GENDER IN IPE

Why study gender in IPE 2003 – 2.8 billion in global labor force, 1.1. billion were women women hold up half the sky Indian folk song Female Labor force participation increased since 1970s Beijing Conference 1995 recognize centrality of gender to global order World Bank – Gender Action Plan, 2006 Gender Equality as Smart Economics (Paul Wolfowitz, Banks President)

IPE traditionally blind to question of gender Liberal theory – market Marxian theory – class (all workers) Development theory – economy Institutional theory – nature of institutions IR feminist theory insist on gender in IPE (Maria Mies early exception –connection between capitalism and patriarchy

Distinction between sex and gender Not biological distinction Social construction of masculinity and femininity Social roles/behaviours/zones of action Attributes (feminine/masculine) Devalorization of the feminine Rationality –male/affect, emotion – female

Feminization of poverty (more women poor) Feminization of work force under conditions of globalization (flexible, insecure, de-skilled, dis-empowered/non- unionized labour) Men operate under social conditions that necessitate feminization

Power structures gender roles IPE – trade, finance, labour, consumption, production – offers differential opportunities for men and women Trade and capital inflows: (a) Manufacturing jobs may help women (b) Women in agriculture hurt by liberalization of trade Globalization – trafficking, mail order brides, scare industries, nannies, chambermaids

Gender equality Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Denmark, Finland most equal Korea, Jordan, Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt – most unequal 2/3 of 872 million illiterate people in developing countries are women South-Asia, China

Gendered global division of labour Women employed in low end, low wage, de- skilled areas, service sector FEMINIZATION OF POVERTY: USA female headed households more likely to be poor Lack of access to health, education, nutrition, resources within housed Amartya Sen – connection between womens disempowerment and low growth

Structural Adjustment (state subsides pulled back) slack taken up by women. Food subsidies reduction impact women Export agriculture – peasant woemn lose land, seasonal workers GLOBALIZATION OF REPRODUCTIVE WORK Sex work, mail order brides, domestic care work

Militarization and prostitution Soldiers replaced by sex tourists Military bases Thailand, Philippines, Japan, Okinawa (73% of tourists to Thailand single males; 1984 – 16,000 Thai women exported to Japan as entertainment workers) Filipino, Sri Lankan – care industries

Neoliberal globalization, flexible production Labour intensive manufacturing industries Casualization of work Export Processing Zones (EPZs) in China, maquiladoras (US Mexico border) Women workers – nimble fingers? Docile? State construction to attract global capital.