Is Trade Liberalization a Window of Opportunity for Women?

Nordås, Hildegunn Kyvik

doi:10.2139/ssrn.925793

Cited by 5 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…This assumption is evident in the 'gender mainstreaming' efforts of global policymakers, in which gender inequality policies are focused upon political solutions. In defense of the assumption that the market is an inappropriate place to address gender inequality and in touting the success of a gender-neutral market to promote gender equality through trade liberalization, the increased job opportunities and increased wages that women in LDCs have experienced under trade liberalization and largely in export-competing industries are provided as evidence (Benería, 2003;Nordås, 2003).…”

Section: Neoclassical Economics Neoliberalism and Gender Inequalitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Trade liberalization has contributed to unprecedented levels of women entering the formal labor force in LDCs, often in export industries (Nordås, 2003;ILO, 2007). Women workers are preferred for export-oriented jobs because they are seen as 'naturally' inclined to excel at low-skilled, low-paying jobs; women are seen as being more docile and therefore less likely to unionize and temporary, fl exible labor is justifi ed given women's reproductive responsibilities and the male breadwinner ideology, which views women's income as secondary to the household.…”

Section: Production Structures and Employmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Trade agreements between the European Union and the Southeast Asian Nations are predicted to lead to declines in manufacturing exports, where women make up 90 percent of the workforce and increases in the services sector (Bernadino, 2007). Further, women working in sectors other than export processing may be subject to greater diffi culties fi nding and keeping work due to the availability of cheaper imports (Fontana and Wood, 2000;Kucera and Milberg, 2000;Nordås, 2003;Pyle and Ward, 2003;Ulmer, 2004).…”

Section: Shifting Trade Preferencesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Free trade, fair trade and gender inequality in less developed countries

Rice

2009

Sustainable Development

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Fair trade is often viewed as an alternative to free trade that reduces global inequality and poverty. This paper examines whether fair trade is truly an alternative to the free market, and as a consequence whether it can effectively advance gender equality and alleviate the poverty of women in less developed countries (LDCs). First, neoclassical economics and trade liberalization policies are reviewed. The paper then examines how fair trade seeks to correct market imperfections, thereby making the free market more efficient in distributing wealth. The ability of fair trade to address the central issues related to trade liberalization and women in LDCs is discussed, and the gendered structures of fair trade identified. Whether fair trade can provide gender equality within global capitalist structures is a theoretical matter that requires further empirical inquiry. Suggestions for future research, informed by feminist theories of the political economy, are provided. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.

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Section: Neoclassical Economics Neoliberalism and Gender Inequalitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Production Structures and Employmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Shifting Trade Preferencesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Free trade, fair trade and gender inequality in less developed countries

Rice

2009

Sustainable Development

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“…Foreign investors, especially those exposed to global competition ( e.g . exporters), exploit not only the cost advantage of female workers compared to males (Joekes, 1999; Nordås, 2004; Braunstein, 2006) but also the comparative advantage of females in productions that require particular skills and competences (Elson and Pearson, 1981). Using firm‐level data on Vietnam, Coniglio and Hoxhaj (2018) find that the effect of FDI on gender disparities is heterogeneous across skill levels and that foreign firms contribute in closing the gender gap in employment only for the low‐skilled workers.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Do Foreign Firms Transfer Gender Norms in the Labour Market? Evidence from Sub‐Saharan Africa

Hoxhaj

Miti²

2020

South African J Economics

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Closing the gender gaps in economic opportunities is crucial for boosting economic growth and the empowerment of women. In this paper, we study how foreign firms contribute in reducing gender disparities in the labour market by transferring the gender norms of their country of origin to the affiliates in the host countries. We use cross sectional data on foreign firms located in 19 Sub Saharan Africa countries in 2010 by UNIDO. We find that firms coming from more gender equal countries employ more female workers in their affiliates. This effect is more relevant for the highly skilled female workers.

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“…Nordas (2003) compares in her case study Mauritius, Mexico, Peru, the Philippines, and Sri Lanka; international trade appears to have created jobs for 13 Globalized Markets, Globalized Information, and Female Employment:. .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Globalized Markets, Globalized Information, and Female Employment: Accounting for Regional Differences in 30 OECD Countries

Fischer

2015

Geographical Labor Market Imbalances

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Accounting for within-country spatial differences is a neglected aspect in many cross-country comparisons. This chapter highlights this importance in this empirical analysis of the impact of a country's degree of informational and economic globalization on female employment in 30 OECD countries, using a micro pseudo panel of 110,000 persons derived from five waves of repeated cross sections from the World Values Survey, 1981Survey, -2008. I conjecture that informational globalization affects societal values and perceived economic opportunities, while economic globalization impacts actual economic opportunities. A traditional crosscountry analysis suggests that the informational dimension of globalization but not the economic one increases the probability of employment for womencontradicting the Becker (1957) hypothesis of international competition mitigating discrimination in employment. However, accounting for subnational regional gender heterogeneity reveals that the impact of worldwide information exchange works rather at the regional level, while economic globalization (trade) increases female employment in general. Keywords IntroductionWomen's employment is a debated topic in economics and in the public, particularly since it has become evident that an ordinary family profits from women's contributions to household resources. In addition, the welfare state might also profit from increased female employment: in times of growth volatility and higher job turnover, female employment might reduce men's demand for automatic macroeconomic stabilizers and reduce social transfers (e.g., EU 2010). According to Becker (1957Becker ( , 1971, if nonparticipation and nonemployment of women are a result of their discrimination in the domestic labor market, a country's exposure to global competition through imports, exports, and FDI should mitigate this phenomenon: more women are predicted to be working as a country opens up to world markets. In addition, I conjecture that the exchange of information around the world might lead to self-criticism and reassessment of cultural traditions, such as the traditional role model that attributes to men the role of sole breadwinner in the family. Additionally, the worldwide exchange of information may also affect how women perceive their occupational "choice set" and their resulting labor supply decisions. For this reason, greater exposure to worldwide information flows should equally lead to more women participating in the labor market.This article empirically investigates the impact of globalization on female labor market participation and female employment in OECD countries; this study employs "globalization" in two of its manifestations: first, in the form of a country's economic integration into global markets ("economic globalization") and second, in the form of worldwide information exchange between people through tourism and the internet ("informational globalization"). This empirical analysis of globalization effects for female employment focuses on two questions:...

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Is Trade Liberalization a Window of Opportunity for Women?

Cited by 5 publications

References 27 publications

Free trade, fair trade and gender inequality in less developed countries

Free trade, fair trade and gender inequality in less developed countries

Do Foreign Firms Transfer Gender Norms in the Labour Market? Evidence from Sub‐Saharan Africa

Globalized Markets, Globalized Information, and Female Employment: Accounting for Regional Differences in 30 OECD Countries

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