDC:

   331.12  Labor market
           The activities of and opportunities for buying and
           Selling labor

The phrase "buying and selling" confirms that only paid labor is included. The same is true if we look at the labor force:

Entry from DDC:

   331.11  Labor force
           All who are employed or available for employment
           Class here human resources, manpower and womanpower,
           labor supply, size of labor force