Women and Globalization

By Anne E. Lacsamana

Despite promises from Western policymakers that capitalist globalization will eventually improve the economic welfare of all nations, in actuality the process has resulted so far in the enrichment of the few at the expense of the many. One decidedly negative trend is that globalization has created a new international working class--a female proletariat consigned to the lowest-paid and least-secure jobs with the worst working conditions. From the maquiladoras in Mexico to assembly plants and export processing zones in Central America, the Caribbean, and the Pacific Rim, to subcontractors and garment sweatshops in major cities and in nations on the periphery, it is women's labor that guarantees maximum profitability for the corporate elite, a tiny minority of the world's inhabitants.

This collection of revealing articles shows the reality of globalization as it is experienced by women workers at the bottom of society throughout the world. The contributors examine migrant domestic labor in the European Union, Malaysian women working in both industrial and service sectors, the relationship between domestic welfare reform in "First World" nations and structural adjustment as imposed on indebted nations of the "Third World," the dramatically altered labor relations among men and women in Mexico as the result of NAFTA, labor conditions in Filipino sweatshops and for overseas contract workers (mainly women), the practice of female circumcision in the Sudan, the mail-order bride industry in Taiwan, the international trade in women as "sex workers," and many other topics. An underlying theme shared by all the contributions is that prevailing feminist theory has failed to recognize the key issues of class, nation, and locality at the heart of the worldwide exploitation of women. It is only through opposition within these areas that women's collective agency will produce substantial and enduring changes. This wide-ranging and diverse collection of informative articles is must reading for anyone concerned about the welfare of women worldwide and the deleterious effects of capitalist globalization.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1591021626
• ISBN13: 9781591021629
• Release Date: May 2004
• Publisher: Humanities Press Intl
• Length: 428 Pages
• Weight: 1.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

An Important Book

The collection of articles in Women and Globalization is important for activists, scholars, and concerned human beings looking to understand how corporate globalization relies on the exploited labor of women (from around the world) to generate profits. The diverse writings discuss the concrete conditions of women who are working in such places as Mexico, the Philippines, and South Africa. Furthermore, the writings congeal to provide a clear, explanatory, and absolutely critical analysis of a global economic system that is seeping with contradictions. I highly recommend this book! It is an important read with a great balance of case study material and theory.

Women and Globalization

This book offers an unfiltered analysis and critique of the effects of globalization, past and present, on nations in the developing world. The contributors of the book account for the neoliberal policies implemented by international financial institutions and governments, and how those policies deeply affect peoples' labor and migratory patterns. Additionally, "Women and Globalization" pays particular attention to culture, society, race, economics, the environment, and politics and how they are all interrelated within the circumstances of women's lives, as women are the majority of the world's laborers.

women and globalization

Overall, I'd recommend this book to anyone interested in learning more about the effects of globalization on women. Delia Aguilar and Anne Lacsamana's book is essentially a compilation of articles written by various people concerned with exposing the horrendous conditions women face due to globalization's neoliberal policies. The essays explore a wide range of issues affecting Third World women, including the effects of structural adjustment programs, the conditions in sweatshops, sex trafficking, etc. While some of the articles can be a bit lengthy and dry, the book contains a wealth of invaluable information--this is a must read for anyone who doubts the negative effects of globalization!

works in so many ways

The book is accessible to non-academic readers and perfect for college courses in ethnic studies, women's studies, cultural studies, political science, and others. Its primary goal is to expose and analyze globalization's exploitation of poor women, mostly in labor and migration; a secondary goal is to expose and analyze most academics' misunderstandings of this exploitation, a misunderstanding that, according to the closing argument by editor Aguilar, practically re-colonizes the already exploited. Exploitation on all continents and several island nations is covered. But the tone is not desperate and resigned. Rather, the writers here advocate a committed and informed urgency. One contributor argues that "international solidarity is necessary" in the work of ending the exploitation of impoverished women, but she insists that her "global vision" is realizable.