Gendering Globalization on the Ground - The Limits of Feminized Work for Mexican Womens Empowerment

How has globalization worked for women working on the frontlines of neoliberalism on the Mexico-US border? This critical comparison of socially similar women, working either in export production industries or in small-scale commerce and low-level services in Ciudad Juárez, reveals how export factory work constrains women's empowerment at home - as well as the wages they earn and the well-being of their households. It challenges neoliberal notions of "empowering" women to work for market growth, and analyzes women's empowerment as gender democracy to counter neoliberal globalization touching down in the lives of ordinary working women.

List of contents

Introduction 1. Political Economy of Globalization and Its Alternatives: A Gendered Analysis 2. Mexico’s Neoliberal Political Economy - In Place in Ciudad Juárez 3. Analyzing Mexican Women’s Work and Empowerment in the Household Setting 4. Strategizing for Household Survival 5. Engaging in Feminized Work 6. Claiming Empowerment at Home. Conclusion. Appendix: Cuestionario - Las Mujeres y el Trabajo en Ciudad Juárez.

About the author

Gay Young is Associate Professor of Sociology at American University, and was Director of AU's Program in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies for eight years.

Product details

• Authors: Gay Young, Young Gay
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd.
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 20.11.2014
• EAN: 9781138809826
• ISBN: 978-1-138-80982-6
• No. of pages: 260
• Series: Routledge Research in Gender and Society
• Subjects: Social sciences, law, business > Sociology > Sociological theories; Ethnic Studies, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Sociology / General, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Women's Studies, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Gender Studies, POLITICAL SCIENCE / Globalization, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Developing & Emerging Countries, Gender studies, gender groups, Sociology: work & labour, Gender studies: women and girls, Sociology: work and labour, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Cultural & Ethnic Studies / General, Ethnic studies / Ethnicity