ECONOMIC RESTRUCTURING AND

GENDER SUBORDINATION

By: Helen L. Safa

Presented by: Rebecca Welsch

Economic Growth 1950-1980 Total production increased 5 times Per capita production doubled Manufacturing output increased 6 times Population more than doubled

• Moved to urban areas Decline in agricultural employment Internal migration: women and young adults Decline in fertility, mortality and infant mortality Increase in life expectancy– over 60 years old Household size decreased Women headed households increased 20% Higher education and employment levels increased for

women

Causes of Economic Crisis 1980s Causes of Crisis

• Rising prices of imports • Rise in interest rates on foreign debt

• US$410 billion in 1987

• Decline quantity and price of exports• Specifically oil, agricultural products and minerals

Outcomes of Crisis• Poverty increase• Unemployment rate increased by 48%• Real wages declined by 12-18%• Countries forced to implement structural adjustment

programs

Structural Adjustment Programs

Designed by International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World BankCut government expendituresImprove trade balanceReduce foreign debt

IssuesMore hardship for the poorDevaluate currencyIncrease in inflation and cost of livingEliminate government subsidiesCuts in government expendituresFreeze on real wages

Economic Crisis and Women Women join the workforce

Help with rising cost of livingMake up for men’s decreased wagesWomen in labor force went from 32% in 1980 to 38%

in 1988 Demands for women for export-led industries “The increased economic importance of women,

coupled with the rise of female-headed household, is challenging the myth of the man as the principal breadwinner in Latin American and Caribbean households”Two-wage-earner family

Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico Export-led industrialization policies

• Limits self-sustaining growth Women are replacing men Dominican Republic:

• 135,000 workers in 385 firms of the free-trade zones

• Leading exports in Caribbean Basic Initiative

• Lowest cost of labor in Caribbean

Cuba Socialist economy

State is in control of most production○ Focus on sugar exports○ Import-substitution industrialization

Full male employment Economic crisis in 1990

Trade with other socialist countries declined greatlyDecline in male breadwinners—even with full male

employment Women are not replacing men in the workforce

Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and Cuba Contribution to household budget

Weakened male authority in houseChallenge the myth of male breadwinner in

the home Supplementary wage earners: working

women who still depend primarily on male’s earningsPoorly paid, unstable jobs

4 Fundamental Factors for Women’s Wages State policy Access to resources Household structure Gender ideology

State Policy: Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico

State’s principal role “create a favorable climate for foreign investment through investment incentive and the control of wages and labor”

Export manufacturing firms are multinational (not domestic producers)Workers typically get minimum wage– if

quota met

State Policy Continued: Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico

Labor ControlDominican Republic: prohibit unionsPuerto Rico: co-optation of laborBoth: weak labor movements, making

workers more vulnerable Structural adjustment

More unemploymentLower real wages

State Policy Continued: Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico

Dominican Republic: higher unemployment for womenWomen in labor force: 9.3% in 1960, 38% in

1991 Puerto Rico: higher unemployment for

menWoman’s salary is at least 40% of total

house income Women are major economic contributors

State Policy: Cuba Actively incorporate women in labor

More educational opportunitiesSupport services

○ Day care centers, laundries, transportation to workplaces, shopping plans

Puestos preferentes (positions where women have preference): affirmative-action plan

Family Code: encourage couples to share household responsibilities

Women labor force increase from 15.9% in 1970 to 34.8% in 1990

Access to Resources

Influence wages Working conditions Provide social services Redistribute income

Access to Resources: Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico

Capitalist: depend on private sectors Nearly all production workers are women,

management is menPaternalistic setting

Access to Resources: Dominican Republic Worse wages and working conditions in

export manufacturing plantsWorkers quit instead of organizingUnions are recently legalWomen receive little help from government

More women hired for exporting because they are cheaperMen unable to find jobsMen not considered economic provider

Access to Resources: Puerto Rico Unionized plants

International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union (ILGWU) does little to defend workers

Union workers dropped 20% in 1970 to 6% in 1988

More dependence on transfer paymentsReduce women’s dependence on male’s

wageIncrease woman’s dependence on state

Access to Resources: Cuba State power is stronger than capitalist

State employs most citizens Women guaranteed:

Equal pay for equal workMaternity benefitsPaid vacationsSupport services

Occupational segregationWomen in social services sectors

Access to Resources: Cuba Continued 1976: demand increased productivity,

decrease costsMore occupational segregationWomen kept in inferior jobs: defending male

as bread winner

Household Economy: Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico

Women have more authority in family because of their incomeWomen have a base to resist male

dominanceMore equal relationships

Household Economy: Dominican Republic Dominican Republic: 80% of women still

see husband as the head of the householdYoung children and more of them

○ Most critical stage economically

Women on the jobLess protectionNo transfer payments

Afraid to challenge male dominance

Household Economy: Cuba Housing shortages

Double up in homes: 41% have at least 3 generations in 1 house○ More common among female head of

households

Extended families have higher incomesMore people to contribute

Teenage pregnancies contribute to marital instability

Household Economy

Women head of householdTypically younger, separated at least once

○ Exception: Puerto RicoReluctant to remarryJob is a reason to remain singleGenerally poorer due to less wage earners in

homePuerto Rico: kinshipsDominican Republic: leave children with families in

rural area

Household Economy Economic support and authority are connected

Single mothers do not want support from dadOver ½ of married employed Cuban women make

decisions with husband Men’s household responsibilities have

changed littleTraditional gender ideologyWomen are breadwinners while continuing

domestic rolesFamily survival shifted from men to women

Challenges myth of male breadwinner

Gender Ideology

Traditional: Productive/reproductive roles Public/Private split

Spanish Casa/calle distinctionNot followed by poor and subordinated ethnic

groups Breaking of traditional gender ideology

Women workingRising divorce ratesTeenage pregnancies

Is it just these countries?

Standing says “global feminization” goes farther than the Caribbean area• International competition increasing• Growth of export manufacturing• Labor deregulation• Structural adjustment

Benefits industrial countries (U.S.) Relocate production for money Weakens labor but strengthens capital

Are the spheres eroding?MAYBE

Women still subordinated

• Occupational segregation replaced home confinement

NO Lack of change in

household chores• Paid job is

considered part of domestic role

Women do not recognize themselves as breadwinners

YES Women more

visible in the public sphere

Marital instability Women head of

households

The male breadwinner myth is still considered intact because of the patriarchic system that is embedded in the workplace and the state– which profits from women’s subordination