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Gender and Political Economy

Political Economy

Discipline whose object of enquiry is the relationship between the state, politics and power, on the one hand, and economic relations and the market, on the other Political economy examines the manner in which power is implicated in economic relationships As such, any political economy needs to pay attention to gender

Gendered Political Economy

Gender is one of the central dimensions along which power and politics are structured in capitalist societies, and economic resources and outcomes systematically vary on the basis of gender Women in the labor force are paid less than men, and occupations tend to be heavily gender segregated. Notions of masculinity and femininity are constitutive of who fills particular jobs, and how those jobs are valued in market societies

Gendered Political Economy

a gendered political economy examines the: boundary between the public sphere of the state and the private sphere of gender relations, the public economy and the household economy, and the manner in which they influence each other Position of women is structured by a double set of relations: their relations to men their position in the economic organization of society

Gendered Political Economy

Intersection between economy, politics, and gender is embodied in the sexual division of labor: paid/unpaid tasks, differentials in pay, concentrations in occupations and job levels within these occupations, and sexual servicing as paid work of women Access to positions of privilege has favored men Womens place, womens work, and control of womens sexuality

Sexual Division of Labor

Two types of work: Productive: work for exchange; satisfies basic needs such as food, clothing, shelter Reproductive: work for use and satisfaction of immediate needs; production of people

Sexual Division of Labor in Agricultural Production Systems

Work not clearly distinguished: production and reproduction carried out within the household and productive labor common enterprise among household members Extended household: kin and non-kin in one unit Division of labor in productive activities not sharply drawn

Sexual Division of Labor in Agricultural Production Systems


Reproductive work was womens work Household work also productive work because most of production was used or consumed directly by household members Unity of production and consumption Labor of women and men geared to interests of the group rather one individual

Sexual Division of Labor in Agricultural Production Systems


Mothering role not prominent, part of wide variety of tasks Network of support kin meant that productive and reproductive tasks shared by both sexes Production based on satisfaction of immediate needs of producers, subsistence from land commonly-held Exchange of complementary resources between households

Evolution of agricultural production systems and the From stable surplus of labor division of sexual division arose social

labor Men and women developed specialized skills, production increased, economic base expanded, social classes of producers and non-producers emerged Social production no longer totally served needs of producers

Evolution of agricultural production systems and the With differential allocation of surplus, sexual division of labor

control/ownership of means of production (land) became important From use-right to ownership of land, from collective ownership to individual/household ownership Emergent state designated men as heads of households, endorsing authority of men over women

Merchant capitalism

Merchant capitalists buy not to satisfy immediate needs but to sell, to acquire wealth Merchant capital introduces money into the economy, brings in foreign and luxury products, intensifies labor process Reallocation of work between women and men in household production and reproduction More time devoted to productive work, need for additional hands to contribute to production

Capitalism

Merchant capital obliged to increase production to acquire more wealth, transformed to commercial/productive capital or capitalism Directly intervenes in the sphere of production and restructures local economies away from selfprovisioning by undermining domestic manufactures and encouraging production of certain commodities Work of women and men reallocated from household needs to production for the market, women and men to specific commodities

Capitalism

Introduced by colonizers and heralded: a household system based on male prestige, radical separation of home and workplace, domestication of women gender divisions in workplace such as sex segregation in occupations, womens marginalization from waged work, and wage differentiation

Capitalism

Extraction of profit no longer from exchange of goods but from labor of producer/laborer Based on three socioeconomic transformations: separation of producers from means of production and subsistence formation of social class with a monopoly over means of production (bourgeoisie/capitalist class) transformation of human labor power into a commodity (owned by working class/proletariat)

Capitalism

Working class dispossessed of every means of subsistence and obliged to sell labor to capitalists Labor a commodity, the value of which is the wage Wage determined by the quantity of labor needed to reproduce it (the subsistence of the worker and household)

Capitalism

Surplus value: value above this necessary labor, difference between the value produced by the worker and the value of commodities needed to ensure workers reproduction Surplus value is the capitalists profit Interest of capital: to increase its proportion of value produced by labor Interest of labor: increase its proportion of value it produces

Capitalism

Capital accumulation dependent on the increase in the rate of surplus value extraction: by increasing time worked without increase in wages by intensifying labor, making it more productive Interest in keeping wages down

Capitalism

Capital accumulation by introduction of machinery and division of the workforce into differentiated groups with different wages Intensification of labor by fragmentation, making it more efficient and allowing capital to divide work according to skills and corresponding wages Gender a major consideration in the reorganization of the production process and division of labor

Effects of capitalism on the household

Household no longer had access to the means of production, for subsistence relied on labor for wages rather than own production Work for wages distinct from work in household Wages allowed purchase of goods and services they once produced Production different from consumption

Effects of capitalism on the household

Men as heads of households primary wage workers, women secondary productive workers (had to work also because wages of men inadequate) Separation of home and workplace: capitalism entailed technological advances and production more likely to take place outside the home All women became primarily housekeepers keeping them from similar participation in wage labor

Effects of capitalism on the household

Among capitalist/propertied classes: family household organized around male earner and wife/children as dependents Among working class: dependence on productive work of more than one member women engaged in both productive and reproductive work in paid work: type of work, value, position defined by subordinate position and home responsibilities

Womens position in the economy


Defined by contradictions between capitalists and workers, and between men and women Relegation to household work (no value) Secondary worker in productive sphere Intermittent participation in social production Concentration in particular sectors of economy and in levels of the work force Low wages Mediated position in capitalist class structure

Relegation to household work

Provide work necessary to transform commodities bought by wages into items for consumption All work at home unpaid (has value only when done by hired help) Provides material base for the reproduction of labor without which capital cannot appropriate surplus Reproductive work serves interests of men and capital

Secondary work force


Because primary responsibility is in the home Less likely to be absorbed into waged work, are more likely to be released in recessions Seek work in the informal sector

Patterns of employment

Not continuous, dependent on life cycle Seen as temporary, uncommitted workforce, reinforcing secondary status

Gender and work

Concentrated in occupations based on stereotype of women: servicing and familyoriented Low-paid, low-skilled, with low-productivity, casual with few promotional possibilities, lowlevel Labor-intensive work in industry

Lower wages

Labor a supplementary activity Responsibility for home limits options, relegated to low-skilled positions Bearers of inferior status, men in higher positions through exclusionary strategies ensure women remain so

Mediated position in capitalist class structure

As housewives, dependent on male wage, indirect relation to capital As workers, direct relation to capital Directly responsible for reproduction of their own and male labor Mediated by the household system, ideology of the family, male dominance, dependence on men, reproductive work Defined by their subordinate position to men

Womens position in capitalist society

In capitalism, differentiation of tasks and differentiation in the status and power between women and men Intersection of gender relations, class, and capitalist accumulation process determines womens position in capitalist society Economic strategies of the state, stage of capitalist development, and countrys position in international economy also determines womens position

Capitalism in the Philippines

Proletarianization has yet to occur in a profound way For capital accumulation, capital must revolutionize process of production and releases labor in one sector for absorption in another. But capital does not grow at a steady pace so labor not totally absorbed (reserve army of labor, which depresses wages)

Capitalism in the Philippines

Unlike in industrialized countries where capital is more available, labor released not absorbed. Dispossessed direct producers not always employed as waged workers. Magnitude of reserve army of labor high Mass of impoverished people: peasants smallholders, landless agricultural workers, workers in pre-capitalist production

Capitalism in the Philippines

Relation of capital to labor via profit extraction that do not include wages: under-priced goods and services and reproduction of cheap labor power International and national political and economic forces created uneven development of the country and divisions among people

Capitalism in the Philippines

Dominant forces at the global level structure our economic development (IMF/WB, WTO, MNCs, G8) Intensification of capitalist expansion and accumulation of MNCs and their appropriation of surplus value (repatriate profits rather than reinvest for local capital formation) Labor-intensive operations carried out here, preferential recruitment of women

Capitalism in the Philippines

Large surplus population, wages at subsistence levels, majority impoverished Women in surplus population: housewives, in subsistence agricultural work, informal sector work, casual/irregular work in formal sector

Gender, class, and development

Perspective of poor oppressed women powerful vantage point to examine effects of development programs and strategies: women constitute majority of the poor, socially and economically disadvantaged womens work, under-remunerated and undervalued, vital to the survival of all human beings womens work in trade and services is widespread (electronics, export production)

Gender, class, and development

Gender and class determine womens experiences with processes of economic growth, commercialization, and market expansion Post-colonial development processes are in the interests of powerful nations and classes, have vested interests in their persistence Womens vulnerability reinforced by systems of male domination that deny/limit access to economic resources and political participation, impose sexual divisions of labor that allocate them to the most onerous, labor-intensive, poorly-rewarded tasks inside and outside the home, as well as longest hours of work

Gender, class, and development

Gender-based subordination has limited womens access to and control over productive resources (land, credit, etc.), imposed sexual divisions of labor, and curtailed mobility (varies across regions and classes) Impersonal forces in labor market have an impact on womens access to resources, income, employment, and sexual division of labor

In the Third World

Patterns and processes in Third World countries: unfavorable structural location in international economy vulnerability to the cycles and vagaries of international trade profound inequalities in resource ownership and control over resources, access to income and employment

In the Third World


deprivation of basic needs: adequate nutrition, health, housing, water, energy, sanitation, education Partly the legacy of colonial systems of surplus transfer out of Third World and reflects obstinacy of underlying structures

Colonialism

Economic relations operate against interests of developing countries increasing vulnerability to external events and pressures Economic and political structures of colonial rule converted colonies into sources of cheap raw materials, food, labor, and markets for their manufactures. Drained resources and wealth, created export enclaves in agriculture, mining, etc. and transformed self-provisioning communities through forced commercialization and introduction of private property in land

Colonialism

Colonial control suppressed manufacturing potential in the colonies and destroyed traditional crafts and artisan production through imports of manufactures Impoverishment, exacerbation of inequalities in access to land, resources, and power, and the growth of powerful internal classes and groups whose interest were linked to maintenance of an open economy Environmental degradation, demographic pressure, and land misuse

Colonialism

Laid the basis for the particular position of Third World countries in the world economy Alienation of large segments of the population from the land, or access under exploitative conditions, degradation of forests and soils, resulting pressure on resources, rapid growth of urban slums

Colonialism

Growth of female poverty: women lost traditional use rights when private property in land was introduced, womens agricultural labor unpaid, loss of work in traditional manufactures, women left behind by male migration for work Created and accentuated inequalities among nations, and between classes and genders within nations

Postcolonialism

Most Third World countries have retained many of the dominant features of colonial era: persistence of primary export enclaves, concentration on traditional exports, and little growth in manufacturing sector Prosperous commercial agriculture versus marginalized semi-proletariat that can neither subsist off its own landholding nor find adequate employment

Postcolonialism

Control over production, allocation, distribution in the hands of MNCs that subordinate national interests to their own global profit and growth strategies MNCs obtain generous terms for producing in free trade zones, evade responsibility for environmental and health hazards Employment generation is slow since international competition dictates use of capital-intensive production methods

Postcolonialism

Few Third World governments have been able to effectively counter internal pressures from powerful groups or external pressures from aid donors, multilateral institutions, or MNCs

Effects on poor women

Womens access to land, labor, technology, credit and other agricultural production inputs have worsened Land reforms have reduced womens control over land by ignoring their use-rights and giving land titles to male heads of households Landless women predominate as seasonal, casual, temporary laborers at lower wages than male counterparts Mechanization drastically reduces womens employment and income

Effects on poor women

Increased employment in certain export-oriented industries but segregated into a narrow range of occupations, short-term with high turnover Work in informal sector and sweatshops In comparison to absolute size of female workforce, increase in industrial employment small Attempts to demand better wages, working conditions, job security, advancement induce capital flight

Effects on poor women

Unpaid/poorly-paid family workers in homebased putting-out systems under exploitative conditions of wages and work In disproportionate numbers in petty trade, commerce, and services in the informal sector (low wages, uncertain employment, poor working conditions) In informal sector: cannot accumulate the skills, networks, or capital to move out

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