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Unit 4: Gender and Inequality (Section1 - Gender Inequality (1.2 Measuring…
Unit 4: Gender and Inequality
Section1 - Gender Inequality
1.1 Equality and Equity
Difference between equality of outcomes and equality of opportunity
Problems of the focus on difference - it equates difference as inequality; and it neglects the possibilities of difference within the group women
To achieve social change - attention should focus on inequality as it draws attention to the social relations which give some forms of difference more power of others
Key reading -
May Mayndard
- criticisms of the uses of difference; the focus on difference masks the forms of difference which have power over others
1.2 Measuring inequality
MPI - health, education and standards of living
GII - reproductive health, LFP and empowerment
1970s - focus on WID, and socialist feminism
1980s - SAP
1990s - feminization of poverty
1.3 Causes of global inequality
Legacy of colonialism - e.g. Latin America and Africa - picking favors; recently, neocolonialism in the cover of projects
Globalization
Barnett and Cavanaugh
globalization - 4 interconnected networks - the shopping mall, cultural bazaar, financial market, and workplace
Mohanty - 6 impacts of globalization - environmental issues, population issues, war and conflict, religious fundamentalism, militarism and SAPs
Key Reading -
Women's rights and economic change
- globalization perpetuates racism and sexism by justifying the exclusion of those who do not work hard enough!
SAPs and neoliberalism
Affects access to public services; paradox between rich and poor countries in terms of protectionist policies; and the power of TNCs
Section 2 - Feminist perspectives on inequality
2.1 Feminist theories
Intersectionality - inequality due to an intersection of oppressions
Postcolonial/third world feminism - the impacts of colonial regimes on creating inequalities in colonized countries
Gender and development - focuses on addressing inequalities through development - recognizes influence of power dynamics
1.2 Feminization of Poverty
Statistics of this theory - women suffer from greater incidence and greater depth of poverty; female-headed HH are the poorest of the poor; poverty of women is passed down to children; women suffer from greater barriers to lift them out of poverty; women suffer from more long-term poverty
Critique by
Sylvia Chant
on the basis of: evidence, process and alternative theories
Evidence is lacking - only evidence that influences poverty of household is the presence of minors/dependents
It is not used to describe a process but rather a specific state at a certain point in time
Alternative theories
Secondary poverty
Feminization of responsibility
Section 3 - Three Case Studies
3.1 Philippines Care Crisis
Definition of care
Care gap in poor countries due to resurgence of women in workforce in richer countries
Marcos Regime and Labor Code of 1974
Nursing gap
Remittances returned - 50-70%
Carmen's story - conflicting class mobility
3.2 South Africa
One of the highest rates of inequality
Legacy of the apartheid policies of racial segregation
Women work longer than men but earn less
Intersection with race - as well as geographic disparity
3.3 Mexico GBV
Definition of GBV
Impact of maquidaloras - unregulated, poor working conditions for women especially, has an influence over the host country to maintain poor labor laws
Employment of women in these plants increased - they are cheap, docile and easy to handle - they suffered from poor working conditions and abuse
Macho backlash - men's unemployment remained high - women's employment in the plants hit macho nerve as well as nationalistic nerve - led to increases in rapes and murders of women - especially in Juarez City
Cynthic Cockburn
the contiuum of violence - explains how women often experience violence in war and peace at the same extent - in Mexico, this had to do with the intersection of the operations of the TNCs, the deeply embedded gender norms and the sociopolitical context between Mexico and the USA
Polarized description of women - as the good wife and as the prostitute