Globalization presents threats to and opportunities for women working in the informal sector. The paper, which draws on the work of Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing (WIEGO) Global Markets Program and of HomeNet, focuses on women home-based workers and analyzes, within the framework of global value-chains, the impact of globalization on labor relations and other market transactions. The chains reviewed are: manufactured goods (fashion garments); agricultural products (nontraditional exports); and nontimber forest products (shea butter). The paper shows how this form of analysis helps to identify the uneven distribution of power and returns within the chains - between rich and poor and between women and men. It concludes by emphasizing the importance of the work of the Self-Employed Women's Association (SEWA), HomeNet, and StreetNet in organizing home-based workers, both locally and internationally, as well as that of WIEGO in supporting them.Globalization, Global Value-CHAINS, Home-BASED Workers, Homeworkers, Informal Sector Economy, Market Transactions, Labor Standards,

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The majority of women still do not have access to information and communication technologies (ICTs) which are appropriate to their needs, and neither are they active participants in the process of science and technology development. Women's effective access to information and communication technologies can help them achieve increased participation in production and productivity thereby contribute more to economic development. This article looks at the current situation of women and the digital divide. How can ICTs support social development? How can they be used by women to help meet livelihood needs? After a survey of the current efforts to increase women's access to ICTs, this article concludes that using ICTs to support women's productive activities should be seen as a priority area. 1

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