Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
Employment
cinu
ExclusionEdited by Caroline Sweetman
v*;;1
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted
in any form or by any means without the written permission of the Publisher.
Front cover: Worker in a clothing factory, Dominican Republic. Photo: James Hawkins
Editorial 2
Caroline Sweetman
Beyond 'banking for the poor': credit mechanisms and women's empowerment 48
Alana Albee
Resources 65
Report of a conference: World Trade is a Women's Issue 65
Linda Shaw
Further reading 67
Organisations, campaigns, and trade unions 69
Internet sites 72
Audiovisual resources 72
O
ver the last 20 years, changes to
the world economy have dramati- and conditions in comparison with men
cally altered the experience of are justified on grounds of their sex
work for women, men and children (ibid.). For many, working conditions and
throughout the world. This collection of pay are often insufficient to keep them in
articles examines these changes from a good health, let alone supporting them
gender perspective, exploring the extent and their families in dignity. Meanwhile,
to which women's participation in the women continue to be over-represented
paid workforce is increasing, and the in the 'informal' sector, and their occupa-
implications of the deregulation of mar- tions tend to be those which are most pre-
kets and 'flexible' working conditions. carious, need least resources, and offer the
Nearly two decades ago, in 1978, a lowest remuneration (UNDP 1995). These
large proportion of both women and men women simultaneously experience exclu-
were cited as being marginalised from the sion from the formal world of work, while
cash economy: only about 35 per cent of remaining inextricably linked to macro-
the world population was classified as liv- economic change at national and interna-
ing in countries strongly connected to the tional levels.
world market. In contrast, it is estimated The intention in focusing on the con-
that by 2000, this will be 90 per cent cept of 'exclusion', as well as employ-
(Women Working Worldwide 1996, 1). ment, in this collection is to emphasise
However, despite widespread assump- women's continuing economic disem-
tions of increased female participation in powerment on both sides of the factory
the global labour force, women's partici- gate: what the United Nations Human
pation rates have risen only 3.9 per cent Development Report of 1995 summed up
from 35.6 per cent to 39.5 per cent in as 'gaping disparities in income-earning
the past 20 years, even while there 'has and decision-making opportunities'
been some closing of the gender gap in between the sexes (UNDP 1995,36).
economic activity' (UNDP 1995,36). Whether within or outside formal
Articles included here show how employment, poor women are working in
women's continuing exclusion from ways 'flexible' ways which continue to distance
of making a livelihood which offer securi- them from economic self-determination:
ty and control makes the 'formal' and 'there are degrees of informality, depend-
'informal' dichotomy no longer meaning- ing on the extent of casualisation in the
ful. Women in employment are concen- conditions of work' (Mitter 1989, 1). This
dual focus highlights the fact that neo-lib- ples of 'free trade' as the similar require-
eral principles are colouring debates on ment that is a standard component of
both the 'formal' and 'informal' experi- IMF/World Bank Structural Adjustment
ence of work: on issues as diverse as Programmes (SAPs). Such deregulation
world trade and micro-credit. threatens the survival of home industry:
an example can be found in South Africa,
where the domestic textile industry is cur-
The changing face of rently in crisis due to cheap imports,
international trade many from South-East Asia (MacQuene,
'Trade [should] not [be] an end in itself, 1996). While economists emphasise the
but only a means to development, and benefits to consumers of lower-priced
development is about improving the well- imports, many of these consumers are
being of people' (Francisco 1996, unpub- also producers, who face a threat to their
lished). continued employment.
Changes made to the established struc-
tures of the global trading system reflect Flexibilisation, exploitation,
the neo-liberal economists' vision of free
competition, in which all countries partic- and insecurity
ipate on equal terms in a world trade mar- 'While employment... might improve the
ket. However, 'relations between nations terms on which young women are able to
are not determined by political democra- negotiate the social relations which subor-
cy or by competitive markets. They still dinate them, the underlying structures of
reflect, to a very large extent, patterns of gender inequality do not automatically
military and economic power' (Folbre disappear in that process' (LeQuesne
1996,262). 1996, 33). Despite the fact that an increas-
Currently, gender and development ing number of women in many countries
researchers are debating the issue of are earning cash, they are not necessarily
deregulation of global markets, amid con- reaping the benefits of increased security,
cern among workers' organisations, and typically lacking control over their
NGOs about the new agreements admin- income, and remaining excluded from
istered by the World Trade Organisation decision-making.
(WTO), (which replaces the General Deregulation of trade is connected
Agreement on Trade and Tariffs GATT closely to the 'flexibilisation' of labour.
as the main regulator of global trade). Features of flexibilisation noted by many
A major fear is that these agreements will researchers include a downward pressure
make the international trading system on pay (often too low for workers and
'even less transparent and accountable to their families to live on), insecurity of
citizens of individual countries' (Joekes employment, and substandard or haz-
and Weston 1994,31). ardous working conditions. Under the
Deregulation of imports is one aspect 'new trade order', there is a danger that
of the new trade order, which affects the wages and working conditions will con-
livelihoods of workers both within and tinue to spiral downwards, as multi-
outside the formal workforce. Countries national companies are increasingly free
are now required to remove all import to place production in areas where the
regulations, to allow the unimpeded pas- cheapest labour is on offer (ibid.).
sage of goods from all over the world Women's dual role in production and
(ibid.). This demand is informed by the reproduction shows the distinction
same commitment to neo-liberal princi- between income-generation and the
4 Gender and Development
questioning the motives behind targeting exchange of sexual favours for economic
women for loans (personal communica- support echoes other, more sinister,
tion). 'Development policymakers tend to stories of the commoditisation of sex (see
conceptualise women as a resource for for example Chant and Mcllwaine 1995, in
development' (Elson 1994, 26): women are the context of the Philippines).
known to be efficient servicers of loans. For many women throughout sub-
However, as Alana Albee confirms in her Saharan Africa, an important part of the
article, the claim of credit providers that role of wife and mother is the brewing of
their focus on women is because of a com- traditional beer; notably, from colonial
mitment to female empowerment needs times on, beer-brewing has become a
close scrutiny. Just as asserting women's means for women to eke out a livelihood
rights to fair employment conditions in times of hardship. As trade
obliges one to consider other related deregulation gathers pace, the outlook is
political and social rights, the granting of bleaker than ever for some regions,
a loan needs to be allied to other measures including large parts of sub-Saharan
to address patterns of inequality based on Africa: 'at a time when the rest of the
gender, within and outside the household. world is becoming more integrated, Africa
The notion of promoting individual faces concerns about de-linking' (Joekes
entrepreneurship which is at the heart of and Weston 1994, 6). Current crises in
current debates on credit, could be seen as employment for both men and women are
being at odds with the development work leading increasing numbers of women to
of NGOs and community organisations brew as a sole or chief livelihood strategy.
throughout the last 30 years, which has In his article, Michael McCall reviews the
tended to emphasise the value of groups. reasons why different actors in
While some providers of credit may development including national
choose to lend to members of a group, this governments and local and international
may be evidence of a belief not so much in NGOs have marginalised beer-brewing
the developmental value of groups but as a legitimate income-generating activity.
rather in the efficacy of peer pressure to
ensure repayment of loans. In their article,
Helen Pickering et al explore the relative Strategies of resistance
success of income-generating groups and
individual women entrepreneurs in How can development workers support
Uganda. women workers who endure 'flexible',
exploitative conditions of employment, or
insecurity and deepening poverty in the
informal sector? What responses are pos-
Living on the margins sible to the challenges posed by the
Women's historical exclusion from formal upheavals in employment and world
employment has meant that they have trade? The effects of insecurity and com-
had to earn income in ways which they petition on the morale and mindset of
can control regardless of their educational women workers represent a major obsta-
level or the financial and other assets at cle to collective resistance.
their disposal. Augustine Ankomah's In the Chilean context, Mary-Sue
article looks at the case of urban Ghana, Smiaroski explores the neo-liberal emp-
where young women who have few emp- loyment principles of promoting competi-
loyment opportunities embark on extra- tion through setting quotas, allied to
marital relationshops in return for main- constant job insecurity, which promote a
tenance and gifts. This example of the culture of individualism rather than
6 Gender and Development
T
here is growing and irrefutable some common aspects of women's exper-
evidence that current changes in the ience which can serve as a basis for
world economy are causing in- organised resistance. Privatisation and the
creased inequality in terms of geograph- deregulation of labour markets have
ical region and social class, and between resulted in widespread loss of relatively
the sexes. Whilst some regions, such as well-protected jobs within the public
East and South-East Asia, are experienc- sector, and the expansion of female emp-
ing rapid growth, others notably Africa loyment in low-paid, insecure, unskilled
are experiencing stagnation and disast- jobs, particularly in regions where there is
rous deterioration of living standards. rapid expansion of production for export.
Overall, the functioning of the new global This preference for female labour is
economic system is geared towards the associated with the desire for a cheaper
advancement of the rich and the margin- and more flexible workforce engaged in
alisation of the poor. Feminist writers, temporary, casual, subcontracted or
including Isabella Bakker and Diane home-based work. Young women, in
Elson, have demonstrated that this particular, are entering the labour market
includes a widening of the 'gender gap', in increasing numbers, often becoming
and increased exploitation of women's the main wage-earner for their family. At
paid and unpaid labour (Bakker 1994, the same time, cut-backs in services have
Elson 1991). increased the burden of unpaid labour in
the home. In addition, removal of govern-
ment subsidies on basic goods and the
Global labour trends introduction of user fees for social services
Yet, in spite of regional differences in the has increased the pressures on women to
impact of global restructuring, there are supplement family incomes with
Mitter 1995). The changing nature of work margins. In 1989, women workers at the
in itself makes organisation more difficult, British-owned Intercontinental Garments
with the expansion of subcontracted, part- Manufacturing Company in the Bataan
time, and temporary employment. Free Trade Zone in the Philippines
In spite of these difficulties women are brought production to a standstill in their
organising effective forms of workplace fight for the legal minimum wage. The
resistance. The Self-Employed Women's IGMC had been producing garments for
organisation in India has become a the British retail market in Bataan since
worldwide model for resisting the the mid 1970s, and the women workers
exploitation of self-employed and home- had developed efficient forms of
based workers. Meanwhile, women industrial action. A year-long picket was
factory workers are often at the forefront maintained in front of the factory, but the
of local action. In July 1995 in Indonesia, end result was that production was
the (mainly) women workers of the Great moved to a site where workers are less
River Industries Corporation organised a organised (Women Working Worldwide
strike and demonstration demanding documents).
basic labour rights. Workers marched Currently, within Asia there is a shift of
from the factory to the Provincial light manufacturing production sites,
Parliament, and held their ground in the from East Asian countries with rising
face of brutal military attacks (Action in wage levels to lower-wage economies
Solidarity with Indonesia and East Timor such as Thailand, China, Bangladesh, and
1995). In Honduras, some 5,000 workers Vietnam. While some women in Taiwan,
from the Continental textile factory Malaysia, and Korea, for example, are
organised a strike that paralysed produc- benefiting from rising standards, the
tion. The strike started after the arbitrary major problem for many now is massive
dismissal of women workers who had redundancy, caused by both shifting
begun organising to address long- production and the use of less labour-
standing grievances including excessive intensive technology. The Cannon Textile
hours, enforced overtime, bullying, and Company in Taiwan employed more than
lack of sanitary and medical facilities. a thousand women workers in the 1980s,
After workers had occupied the factory but since then the company has begun to
premises for several days the owners invest in Indonesia, and in 1993 the plant
finally agreed to their demand to form a in Taiwan was closed down. The workers
union (Clean Clothes Campaign launched a struggle which lasted two and
Newsletter 1994). a half months, and which finally won
them redundancy and other payments.
However, their action did not stop the
Dilemmas of local action
closure of the factory (Asian Women
A central dilemma facing women Workers Newsletter 1993).
organising such forms of workplace The challenge, therefore, is to link the
resistance is that successful action can in everyday needs and demands of women
the end lead to widespread redundancy, workers to strategies for curtailing the
as companies pull out and seek locations power of multinational companies and
where labour is more compliant. Local ensuring respect for labour standards at a
resistance is constantly undermined as global level.
long as companies remain free to
restructure production and roam the
planet in search of the highest profit
Women workers and strategies of resistance 11
dismissal of children from the factories comply with the code and still keep costs
(Akhter and Akhter 1996, Wahra and low enough to compete successfully for
Rahman 1995). Levi contracts.
The danger is that regulations relating
to labour standards will be used select-
ively, to keep out imports from particular
Building stronger alliances
countries. In the case of a social clause this The fact that there are problems
is in a sense inevitable, since no country in associated with internationally-agreed
the world fully observes the ILO conven- and enforceable labour standards does
tions embodied in current proposals. not mean that attempts should no longer
Countries in the North as well as the be made to establish these. On the
South are failing to implement even the contrary, more resources need to be
core convention on the right to organise. directed to ensuring the development of
Since the selective operation of inter- appropriate strategies. Forums such as the
national regulation has usually been in International Confederation of Free Trade
the interests of the powerful, it is essential Unions (ICFTU), where these issues are
to question how a strategy such as the debated, are dominated by the views of
social clause would operate in practice. the North, and of men. Participation in
Furthermore, the effectiveness of social such fora must be widened to fully
clauses or codes of conduct depends on incorporate the perspectives of organisa-
sufficient resources and commitment to tions representing workers in the South,
ensure their implementation and monitor- many of whom are women. Stronger
ing. The difficulties of monitoring are alliances within and between organisa-
magnified by the complexities of the tions in the North and South are also
production process. Transnational com- needed to ensure effective monitoring and
panies often claim that standards in their to generate appropriate publicity.
factories are higher than those of local International alliances are strongest
employers, but in fact much of their work when they take place around issues and
is subcontracted to smaller employers and strategies identified by workers and local
home-based workers. For any agreement activists themselves. For example, the
to be effective, there has to be close and Rugmark guarantee is a campaign against
independent monitoring throughout child labour initiated by a coalition of
subcontracting chains. organisations in India in which the ending
An example is Levi Strauss's code of of child bonded labour is linked to the
conduct, which was apparently taken employment of other family members and
seriously by the company and involved maintenance of the carpet industry.
regular internal monitoring of contractors. Strong alliances have been established
However, independent monitoring has with consumer organisations in Europe
demonstrated that there have been clear (Maybee 1994). Similarly, workers' organ-
breaches of the code. Reports from isations in El Salvador have built alliances
Bangladesh and Costa Rica have with campaigning groups in the USA and
described jeans factories where young succeeded in persuading The Gap
girls work up to 16 hours a day (New clothing company not only to accept
Consumer 1994, Mail on Sunday 1994), responsibility for conditions under which
and in Indonesia workers have been in their clothing is made, but also to co-
dispute with a number of Levi's suppliers operate in the setting up of independent
(IRENE 1994). Local activists maintain monitoring procedures (Working
that it is impossible for suppliers to Together, 1996).
Women workers and strategies of resistance 13
conditions in the formal sector, and lead Perhaps the most important question is
to an even wider gap between that sector how international sanctions relate to the
and informal and unpaid work. This struggles of women workers at a local
would mean widening the gap between level. In the same way that local resistance
male and female workers even further. needs to be backed up by international
On the other hand, it has been suggested action, so internationally imposed regula-
that women workers would benefit most tions can only work if backed up by
from a social clause agreement, since it is strong local action. The demands being
they who are in greatest need of made in international agreements
improved conditions. Their situation has therefore need to be consistent with the
been largely overlooked by mainstream demands being made by women workers
trade unions, and any national legislation themselves. Support is also needed to
easily ignored. International regulation, ensure that workers have the freedom and
enforceable through trade sanctions, resources to organise, and voice those
could be an essential step towards demands. There is little indication in
ensuring that serious attention is paid to existing proposals that such support
women's working situation. would be made available.
Other questions relate to how workers' It is essential that the development of
rights are defined. There has been no full strategies such as social clauses involves
debate about what workers themselves full consultation with women workers. If
see as their most important rights, but it is this does not take place there is a danger
evident from discussions in other contexts of a gap between international mechan-
that women workers do not define these isms and women's everyday struggles. As
in the same way as men. Standards which long as this gap remains, so will the threat
have been included in social clause to labour standards. Strategies of resist-
discussions are generally minimum ance can only be effective if they are
requirements, such as the right to organ- relevant and consistent both globally and
ise, and the banning of forced labour. locally.
Conventions relating to discrimination
and equal pay are also included in the Women Working
ICFTU proposals. Despite the fact that Worldwide
these are all rights which are important to
women, women are also concerned about Women Working Worldwide was estab-
other issues which affect them by virtue of lished in 1983, following the organisation
their gender identity, such as sexual of an international conference on Women
harassment, maternity rights, and child- and the International Division of Labour.
care. The reality of women's lives, inside The aim is to support women workers
and outside the workplace, makes it through information exchange, inter-
difficult for them to distinguish their national networking and public
needs as workers from their overall education.
human rights. For example, what can be Action research and campaigning has
achieved by ending discrimination at focused on the impact on women workers
work if women are denied the right to of structural changes in the Textile,
education and are therefore prevented Garment and Electronics Industries.
from gaining qualifications which an Publications have included a book,
employer may require; or by bringing Common Interests: Women Organising in
about equal pay, if women do not have Global Electronics, (WWW 1991) which is
the right to control their earnings? based on the testimonies of women
Women workers and strategies of resistance 15
Employment and
environmental hazard:
women workers and strategies of
resistance in northern Thailand
Sally Theobald
This article explores women's experience of employment within the electronics industry's export
processing zones (EPZs) of northern Thailand. Is the preference shown by many employers for
women really 'good for women'? Does the increasing feminisation of labour open up new
opportunities for women, or is it simply exploitation?
T
his case study aims to shed light on Agenda 21, emphasises the need to
such questions by exploring issues incorporate the ideals and viewpoints of
of women workers' control over 'civil society', and to involve a more
their working conditions. To what extent democratic representation of society in the
do women workers in northern Thailand formulation of policies (ibid).
have room for manoeuvre, and the However, the concept of civil society1
capacity to resist exploitative working needs to be examined and the different
conditions and improve the safety of their identities and interests within it disag-
environment? Is there room for negotia- gregated. There are constraints on the
tion within an industrial setting that is formation and action of alliances between
inextricably linked to the competitive groups on a single issue, and the evolu-
workings of the global economy? tion of such alliances presents a complex
Drawing on data collected through picture. I will illustrate this by examining
participatory research in 1995, I will the alliances and actions developed by
discuss women's awareness of the two non-governmental organisations
dangers to health and environment (NGOs) and women workers. Finally,
associated with employment in the lessons from the case study regarding the
electronics factories, and how they are possibility of women's participation in
mobilising to address these hazards. industrial decision-making will be
In 1992, the United Nations Conference discussed.
on Environment and Development in Rio
de Janeiro (UNCED) suggested a frame- Thailand's industrial
work to assist industrialising countries to development
develop domestic environmental policies
to manage industrial pollution (UNCED, Since 1961, Thailand's industrial develop-
1992). UNCED's framework, embodied in ment has been implemented through a
series of five-year plans, which have arguing, 'we are part of the real world
become increasingly geared towards now, we have to produce a competitive
export-oriented industrialisation (EOI). environment' (Bangkok Post, 1994).
Official statistics show that during the
Sixth Plan (1987-1991), the number of Working conditions in the
approved investment projects increased NRIE
three times and investment capital rose
seven times compared with the Fifth Plan The Northern Regional Industrial Estate
(1982-1986) (Piriyarangsan and (NRIE) was established in 1985 in
Poonpanich, 1994). Lamphun, to encourage industrial
While Thailand has been afforded the development in the largely rural north of
status of 'newly industrialising country' Thailand. The NRIE is a typical EPZ, with
(NIC) (Nicro, 1993), and termed 'Asia's laws and legislation designed to attract
fifth tiger' (Hussey, 1993, p.14), it has been multinational firms in an increasingly
pointed out that "Thailand is a tiger with competitive global trade environment.
different stripes' (ibid., p.25). This is The NRIE offers two sets of inducements
because, unlike in the other NICs, where to multinationals. Firstly, a financial
agricultural sectors are being eroded and environment conducive to foreign invest-
a large proportion of the workforce are ment, including exemptions from import
involved in industrialisation, Thailand's and export duty and value-added tax.
experience of industrial change and Secondly, regarding labour, the govern-
growth has been based almost exclusively ment points to its large employable
in or around the capital city, Bangkok. labour pool and welcomes company's
The majority of rural areas have been recruitment drives into the north-east of
untouched. In response to these regional Thailand. Legislation regarding workers'
disparities, the Thai government is now rights is limited, and trade unions and
pursuing a strategy of industrial decent- other formal workers' organisations are
ralisation, initiated during the Fourth Plan non-existent. These inducements have
(1977-1981), which has involved a resulted in 91, mainly electronics-based,
proposal for the development of ten companies setting up operations in the
regional urban centres (Atkinson and NRIE. The factories employ about 18,900
Vorratnchaiphan, 1994). Governments in workers, the majority of whom are young
South-East Asia are very aware of women migrants, who live in hostels.
regional competitors, and in particular Serious occupational health problems
appear to be watching, with increasing have occurred within the NRIE, the
concern, China's industrial progress causes of which are contested. In March
towards economic liberalisation and entry 1993, there were unexplained deaths
into global markets. among NRIE workers, from a disorder
Both workers themselves, and NGOs which started with headaches, and devel-
working on labour issues, claim that the oped into inflamed stomachs and
government puts a high priority on vomiting. The media, and local NGOs
attracting multinational capital to the claim that such cases of sickness are
EPZs of Thailand, due to the perceived increasing, and believes they are caused
financial benefits. For example, they point by solvent poisoning; in contrast, the
to the comments of Kuhn Kavitorn, head government and some industrial repres-
of the Board of Investment of the Thai entatives blame the deaths on AIDS
government, who attempted to legitimise (Bangkok Post, 1994).
a wide spectrum of industrial practices by
18 Gender and Development
Women workers' views on rural areas was the main reason why they
health had migrated to the NRIE in search of
work. One worker said, 'I remit Baht 1000
The participatory research I carried out of my Baht 3000 income home each
with women workers of the electronics month' (39 Baht = 1, 1996 conversion).
factories of the NRIE revealed a high Many workers wished to work in order to
awareness of occupational health contribute to the cost of education for
problems. Mayuree, (ex-worker at an their younger siblings, and to other family
Electro Ceramics Company) tells of the expenses. Such trends were also found by
industrial conditions of her old job: Porpora (1989), who in her research with
factory workers in Bangkok concluded
Things started getting bad, really bad, my eyes that the 'primary motivation for such
and head ached so much by the evening that it work was the desire to help with family
was very hard to carry on. Then my friend support...especially for women' (p.283). In
died on the job. It was awful. They said it the NRIE this is particularly relevant as
wasn't related to the factory, but I wasn't most of the workers come from the north-
sure, I was very worried we were all east of Thailand, the poorest area in the
worried. country.
The second main consideration which
Other women commented: led women to work in the NRIE is the
desire to earn high wages for a limited
I get scared when 1 realise how many pain- period in order to save enough money to
killers I am taking, my friend told me it was start their own business. For many
bad to take so many, but what else can 1 do? women workers, factory work on poten-
My work gives me migraines like I've never tially hazardous production lines is a
had before. short-term strategy to accumulate capital
We worry about chemical poisoning in the for longer-term goals. Many women
work we do, but it is hard to find out informa- expressed the desire to work hard and
tion; we're afraid to ask our boss, as we'd be save money in order to set up as a
seen as trouble-makers and he'd say there's hairdresser, dressmaker, or shop owner,
nothing wrong anyway. or to work with tourists. One worker
commented:
Female factory workers are very
concerned to keep their jobs, especially When we get older, they [the factory owners]
because of the lack of alternative job will not want us to work for them; anyway, I
opportunities, other than prostitution, for just want to work for five or six years to save
young women in Thailand. I explored money, and then set up something for myself.
women's experience of work within the
electronics sectors of the NRIE, asking Women workers showed high levels of
questions such as: why did you decide to awareness about the health hazards
come and work here? How long do you associated with their work. This concern,
expect to work here? What are the coupled with their desire for further
positive and negative aspects of this type knowledge of the extent of risks they
of work? faced, should provide a firm basis for the
Two main considerations informed growth of alliances and actions between
respondents' decisions to work in the groups that are unhappy about the conse-
NRIE factories. First, many workers said quences of industrial development for
that the need to support a family in the public health.
Employment and environmental hazard 19
the different groups involved in the However, this failed; the students claimed
industrial process both within and outside that the workers were either too apathetic
the factory gates. or too worried to participate.
The initiation of forums and open
seminars where relevant legislation can be
Building trust and debated would enable dialogue to take
acknowledging power place between these different groups. This
method of working sets firm foundations
First, alliance-building must be acknow- for the building of cohesive alliances
ledged as a political act, involving power. between different stakeholders that may
Vulnerable groups or stakeholders need serve to open up further scope for negot-
to be supported, if they are going to be iation. This is potentially a cumulative
able to express their views and insights. process, with the possibility of inputs
Among respondents in my research, from other groups. For example, at a
caution and lack of clarity felt by workers national level, doctors and journalists
about how far they can go in protest have supported workers and NGOs by
without risking their employment providing technical and practical
coloured their relationship with NGOs assistance in dealing with issues of health
which are dedicated to improving work- hazard. Internationally, there is room for
ing conditions. Workers were worried alliances with consumer pressure groups
about the assertive action that they feared or lobbying groups and NGOs with
these NGOs might take, seeing such similar agendas.
action as endangering their livelihood
strategies. While varied priorities and
experiences can successfully feed into The state as stakeholder
alliances if differences are acknowledged, If partnerships or alliances between
power differentials need to be addressed. women workers and other interested
In their turn, some NGO represent- groups are to be effective in influencing
atives felt disillusioned with workers' policy as outlined by UNCED, it is imper-
apparent apathy and lack of activity with ative that they receive state acknow-
regard to industrial hazard. For example, ledgement. It is difficult for NGOs to get
one UCL worker complained: legal status in Thailand, which further
hinders their ability to influence govern-
most of the workers are so accepting of their mental or industrial policies.
fate and conditions it's hard to make them NGOs typically complain of the lack of
understand their rights, and see that things transparency of governmental decision-
could be different. Their hours are so long, and making in industry, and their inability to
they jump at the chance to do overtime, so that influence this (personal communication).
1 hardly ever get the chance to discuss things Channels of communication are lacking,
with them, as they are always working or and groups cannot express their concerns
tired. to policy-makers. For example, CALW
received no reply to the petition it sent to
This view is echoed by a story from an the government, and is currently unsure
academic from Chiangmai University as to how else it can try to influence the
(personal communication). A plan was formation of policy on industrial health
put together by a group of students, with hazards.
the objective of mobilising workers to It must be recognised that the govern-
come together to discuss their rights. ment faces its own dilemma: regulations
Employment and environmental hazard 21
O
ver the last 25 years, Chile's Currently, the economy of Chile can be
economy has been characterised characterised as having two sectors: the
by tremendous change which has first is modern, very dynamic, highly
profoundly affected women's relationship sophisticated in technological terms, and
with work. Statistics show that women's commands large amounts of capital and
presence in Chile's economy is increasing. resources. The second sector is more
There are ever more job openings for informal, tends to be labour-intensive, is
women: women represent approximately frequently dependent on the first, and
34 per cent of the paid labour force today, scrapes by with marginal capital and
an increase of 3 per cent in as many years resources. Market forces have increasingly
(Los Tiempos 1993). Moreover, women demanded the incorporation of women,
are entering the labour force at a far more as a human resource, into both these
rapid rate than men: 'between 1990 and economic sectors.
1993, the presence of women in the work Some economists have begun to argue
force grew at a rate of 16.8 per cent, while that the most important phenomenon
men's presence only grew by 9.8 per cent' affecting Chilean women, commonly
(ibid). In a more recent report, Julia Medel characterised as the 'feminisation of
indicates that 'tendencies demonstrate poverty', is more accurately termed the
that the percentage of employed women feminisation of Chilean capitalism; this
is greater as the jobs offered become less has serious implications for women's
formal, bordering the limit of illegality. employment. As Chile faces increasing
Women's presence in the [paid] labour competition from neighbouring countries
force increases as the jobs descend to the as they, too, implement the neo-liberal
inferior segments of subcontracting. model, local businesses are forced to seek
Differences in wages, access to technolog- new ways to reduce their costs. A major
ical resources, and job stability, to characteristic of the Chilean model is its
mention just a few, are the characteristics dependence on cheap, flexible labour, and
of these jobs' (Medel, 1995). a labour code that permits this.
Before, one person (usually the man) worked Insecurity and low status
in each household. Now, between three to four
people work, mostly women. In this manner, Although the number of job opportunities
poverty is being reduced in Chile. (Estrella has increased for women, the nature of
Diaz, NGO Institute for Women) this employment is precarious. The ways
Superficially, one might think that in which women are involved in the
greater involvement in the labour market labour market (both formal and informal)
would automatically translate into are multiple: through subcontracting,
increased economic empowerment and piece-work, domestic workshops, and
better living conditions for women seasonal jobs, for example. Estrella Diaz
workers, especially since women partici- confirms that conditions of the new
pate in the successful export-oriented employment include job instability
fruit, fish, and forestry sectors, which (including much work classed as
have been largely responsible for Chile's 'temporary'), and informal or non-existent
high rate of growth. Nevertheless, deeper contracts and low salaries. This trend can
consideration raises a fundamental be seen in the textile industry, where
question: is this transition really a phen- 'women may be offered short-term
omenon that benefits women, and society contracts that run for 11 months after
in general? A recent study on flexible which they are temporarily fired for one
labour markets (Leiva and Agacino 1994), or two months, and then rehired for
commissioned by Oxfam, suggests that another 11 months or so. This practice
low wages are forcing more women into doesn't allow women to accumulate
the labour market to supplement declin- seniority benefits' (interview with Maria,
ing family incomes. Currently, 46 per cent textile worker, 1996).
of the employed (men and women) The central characteristic of women's
receive wages which do not cover basic relationship to the job market is
necessities. discrimination against them as workers
because of gender ideology. Despite the
Estella Diaz points out that: incorporation of women into the Chilean
labour force, the sexual division of labour
there is no comparison between the wealth and remains in place. Henriquez y Reca points
importance of a particular economic sector and out::
the living conditions of the workers. The fruit
export business occupies third place in volume employment norms do not prohibit discrimin-
of production in Chile's economy; but the atory conduct towards women workers;
workers (principally women) are among the legally, employers are able to establish more
poorest in the country. restrictive conditions for recruitment, career
advancement, and salaries for women... in
According to Henriquez y Reca,
global terms, women earn only between 64
women's earnings have become an
and 75 per cent as much as male colleagues in
effective part of the household strategy to
similar positions of equal responsibility (La
help families avoid greater poverty, and it
Epoca, 6 October 1994,8).
is questionable whether women's remun-
erated work has raised the standard of Morales confirms this, stating that
living of their families or simply enabled
them to survive in circumstances where line managers [in the fruit industry] are
one salary is insufficient for family normally women. But when those jobs are
subsistence (Henriquez y Reca, 3). carried out by men, they are better paid. The
men are the only ones who have 'sitting down'
24 Gender and Development
jobs: piece-work registry, machine operating. established for eight-hour shifts, and
And the workers who are in the more overtime should be paid at 50 per cent
permanent positions are men; they have the above the rate of the salary. Alternatively,
jobs that last all year round (interview with if the woman is receiving a salary based
Lucia Morales, 12 July 1996). on piece-work, overtime pay should
constitute an additional 50 per cent above
While a concrete reason may be given to
the original agreement. Nonetheless, most
justify discrimination, such discrimination
employees pay overtime wages at the rate
typically remains in operation after
of the original salary. In the fruit industry,
conditions have changed; as Diaz points
where women frequently work between
out, 'before, it was said that women were
12 to 16-hour shifts, the additional 50 per
paid less because they had less education.
cent is invariably critical to their
Now, women are more educated, but they
livelihoods (personal communication).
still receive less pay .
The labour laws are also flouted with
regard to conditions of employment.
Working around the law Women workers in industry may also be
discriminated against through lack of
Labour laws are inadequate or unen-
employment benefits, such as health
forced, and there are difficulties in form-
insurance coverage:
ing unions or similar organisations that
could promote change. On the job itself: the majority of women who actually have
contracts are offered a basic salary through the
women workers typically face unpleasant and
contract, and paid for piece-work in cash
frequently dangerous working conditions, as
without any kind of register of the transaction.
in the case of fruit harvesters who suffer from
That means that if they are ill, their medical
the indiscriminate and unregulated use of
license is paid only in relation to their basic
pesticides, or garment workers who are
salary. The same is true for vacation pay and
frequently locked in on the night shifts
indemnity clauses (Carmen Gloria, textile
(personal communication, 1996).
worker, interview 1996).
Even where laws do exist, there are
Women face increased poverty in old age,
ways of flouting them. Women workers
because their low rates of pay and
from the textile industry cite examples of
unstable employment patterns make it
how employers ignore women's needs as
impossible for them to make regular
workers, through avoiding the legal
pension payments.
obligations which are associated with
formal enterprises. Raquel, who has
worked in shops for six years, states that Devaluing women's skills
At work, 'Chilean women tend to occupy
the law says that the owners have to establish
infant care centres at their expense for "feminine" positions which take
companies that employ more than 20 people.advantage of their socialised and econom-
The majority of our workshops deliberately ically undervalued manual abilities'
have only 19 employees, thus avoiding but(Diaz, 8). 'Traditional' female jobs involve
not breaking this law (interview, 1996). the use of skills which are considered to
be natural attributes of women, and
Similar practices subvert the laws on wages reflect the idea that these tasks are
hours of work. An example comes from seen by employers and often by
the fruit exporting industry. The law employees themselves as unskilled
stipulates that salaries should be work.
Women and changes in the Chilean economy 25
Trade unionists at a training course use newspaper cuttings to make a poster showing women's social roles
26 Gender and Development
This poor self-image affects women's pay us is so low. We all keep one eye on our
attitude to their work and motivation to work, and one eye on the woman next to us, to
work together to challenge poor working make sure she's working hard enough so that
conditions. Diaz observes that we'll make the production mark and get that
increase. There has been an increase in fights
very few women work for motives of personal among all of us, and human relations have
growth or development, but rather for deteriorated to a point that is unsustainable.
economic need. They are scared of organising:
they work long shifts, and actively look for Paid work and family roles
extra hours to increase their salaries. The work
What are the implications of women's
pace is exhausting and competitive [since they
increased participation in the labour
are paid through piece-work systems], which
market for their reproductive role as
in turn exacerbates the rivalry with their
carers? One common assumption is that
colleagues (interview, 9 August 1995).
bringing money into the home allows
women to gain new power, and negotiate
Using competition to new roles. Another is that women control
divide workers the money that they earn. How true are
these assumptions for Chilean women?
Lucia Morales, member of the Women
While it is true that women are
and Work team of the Program
increasingly important actors in Chile's
Economics of Labour, points out that
economic process, serious doubts remain
competition among workers, demoralisa-
about the benefits to them, and their
tion, and low self-esteem have serious
families, of their presence in the visible
consequences. Morales worked under-
workforce. A closer analysis shows that
cover for five months in two fruit-packing
the complex ways in which gender
factories, in Chile's Central Valley. She
identity opens the way to exploiting
found women with such low self-esteem
women as workers has become the key
that they formed gangs that generated
factor in the new scenario of poverty
spirals of physical and verbal violence
which is based on competition between
directed against each other, especially
workers. Conversely, 'unequal power
among the younger women (personal
relations, based on the exploitation of
interview). Morales asserts that this
women's remunerated and unremuner-
makes it difficult to organise to press for
ated work, their time and their
rights, and the vicious circle of low-status
knowledge', are perpetuated (Quality
work leading to fighting amongst workers
Benchmark for Beijing: An Economic
means they may never reach the stage of
FrameworkNGO Statement, March 1995).
recognising the value of their work as
critical to family income. In preliminary investigations, it has
been discovered that the assignment of
There are many examples of practices social roles in the household by gender
which use neo-liberal ideas of competition has not been significantly modified in
to boost production by pitting women families where women are now earning
workers against each other. These include income. This leaves women's position vis-
the incorporation of incentives based on a-vis power unchanged within their
line performance, in larger factories communities and social organisations
associated with the textile industry. (Henriquez y Reca 1994, 1). Although it
Raquel explained: may be too soon to analyze this phenom-
the pressure increases, because all of us want enon in relation to women's roles in their
to take home a better salary because what they communities, this finding preoccupies
Women and changes in the Chilean economy 27
those organisations attempting to respond over their incomes (interview with Helia
to the needs and concerns of women Henriquez, 7 July 1995).
workers and the wider community. In an extensive interview I conducted
Women workers are suffering from the with young women working in the
contradiction that, while the economy clothing industry, many explained that
depends on their increasing incorporation they started working during their early
into the workforce, society has responded adolescence for economic reasons.
very slowly in modifying the subordin-
ation they have traditionally suffered. Your parents need you to work and so you try
to make a good salary, but you turn it all over
First, there is scant evidence that the
to your mom, so she can resolve the problems
division of labour within the household
in the family ...
has changed. In many cases, women do
In most of the interviews that I've been in,
not physically leave the home to carry out
they start off asking you if you've finished high
their work, which allows them to carry
school, but even if you haven't, they take you
out both remunerated and unremun-
on because they know that you're trying to
erated tasks, leaving the traditional sexual
help out in the household.
division of labour in place. The result for
many women is an oppressively long In all these instances, women's
work day, often till two or three in the contribution to household income is easy
morning (interviews, 1996). When women to mask or ignore. In a more subtle form
take on paid work outside the home, of marginalisation, some women workers
especially temporary or seasonal work, may decide what to buy with their
other female family members (often income, but the purchases are registered
daughters) are obliged to 'help out' the in their husbands' names, giving their
working women, who then slip back into spouses ownership and control of the
the traditional roles when the work season goods that they bought. Or worse, in
ends. This not only reduces opportunities households where there are two or more
for girls, but reinforces oppressive gender incomes, the women's incomes are
role-models in youth. dedicated to family maintenance, while
Second, the question of control over men's incomes are then used according to
income generated by the women workers their own personal priorities.
is still unanswered. In Chile, there is no
evidence as yet to show that women
workers are controlling their income. Are
Conclusion
women workers generating income only The Chilean government has recently
to be able to assure their own compliance proposed changes to current labour legis-
with the socially assigned responsibility of lation to endorse flexible practices such as
family care-takers? As Donny Meertens domestic piecework, temporary work,
points out, men frequently try to and subcontracting: the practices most
counteract the threat to their economic prejudicial to women workers (Leiva and
superiority in the household by exercising Agacino, 21). The labour force dedicated
greater control over women's contribu- to piecework is almost exclusively female.
tions to household budgets (Meertens What does this move to legalise
1994). Some sociologists suggest that exploitative working practices reveal
many married or co-habiting women about the institutional view of women's
workers unquestioningly turn over their role in the Chilean economy? Are the
pay-cheques to the male 'heads of rights of women to continue to be
household', thereby relinquishing control subordinated to the economic expediency
28 Gender and Development
A
nthropologists have written such as hunting or house building, could
extensively on the role of beer also be rewarded with beer. However,
drinking in maintaining social repetitive activities like weeding and pest
relationships in many parts of sub- control were not usually rounded off by a
Saharan Africa. Beer has long played a beer party, because these tasks are most
most important part in the reciprocal often carried out by women farmers. Such
exchanges which maintain social coher- labour functions of beer are now dimin-
ence. The status of chieftainship, auth- ishing, as rural economies become monet-
ority, and flows of tribute and redistrib- ised, and bigger farmers turn to piece-
ution revolved as much around beer as work labour (Hedlund and Lindahl 1984).
around staple foods. The social connota- A survey of the southern African
tions surrounding the brewing and SADCC countries (summarised in Kaale
consumption of beer were complex: for 1990) has confirmed what many village
instance, junior and elder kinsmen and regional studies have shown
drinking beer together was a sign of trust previously: that local brews are still
and confidence. The deep connection mostly produced at the family level.
between beer and high political transac- However, today beer is offered for sale as
tions meant that the beverage had to be well as brewed for subsistence. Typically,
high quality, demanding skilled produc- sales are mostly at the weekend or even-
tion (Karp 1980). ings, from a house trading as a drinking
Beer drinking has often been used as centre, or maybe from a permanent village
payment to working groups for specific beer-hall. Many rural regions restrict the
time-bound labour activities during the consumption of local beer during the
peak agricultural periods, such as bush week 'so as not to disrupt farm produc-
clearing, land preparation and harvesting. tion' (McCall 1987). However, the alcohol
Other one-off communal activities content of local brew is low to medium
performed by males or mixed groups, when compared to beer which is brewed
broader sample in the 1980s reported 73 many it became a first means of earning a
per cent of women having brewed pombe living in the city.
at some time (McCall 1987). Urban brewing, however, raises
There is evidence that brewing is not different issues from brewing in the rural
only the single most significant economic context. In urban areas there is a common
activity for rural women, but also that it perception and a frequent reality
provides higher levels of income than any that brewing, beer sales and prostitution
other business or employment. A survey are closely linked. Throughout sub-
of about 100,000 households in Lesotho, Saharan Africa, urban small-scale brewing
Swaziland, Zimbabwe and South Africa has these connotations, although less so in
begun in the late 1980s found female eastern Africa than in the south (Schuster
entrepreneurs to be heavily concentrated 1982; Lovett 1990; Bonner 1991). In the
in food processing, retailing, and small migrant labour reserves, such as Lesotho
textile businesses; brewing was invariably and Swaziland, the rural situation can also
one of the top sub-sectors, and one in differ, as the perception of a link between
which male enterprises were hardly brewing and prostitution is carried home
represented (Downing 1995).3 In a by returning migrants. Thus, the associa-
Botswana survey, beer sales were the tion of beer for sale with sex for sale may
second highest income source overall, mean that women's brewing activities are
after livestock sales. Cash from brewing interpreted as an assault on the traditional
was by far the most significant income patriarchal family. In such a context,
received by women. Looking at both male small-scale rural brewing by women has a
and female income into the household, completely different image and can
cash from brewing also compared trigger very negative, often violent,
favourably with men's income from responses from men of the household and
livestock sales, and male wage earnings. in wider society (Sharp and Spiegel 1986,
In terms of cash returns to labour,
Sweetman 1995).
however, the Botswana calculations also
showed that brewing is a poor provider,
similar to crop incomes only in a drought Finding the money to brew
year (Feldstein and Poats 1990).
Grain for household or group-scale
traditional brewing may have to come
from the market as well as from the family
Urban life and brewing farm, because it may be in short supply. In
Brewing is not so dominant a part of Burkina Faso's central plateau, the norm is
urban women's livelihood strategies as it that sorghum for household beer comes
is for rural women, since there are other from joint household (i.e. not husbands'
income-earning opportunities available. or wives') fields, whilst sorghum for beer
Nevertheless, some urban women are sales is purchased. Grain must, in any
engaged in brewing as a business, and case, be accumulated before brewing can
many of them make use of the labour of begin. Thus, local prices of grain and of
their unemployed sons and daughters and brews may be accurate indicators of
dependents or even husbands (Saul 1981). expected grain harvests. Brewers with
In Zambia, where high male rural-to- more capital may purchase grain stocks
urban migration began in the 1950s and ahead of an expected poor harvest. In
female migration became prevalent in the Zimbabwe, women may curtail brewing
1960s, the norm of brewing as women's when they anticipate low harvests (for
work was transferred to Lusaka, and for example, during drought) and they
32 Gender and Development
'empowerment' (Wallace and March activity for women is that the industry is
1991). A review of women and energy by almost completely unsupported by devel-
the World Bank (ESMAP 1990), which opment interventions such as small
examined the policies and practices of 15 industry credit programmes, business
UN organs and donor agencies, and training, or technology hardware develop-
another 15 NGOs working in rural devel- ment. This is particularly unfortunate
opment, identified many technology and since research findings, for example those
enterprise projects for women, but did not of the ALTERSIAL programme, demon-
report any recognition of the importance strate the revenue-generating significance
of brewing on the part of the agencies of brewing for women, as well as the
except for the work of ALTERSIAL4 in potential for disseminating improved
West Africa. technologies where brewers are organised
It is also common to find empirical and market-oriented.
studies which measure the scale of brew- If 15-20 per cent of village woodfuel
ing without apparently recognising the went, not as it does into brewing, but into
consequences for women's economic an activity such as bread-baking, there
empowerment, and the implications of would no doubt be numerous appropriate
this for gender equity (Tanzania Gender technology and WID income-generating
Networking Programme 1993). A recent programmes researching it. What, then, is
review of 13 donors' interests regarding behind the apparent marginalisation of
gender and rural energy (Skutsch 1995) brewing from considerations of livelihood
likewise found that funders and policy- strategies of women in developing
makers had no interest in brewing, nor in countries? To begin with, there is a
its resource and income implications. problem with technical data on brewing;
Literature on appropriate technology, there is also a reluctance on the brewers'
like that of WID and GAD, tends not to part to impart information to government
address brewing concerns, even while officials, and often a prejudice against
women brewers articulate their technical data collection. In part it may also simply
and business needs at fora such as the be a case of outside researchers over-
workshops run by ZERO in Zimbabwe looking the obvious.
(Nyabeze 1994). The ILO, despite its long However, the paucity of information
interest in improved technologies for should be seen as a symptom, not a cause.
women, has not turned its expertise to It reflects a dubious marriage of two sets
brewing.5 The Intermediate Technology of biases against brewing as a 'legitimate'
Development Group (ITDG) is another subject for development theorists and
agency which might be expected to tackle practitioners. There is a well-grounded
appropriate technology and income argument against supporting such activ-
generation in brewing, but while many ities, in that alcoholism is a significant
food-processing businesses have been factor working against human develop-
considered, beer-brewing has not (Sandhu ment goals, in terms of its toll on health
and Sandier 1986, Baud and de Bruijne and its connection with increased levels of
1993).6 violence both inside and outside the
household, as well as its effects on house-
hold economics in many countries. In
Why is brewing Africa this is especially significant in the
marginalised? migrant labour zones of the south.
The consequence of the lack of attention to Alcohol abuse is a gender issue, since it is
brewing as a central income-generating axiomatic that the effects of excessive
34 Gender and Development
alcoholism fall primarily on women and (Scott 1995). Policies towards local
children. A Kenyan study estimated that, brewing can be seen in this light to be
in the 1980s, the average (male) expend- operating in the same way that earlier
iture on bottled beer was sufficient to generations of nationalistic male elites
purchase 70 per cent of average adult argued against the promotion of 'approp-
calorific requirements from staple grains riate technology'.
(quoted in van Esterik and Greer 1985). This circular argument states that
Arguments that brewing provides women home-based businesses are 'outside' the
with a survival strategy and potentially economy, because they are based on
increases their opportunities for economic women's unwaged labour, and this is by
participation are countered by arguments definition technologically undeveloped.
emphasising the detrimental effects of Therefore, such business is primitive and
alcohol on the household and the health dispensable. This denigration of brewing
of individuals within it. is often further rationalised by the sugges-
The issues raised by brewing as an tions that local brewing leads to food
income-generating activity are often shortages, or distorts the grain market, or
expressed in stark terms which fail to spreads diseases, especially cholera.
reflect the complexities of the issue. For
example, the fact that beer can be a signifi-
cant component of normal energy intake Ethical considerations and
and nutrition for adults 7 tends to be development funding
underemphasised. Beer certainly is of
scant benefit for children, because they Further arguments to explain the failure
are not normally allowed to consume it; to take brewing into account as a
and with the shift from subsistence to development activity are concerned with
commodity production, including larger- moral objections to the production and
scale brewing, other protein sources for consumption of alcohol. The strength of
rural children often decline. This picture both Islam, and Protestant Christianity, in
changes if mothers are able to buy child- many areas contributes a moral dimen-
ren's food with the extra cash income. The sion to the secular disapproval outlined
issue here is whether women control the above. Donor agencies often come from
income earned through brewing. Yet this cultures which associate alcohol with
point cannot be debated if brewing never societal disorder the 'demon drink';
appears on an agenda for discussion. many NGOs which design and fund
In cultural terms, government agencies development interventions have sprung
may perceive 'local brew' as unhygienic from a background where nineteenth-
and backward, characterised as 'tradition- century liberal values were mingled with
al' while the state is concerned with non-conformist religious views and a
modernisation. (And in the bars of commitment to teetotalism. Informally,
Africa's cities government officers and the responsible people in these organisations
social elite drink commercial brands, like will say there is an unspoken position
Heineken or Tusker or Castle.) The fact against anything to do with intoxicants
that local brewing is an activity (personal communications).
dominated by women strongly reinforces These organisations may, implicitly or
this bias. Activities performed by women explicitly, consider it a misuse of their
have been seen as 'backward' by develop- funds to expend them on assisting women
ment theories which stress the importance to conserve fuel, or save their time, or
of Western models of modernisation reduce drudgery, in the service of making
Rural brewing, exclusion, and development 35
alcohol. At the same time, the stance also headloading, bicycle or animal carts must
reflects a benevolent paternalism, which is also be paid for. Wood for brewing thus
at odds with the rhetoric of empower- becomes a monetised commodity, unlike
ment, partnership, and self-determination the vast majority of woodfuel used by
currently in vogue in development litera- village households.
ture: the poor ought not be so profligate as The SADCC study (Kaale 1990) pointed
to spend any of their money on liquor. out that the increasing price of fuelwood
is pushing many families out of brewing,
as well as raising the price of the product.
Pragmatism and practical Alternatively, brewers may resort to
considerations producing lower-quality brews, leading to
health hazards and justifiable prosecution.
The scant attention which has been paid Technical research on dolo stove
to brewing by development organisations improvements was conducted in the 1980s
has tended to focus on technical issues, in West Africa, by the TNO and the
mainly on energy conversion efficiencies. Woodburning Stoves Group of The
Rural and small-scale urban brewing is a Netherlands with support from GTZ. The
massive user of woodfuel. A rough primary motivation was to reduce wood
estimate, depending on the type of brew consumption, though secondary consider-
and the wood used, is that something like ations were to save cooking time (thus
5 per cent to over 30 per cent of annual women's working time), reduce invest-
wood consumption in a 'typical' village is ment and production costs, and promote
used for beer brewing, including for home local products instead of imported beer
use, ceremonies, and for sale in village (Bussmann 1984, Sulilatu 1986). The
bars. The overview of the SADCC French agency GRET/GERES supported
countries suggests extremely high con- similar work by ALTERSIAL in Burkina
sumption figures, including the estimate Faso and Cote d'lvoire (Gattegno 1987).
that '... about 25 per cent of the total ZERO in Zimbabwe has also shown
woodfuel consumed annually in Zambia, concern for production and technological
is used in brewing local beer' (about problems. A 1991 workshop identified
410,000 cubic metres) (Kaale 1990, p.54). research areas, including the lack of
Thus, brewing for sale has different energy-efficient and low-maintenance
resource implications from the smaller methods of cooking beer, the potential for
quantities made for household consump- coal to replace woodfuel, the need for
tion. The technical efficiencies of larger- hygienic handling and storage of beer,
scale brewing need to be traded-off and research into the nutritional content
against the more efficient fuel manage- of beers. ZERO has produced a training
ment of household cooks and occasional manual for brewers (Nyabeze 1994) which
home brewers. Fuel for household cook- reviews these problems, but they have not
ing is normally dead wood (twigs or yet tackled the technology design issues.
fallen branches) or crop residues collected
by women and children, whereas large-
scale brewing needs big logs for the Looking to the future
sustained cooking at medium heat of the Support for the improvement of brewing
44-gallon drums of malt. This is often live facilities may place development agencies
wood, felled as branches or whole trees, in a controversial position. In certain
and is frequently purchased because of countries, such as India, women's move-
the quantities and bulk. The transport by ments as well as religious groups have
36 Gender and Development
campaigned sometimes violently against entry, which allows women to brew when
alcohol abuse (Jung 1987), though less so their particular resource conditions are
in sub-Saharan Africa. But if the cases in right, against continuity and stability for
this paper are representative, then the producers to expand in the system.
arguments to bring brewing onto the Commercial legitimisation is one way
agenda are overwhelming. Brewing is to increase the scale and value-added of
central to women's livelihoods and a women's brewing. Local brew has to
potential route to their economic empow- (re)gain its status, within a 'modern'
erment, yet it is technically and commer- consumer market. A technical point
cially under-developed, and its current advantageous to the small producer is
technologies are environmentally damag- that local brew cannot store and must be
ing, because it is under-valued, or even consumed quickly, which precludes an
deliberately scorned. If it is important to extensive distribution system from a
women, it should be so to gender- central brewery, and partly explains why
conscious development organisations. there have been so few attempts to
If national and community-level commercialise it.
institutions, and international and A largely unexplored factor is the
bilateral donor agencies, continue to widespread taste preference for local
disregard women's small-scale brewing, it brew over bottled beers, despite intensive
is likely that this significant sector will advertising for the latter. Something could
eventually be absorbed by male- be learnt from the sustained marketing
dominated commercial interests. It can be achievements of real ales in Britain, again
expected that the industry's development with the intention of co-opting a 'modern'
trajectory would shadow that of most image. Local brew is unlikely to come in
modernising household-based enter- smart packaging, though already it does
prises, albeit at a slower pace. On the have locally-topical names; but there
other hand, any interventions should also could be mutual benefit in coupling the
recognise that, if brewing as women's sales of local beer with popular consumer
business is legitimised and entrepreneur- goods, for instance, linking quality-
ship encouraged, women will still face the licensed women's brewing cooperatives
characteristic problems of access to credit with 'respectable' soft drinks retail outlets.
and retail outlets, licensing, and all the If further cultural legitimisation is needed,
well-documented institutional barriers to is it too far-fetched to visualise the
the expansion of women's enterprises. marriage of the vernacular culture of
At a time when formal employment pombe in music and song, with global
opportunities are diminishing in many youth imagery, but at the same time, with
parts of the world, women's income- the specific cultural heritage of rural
generating activities are becoming even women producers?
more important for household survival,
and women's businesses typically operate Michael McCall works with in-service
in shrinking markets (Downing 1995). graduate students at the 1TC. His interests are
There is always a possibility that the in local-level institutions for natural resource
market for beer-brewing may become management and indigenous knowledge. He
locally saturated. Although demand is has worked extensively in eastern Africa,
always high, the entry conditions are low especially Tanzania. He can be contacted at
and it is relatively easy for new female the Division of Social and Economic Sciences,
brewers to start up. A brewing develop- ITC, P.O. Box 6, 7500 AA, Enschede, The
ment policy would have to trade-off easy Netherlands. E-mail: mccall@itc.nl.
Rural brewing, exclusion, and development 37
Premarital relationships
and livelihoods in Ghana
Augustine Ankomah
Despite the image of Ghanian women as dominant in informal sector activity and successful in
business, the research discussed in this article indicates that young women still expect men to act
as providers of capital and subsistence expenses, taking on the role associated with a 'husband'.
In return, the women take on aspects of the role of'wife'.
G
hanaian men enjoy a dominant the survival of poor families, especially in
position, and this is reinforced by the urban areas, but also supplements the
social, cultural and religious income of families, where the husband
beliefs (Republic of Ghana and UNICEF, may be a white collar worker whose
1990). This article argues that economic income is just not enough to sustain the
pressures, among other things, provide family.
the background for most sexual relation- Contrary to men's popular opinions,
ships, both within marriage and, as in this participation in petty trading is not
study, before marriage. Contemporary necessarily a woman's first choice.
premarital sexual relationships in Ghana Although there are a few Ghanian traders
can be understood as basically transac- who are rich, the wealthy financial
tional: sexual services are exchanged for position of the market woman is often
material gains (Ankomah and Ford, 1994; exaggerated. Most of the young women
Pellow, 1977). The pervasiveness and interviewed in this study aspired to be
apparent societal acceptance of sexual professional women, with responsible
exchange is well-documented (Pellow, positions by virtue of education.
1997; Assimeng, 1981; Dinan, 1983). The real picture, is that for most
women, particularly young single ones
Economic options for who have just started, trading is a life of
young women constant financial insecurity. Many of
them retail only a few items on tables in
In most discussions on how women in markets, along pavements, or in front of
urban areas cope with poverty, emphasis their homes. Their incomes are not only
is placed on married women, and their low but irregular and they lack access to
role in the family as carers for children. It credit facilities. In theory, women have
is widely recognised that informal access to credit from banks and other
economic activity, dominated by women, financial institutions, but in practice this is
is the most important means of earning hardly possible. Very few have bank
income in Ghana. This ensures not only accounts, and the requirements for credit
facilities are so great that women are form of petty trading. There are marked
unable to obtain them (Okine, 1993). differences in the occupations of men and
Loans and credits are more likely to be women in the community: six out of every
given to well-established traders, who are ten mothers (compared to a mere 4 of 100
usually married, or to organised groups fathers) work as petty traders.
such as fishmongers (Republic of Ghana In terms of sexual behaviour, there was
and UNICEF, 1990). a high level of sexual experience among
Although several organisations and respondents; only 14 per cent reported
women's groups in Ghana, such as the themselves as sexually inexperienced. The
31st December Women's Movement and most common age for first sexual inter-
the National Council on Women and course was 17. The majority of sexually
Development offer some training pro- active respondents had one sexual partner
grammes, young single female school at the time of the survey, but one in four
leavers are highly disadvantaged. They had more than one sexual partner. Partner
lack the organisational and support switching is common, and the duration of
networks that enable older married sexual relationships is generally fairly
women to survive in the urban short usually about 13 months.
environment, and may often lack the
support even of their own family. I took my first sexual partner at the age of 18.
My current boyfriend is the second one. My
first boyfriend tried to provide me with some
The research things such as clothes, slippers, but he was not
I expect money and other things. After all, prepared to help me to earn some money. He
what are relationships about? Men are promised to give me capital to start petty
supposed to provide money and other neces- trading but he did not. You see there was no
sities. If you don't have money why do you way I could continue with him. (20 year-old
take a girlfriend in the first place?(20 year- female; middle-school leaver, petty
old 'chop bar' assistant) trader)
the present difficult economic conditions. money is essential for almost all the basic
The material provision and sustenance for needs and upkeep of the man's depend-
daily needs were tacitly accepted as part ents. Nearly all the women questioned in
of the unwritten marriage contract agreed the study thought that chopmoney should
by the man and his lineage. The wife be provided by the man to the woman, to
obtained food from the farm, and the man cover at least part of her living expenses.
provided meat from hunting or trapping One respondent said:
game.
The situation was different within / expect him to give me chopmoney.... Well, I
premarital relationships, where the man don't expect him to give everything, but he has
owed no obligation for the daily susten- to give something. As you know, life is too
ance of his girlfriend. There were consid- hard. (20 year-old female; petty trader)
erable variations in social acceptance of
sex before marriage in the traditional Rent
societies of Ghana. Generally, while Urban life involves various subsistence
premarital sexual intercourse had been expenses, of which rent is perhaps the
permitted in most societies in northern most crucial. In marriage it is seen as the
Ghana, it arrived in the south as an responsibility of the husband to provide
influence of 'modernisation' (Tetteh, residential accommodation for the wife,
1967). But whether sex before marriage especially if the marital residential pattern
was sanctioned or condoned, there is no is patrilocal or neolocal. This has extended
evidence of pecuniary considerations to premarital relationships. For unmarried
underpinning the relationships. Now, women, therefore, boyfriends can be an
things have changed considerably. This important source of support in the
study confirms that provision for material payment of rent. To those respondents
needs is now seen by women to be an who are still sexually inexperienced,
important part of premarital relationships. paying rent was ranked highest on the list
of things expected of potential boyfriends.
'Chopmoney' This may be because many of them are
To 'chop' in the local Ghanaian parlance is still living with their parents, and may
to eat. 'Chopmoney' is money provided want to have rooms of their own before
by the husband to the wife (or wives) for embarking on a sexual relationship.
food and general upkeep. It is seen as the
least a husband can provide; it is Household effects
shameful, and can be cited as a reason for As to furnishing, the level of expectation
divorce, when a husband is unable, or is quite low. Only 40 per cent of sexually
refuses, to provide chopmoney. active women and 32 per cent others
Although the provision of chopmoney thought that the boyfriend should pay for
used to be restricted to married couples, it household effects in full.
has now found its way into premarital
relationships, where its significance is Provisions
perhaps greater than within traditionally Food items that can be stored, such as
accepted marital unions (Dinan, 1983). tinned foods, may be provided separately,
Chopmoney's scope, value and very apart from 'chopmoney'. In the early
purpose have all been transformed with 1980s, when Ghana experienced a severe
changing economic situations. Since in the shortage of basic commodities and
urban centres people tend to be totally distribution was taken over by govern-
dependent on the cash economy, chop- ment officials, many women (and men
42 Gender and Development
because of false hopes that their actions Cultural values and sexual
may be eventually rewarded. Young exchange
women are likely to gloss over the reality
that the material outcomes are not It is often too easy to label sexual activity
automatic even though most of the men outside marriage as promiscuity, without
agreed that it was their obligation to any understanding of the economic
provide for the girls, at least in some way. pressures which underlie these beha-
The level of reward depends, in part, on a viours. As noted by Orubuloye et al (1991)
woman's individual skill and bargaining when describing a similar phenomenon
competence, her adroit use of personal among the Ekiti of western Nigeria,
charm, ingenuity, and adaptability. 'sexual networking is also economic
During the focus group discussions, networking'. Since men in Ghana are the
women catalogued various ways of main controllers of financial resources
inducing their partners to provide more and economic power (Dinan, 1983), and
generously: few options are available for women, the
status of most women is generally linked
/ will be washing his things, take care of his to their relationship to men, usually
room, to make it tidy, anytime I visit him. through marriage. It is in the sphere of sex
I will cook for him the food his mother is that women's bargaining power can be
not likely to cook in the home. I will do his primarily brought to bear, given the acute
ironing. If I visit him and he is returning from imbalance of allocation of resources
work, I will collect his bag and serve him with (Ankomah and Ford, 1994).
water. It is important to make it clear that
You see, if he is eating, you can join him by sexual exchange as described in this paper
just putting your hand in the dish, even if you is quite different from prostitution as it is
are not hungry. This is to create the understood in most Western countries.
impression that you are his. Prostitution is still considered an infrac-
After eating, I sit by him and converse tion on socio-sexual mores, while sexual
together with him with my hand round his exchange in Ghana appears to be
neck. Then after the conversation, we shall go generally viewed as acceptable. For
to bed and continue there after which ... example, there was evidence from
[laughter by all the women] we will 'start respondents in this study of both overt
business'. and covert pressure on daughters to
engage in sexual exchange. A respondent
These narratives may appear trivial to an aged 18 said:
outsider who is not aware of the
significance of household work and I entered into a sexual relationship because
personal relationships to the livelihoods when I was 16 years old my mother refused to
and well-being of both women and men. buy pants and other things for me. Whenever I
They show how these young women asked her she would say: 'You're old enough,
tactically assume wifely responsibilities in don't ask me for such things'. So I took a
premarital relationships, in order to win partner who was willing to provide these
the man's affection. The duties assumed things.
represent the women's attempts to
maximise their limited bargaining The instrumental role of mothers has
positions. also been reported in rural areas. In a
cluster of farming villages, Akuffo (1987)
reported that 70 per cent of mothers
Premarital relationships and livelihoods in Ghana 45
C
urrently, women and credit are earnings get into the mouths, medicine, and
popular topics, but they have not schoolbooks of their children. (Women's
always been a priority in develop- World Banking, 1994)
ment circles. Prior to the mid-1980s, credit
was used primarily to invest, through In addition, a growing number of
government structures, in agricultural women are creating their own jobs, and
production, labour-intensive industries, evidence indicates that the smaller the
and co-operatives. A change in perspect- business the greater the chance of its
ive has taken place since then, due at least being owned and operated by a woman.
in part to the growing global emphasis on Credit is often, and increasingly,
self-employment (United Nations, 1991) provided with the objectives of:
The current stress on women and
credit by development agencies comes as supporting the growth of self-
a result of increasing recognition that the sustaining small businesses;
benefits of development are most likely to improving women's opportunities, and
have a positive effect on families when supporting them in their role as
channelled through women: producers;
providing alternatives to exploitative
Women are major actors in the global econ- indebtedness of the poor caused by
omy, Investing in low-income women entre- local money-lenders.
preneurs is a highly efficient means of
achieving economic and social objectives. Are these objectives being met? Much
Women manage householdfinancesin most ofdepends on the type of credit mechanism.
the developing world. As more cash and assets
Although most provide finance to
get into the hands of women, most of these women, few in reality build women's
intermediary projects. Support is provid- plus'. Some NGOs claim that credit alone
ed for completing loan applications, is the key to successful implementation;
obtaining referrals, and in the form of others combine credit with technical
training, technical advice, and guarantees assistance, training, and marketing.
which assure the bank of the borrower's During the 1990s, both types have begun
ability to manage the loan. One example to integrate savings as a vital element.
of a local institution which has taken this Although few studies have compared the
approach is INDESI in Peru, which two approaches, both have proved to be
during its first year assisted over 40,000 more accessible to poor women than other
small businesses to obtain loans from types of credit mechanisms mentioned
state-owned banks. The majority of the above (ibid). This is because they often
borrowers were women (Albee, 1994). combine frequent repayments, alternat-
The limitations of such an approach are ives to standard collateral, group guaran-
becoming increasingly obvious. In India, tees, simple application processes, and are
intermediary organisations have exper- implemented close to the borrower's
ienced resistance from banks who some- workplace or home. Those projects which
times have little patience in dealing with utilise the principles found in traditional
poor women. Other such projects have credit systems sometimes also have a high
been criticised for their inability to reach level of borrower participation in manage-
women in remote rural areas (ibid). The ment of the credit system.
questions remain as to whether such Although direct lending projects tend
projects actually limit opportunities for to reach women in greater proportion
bank personnel and poor women to learn than other credit mechanisms, they are
to deal with each other, and whether the frequently criticised for their small scale,
intermediary project can generate enough cost of replicability, and unsustainability.
income to be sustainable. These factors are particularly acute in
These projects do, however, focus on projects managed by international NGOs,
building women's understanding of, and despite their efforts to recruit national
capacity to deal with, the formal banking rather than expatriate staff. This contrasts
sector. Frequently, they emphasise the with those local NGOs who have built
development of solidarity between democratic membership-based organisa-
women borrowers, in an effort to break tions which are now well-known and
their isolation and ensure their access to operate on a large scale: for example, Self-
loans is sustained. employed Women's Association (SEWA,
in Ahmedabad, India), Working Women's
Direct lending projects Forum (Madras, India), and Kantha
Direct lending projects provide loans to Sahayaka Sewaya, and the Janasakthi
people living in poverty, through the Bank (Sri Lanka).
project's own financial systems. They
operate separately from formal banking 'Banks for the poor'
systems, and are most often implemented Some direct-lending projects have grown
by NGOs. Given their experience of to such a scale that they have established
working with disadvantaged groups, 'banks for the poor'. The most famous
NGOs are often well-positioned to extend example is undoubtedly Grameen Bank in
credit to the poor. However, their Bangladesh. Grameen began in 1976 as an
experiences have varied widely. action research project of Chittagong
Direct lending projects fall broadly University and a number of public sector
within two types: 'minimalist' and 'credit banks. It became a specialist banking
Credit mechanisms and women's empowerment 51
institution for lending to the landless in banks. These are funds that could and should
1983. It functions on a multi-tiered have been utilised for the socio-political and
hierarchical structure, which includes a economic upliftment of its target group
large headquarters in Dhaka; zonal, area (Keppetiyagama, 1990,26).
and branch offices; and at the lowest level
banking centres and groups. Groups are In conclusion, there is no doubt that
formed on the basis of similar activities, Grameen Bank has contributed greatly to
but spatial and social closeness have also magnifying the potential of women
emerged as important factors for well- borrowers to save and manage loans. Its
functioning groups. The centres have a institutional structure, however, opens up
significant similarity to pre-cooperative many debates about the ethics involved in
groups which use common bond, solidar- credit delivery to the poor.
ity, and self-help as the motivators.
Grameen's approach, based on clear and Credit unions and village-based banks
simple rules which guide solidarity Credit unions most often operate without
groups of five, has been adopted by the bureaucracy and institutional appar-
hundreds of credit projects globally. This atus of centralised and hierarchical organ-
has been one of their greatest practical isation such as banks. In 1994, there were
contributions to women's credit. 87,604 credit unions worldwide, with
The challenge for 'banks' such as nearly 114 million members, and assets of
Grameen is to find ways of increasing the $650 billion (CWS, 1994). Each credit
participation of women borrowers within union is a financial co-operative owned
its hierarchy. Most of the 8,000 or more and controlled by its members. Any
Grameen Bank staff are male: perhaps a group of people wishing to save and lend
reality impossible to change within the on the basis of a common bond, such as
Bangladesh context (Kabeer, 1994). Their common residency, common work, or a
salaries, tenure, pay structure, and career common need, can set up such a credit
prospects are similar to those of other mechanism. Credit unions worldwide
commercial bank employees. share a common approach, but the details
In 1990, a senior accountant from the of how any given union functions is
Sri Lankan government with more than 30 determined locally. New credit unions
years of involvement in credit unions had often begin with savings; individuals'
these observations to make: qualifications for loans are then based on
a percentage of what they have saved.
A careful review of the pattern of administ- The emphasis on savings is what
ration of the Grameen Bank reveals that it is makes credit unions and village banks
more a Bank of the elites by the elites for the similar. Through savings, the foundation
poor rather than a Bank of the poor for the poor is built for issuing loans. It is possible in
by the poor. It still has a long way to go... many developing countries to top-up the
Grameen has been fortunate to attract large accumulated savings with grants from
amounts of foreign funds at negligible cost, international donors. (In countries such as
but a careful review of the financial structure the United Kingdom this is more difficult
reveals that this flow offoreign funds has been due to restrictive legislation: see 1979
a blessing, not only to the landless persons of Credit Union Act, Great Britain; also,
Bangladesh but also to other commercial Berthoud and Hinton, 1989.)
banks. About 30 per cent of Grameen Bank's Credit Unions and village banks have a
funds have gone to capitalists and common goal of local ownership and
entrepreneur classes through the commercial management of the credit mechanism by
52 Gender and Development
the borrowers themselves. This funda- sound financial portfolio and 100 per cent
mentally differentiates them from 'Banks repayment has an empowering effect on
for the Poor'. Credit Unions reach this goal women borrowers. To address empower-
by following various paths: while they ment issues requires building the
start with local ownership and manage- capacities of borrowers to manage and
ment, village banks often begin by being control decision-making, thus becoming
managed by NGOs, with a subsequent their own active agents of development.
attempt to shift the ownership to borrow- A useful tool for guiding the empower-
ers. Such differences in the process of ment debate is the Women's Equality and
establishing locally-owned and managed Empowerment Framework devised by
mechanisms deserve further study. UNICEF. This distinguishes between the
levels of empowerment: welfare, access,
Conclusions and cautionary conscientisation, participation, and
notes control (UNICEF, 1994; Albee, 1995).
All the credit mechanisms outlined above Are credit projects creating a debt trap?
have strengths and limitations. What can Another key issue for development
be learned from the past decade of their organisations is the need to understand
implementation? Perhaps the most that the provision of credit has the
essential lesson is the need for increased potential to increase poor people's debts.
knowledge amongst development practi- The credit sector is now too long-
tioners about the long-term implications established to be dishonest about the risks
of selecting a particular type of credit of delinquency and accumulated debt.
mechanism. As outlined above, ethical How can so many projects claim to have
issues need to be debated by development 90-98 per cent repayment rates? Such high
organisations before they embark on repayment rates, rather than satisfying
establishing, or expanding, a credit donors, should set off alarm bells, since
scheme. they frequently indicate fundamental
One ethical issue which organisations flaws in the design of the lending system.
should clarify is their level of commitment This is the unfortunate reality of many
to empowerment of borrowers. Although credit initiatives which claim to have 98 to
many schemes have reached the scale of 100 per cent repayment rates.
delivering thousands of loans to poor One common flaw is 'hidden delin-
women, few have a clear commitment quency' caused by over-lapping loans.
and strategy for women's empowerment. Some schemes offer a series of graduated
Awareness, organisation, and self- loans: for example, a project may provide
determined actions contribute to this, and twelve-month loans, which increase year-
some credit mechanisms incorporate these by-year from approximately $40, to $50, to
features more than others. $60 by year three, and so on. Patterns of
The debate on choice of credit instalment payments vary: some projects
mechanism is essentially one between have monthly repayments, while others
'credit for the poor', in which loans are have bi-monthly, half-yearly or annual
delivered and the financial management payments. In a project where borrowers
is outwith the borrowers, versus 'credit by repay in two equal instalments (at months
the poor', in which women have the six and twelve), the month twelve
control and decision-making power over repayment often takes place on the same
the mechanism itself. It cannot be safely day as the next loan is issued. If the
assumed that a credit mechanism with a borrower is not able to repay when the
Credit mechanisms and women's empowerment 53
I
n many developing countries, women The study compared the economic
organise themselves into self-help success of eight women's income-
groups. These may share agricultural generating groups and 12 women entre-
labour or give mutual domestic help in preneurs in rural south-west Uganda. The
times of crisis. Recently, women's groups individual women were found to be
have been championed as a mechanism economically more productive than the
through which women can become an groups. The article argues that this is due
important part of the equation in rural to the groups being hindered by bureau-
development (Wamalwa 1991). cratic procedures and the necessity of
Traditionally, women in south-west maintaining social relationships. This line
Uganda formed small groups whose main of enquiry has important implications for
focus was to provide food and help to development funders, who invariably
families in exceptional circumstances, channel resources through groups.
such as weddings or funerals. More
recently, NGOs have been encouraging
women's income-generating groups. The Location and method
present study was set up to compare the The study was based in 15 villages in
economic success of these groups with Masaka district, Uganda, where the UK
that of women who were economically Medical Research Council has been
active on their own behalf, in a rural area. conducting a study on AIDS since 1989.
In the 1960s and 1970s, women's groups This includes examining annual demo-
in East Africa were focused mainly on graphic, social, and HIV surveys of the
promoting family health and income population of 10,000. The people of
through activities such as embroidery. It Masaka are mainly peasant farmers living
has only been in more recent years that in dispersed homesteads and trading
women's role in agriculture has been centres. The principle activity is subsist-
recognised by NGOs as a potential basis ence farming of bananas and beans, with
for improving their access to cash coffee as the main cash crop. The
(Pugansoa and Amuah 1991). Baganda, who are the predominant tribe
in the area, are virilocal (women move to illustration of this, most said that they
their husband's home). Many women in intended to help to build community
this area were not born in the district and structures, such as schools. However,
few have access to land from their natal none had yet made any contribution, in
families. While some have purchased cash or by offering labour, to such proj-
their own land, most cultivate land ects. When asked 'what would you do if
allocated to them by their husbands. you had one million shillings?' (about
Encouragement of women's income- 800/$l,000), none mentioned giving any
generating groups, without outside fund- contributions to the community. Instead,
ing, has been one of the main activities of the members said the group would invest
the community development part of the in capital items such as land, or some
MRC programme. Individual women and form of transport. However, the research
women's groups have been able to raise findings indicated that in fact accum-
small amounts of capital from the sale of ulating individual wealth was the main
subsistence crops, to finance their enter- motive for group activity, with a certain
prises. How women's income-generating amount of attention being given to the
activity affects and relates to total family economic and social standing of the group
income of cash and commodities is itself. The picture for individuals was less
difficult to assess accurately. Households complex; the individual women entre-
grow most of their own food, and many preneurs interviewed saw themselves
other necessities are obtained through a unambiguously as working for their own
complex web of exchange which is almost and their children's prosperity.
impossible to map.
In the study, the economic achieve- Barriers to group
ment, objectives, and social characteristics membership
of eight income-generating groups
operating in 15 villages were evaluated. There is evidence that group membership
In-depth semi-structured interviews were is not open to the poorest women,
held with members in their groups, and because of practical and intangible
structured questionnaires used to collect barriers based on status and skills. All
detailed information on project expendit- women interviewed, regardless of
ure and income. All the projects were whether or not they belonged to a group,
inspected. Similar data were collected considered financial status to be a cri-
from 12 women who were economically terion for group membership. Those who
active on their own behalf. did not belong to a group felt that without
The groups ranged in size between sufficient money to buy more than one
nine and twenty members. All had been smart outfit, they would feel out of place
active for three to five years. They had at group meetings. Similarly, literacy was
formal structures, with a chair, secretary, felt to be an important skill for group
and treasurer. A considerable amount of members. Women without education
time was spent in record keeping; all feared the embarrassment of not being
groups met at least fortnightly. A regular able to read or write, and thus being
membership fee was paid, which they unable to contribute to the group admin-
raised through the sale of small amounts istration. Many of the women in the
of agricultural produce. groups had experience in local political
All the groups stated that they believed organisations, and some were members of
in 'community development' a term religious, social welfare, and political
that they have adopted from NGOs. In organisations as well.
56 Gender and Development
While age in itself was not seen as a the group she belonged to was not
factor in belonging to a group, elderly economically successful.
women rarely had sufficient education to All 12 individual entrepreneurs were
keep records and few had the physical independent-minded, and exhibited con-
ability to do heavy agricultural work. siderable personal initiative. For example,
Elderly women generally belonged to just before Christmas in 1994, a bridge on
social or handicraft groups. the main road to Kampala collapsed. One
respondent, hearing the news on the
radio, started buying bananas from her
Family formations and neighbours and, in partnership with two
group membership young men who owned bicycles, sold
them at a considerable profit in a town on
Stress has been placed on the advantages the main highway (20 kilometres distant)
of membership of a women's group in to supply the Kampala market.
providing social support to women in
their role as carers for families (Dennis
and Peprah 1995). In the current study, it The range of activities
appeared that group members had often All the individual women and eight
been friends for several years before groups had two or more activities, from
forming a group. However, joining a which they derived a cash income. The
group was not automatic for women who specific activities are focused on below to
had considerable family responsibilities: explore how viable they proved to be in
the women who belonged to groups and terms of successfully generating income.
those who were active on their own behalf
were found to have a similar number of Agricultural projects
dependents, both children and elderly In this area of Uganda, bananas are the
relatives. In fact, while the members of main staple food. They are grown in
groups were nearly all currently married plantations together with beans and other
to men resident in the area, of the 12 food crops. Both men and women grow
women who were economically active on bananas, and control the use of their own
their own behalf only five were living produce. It is usual for farmers to sell
with a spouse, two of whom contributed bananas surplus to subsistence require-
little or nothing to the family budget. Twoments by the bunch, mainly to bicycle
of the 12 women had never married. traders. There is no clear seasonal pattern
For some women, membership of a of activity since bananas are harvested all
group took place alongside independent the year round, although yields are
income-generating activity. The benefits highest in the rains which occur for most
of group membership could thus be of the year. All the women entrepreneurs
enjoyed together with an individual grew bananas for home consumption and
strategy for earning money. Some of the occasional sale. In addition to growing
12 women entrepreneurs belonged to bananas for family consumption, three of
groups as well as undertaking their the eight groups had commercial banana
individual income-generating activities: plantations of between one and three
three were members of religious groups acres which they had bought over a
which cared for the sick, and one was also period of years. They hired male labour
a member of an income-generating group. for heavy work, such as cutting grass for
In this case although the woman was very mulching. Annual profits ranged from 50
productive as an individual entrepreneur, to 80 per cent on their investment.
Women's groups and individual entrepreneurs 57
Groundnuts are grown as a cash crop five litres of honey and was then discard-
and used as an ingredient in sauces in the ed. Yields were lower during dry periods.
daily diet. One group grew groundnuts In theory, bee-keeping could make a
on rented land. Apart from the purchase profit of over 300 per cent in six months,
of seeds, their cash input was low, they but only one group succeeded in making
worked the land together once a week, a profit; they had sold 20 litres of honey
and had no costs in terms of fertilisers or from 10 hives for 60,000/-, a return of
pesticides. Nuts were sold by the tin (each 48,000/- on their initial investment of
weighing approximately 20 kilos). After 12,000/-.' Bee-keeping had very low start-
the landowner had received his share, and up costs and should have been profitable.
seed saved for next year, about half the The other groups just covered their costs
yield was available for sale, giving each through the sale of small amounts of
woman a profit of 20 per cent on her cash honey, and gained a supply of honey for
input (which would be enough to pay one themselves and their families.
child's school fees for a term). Three Only one group had sufficient capital
individual women grew groundnuts. and organisational capacity to engage in
They had each sold sufficient nuts to bring large-scale trading. This group was run by
in the equivalent of school fees for one a man, and had three other male members
child for a year. who cycled around local villages buying
Producing honey was a popular group beans by the tin during harvesting for
activity, encouraged by local NGOs. Five eventual sale in Kampala. Potentially, this
groups kept bees. They each had about strategy could yield as much as 250 per
ten locally made hives. After about six cent profit, but in the previous year the
months each hive produced from one to beans had been sold on credit to a trader
Selling bananas to a bicycle trader. Bananas are a staple food in south-west Uganda
58 Gender and Development
who was offering a higher price than day-old chicks for laying, from which she
usual, which he later refused to pay. The made a profit of 50 per cent on her
subsequent court case reclaimed most of relatively high expenditure during an 18-
the money due, but legal fees reduced the month period.
final profit to about half of what they One group had bought a cow cheaply
might have received. None of the individ- during a drought period in the preceding
ual women traded beyond the local area. year. Neither they nor the vendor had
It is tempting to make links between the been aware that the cow was pregnant.
fact of men's involvement in this group They hope to sell the calf and keep the
and women's lack of opportunity to move cow for milk production. The group were
around as freely as men, due to their well aware that this was a costly exercise
responsibilities at home, and lack of from which they were unlikely ever to see
transport. However, the picture is not as a profit; but they were very proud of the
simple as this: in fact, individual women cow and felt that the social prestige which
in the study were often away from home they gained was worth the expense. Cattle
all day (for example, collecting vaccina- represent wealth, and ownership confers
tions for chickens), while other study data social prestige; they are normally under
showed that male traders rarely sleep the control of men.
away from home (Pickering et al, 1996).
Craft production
Animal husbandry All the individual women and groups
Pig-farming is perceived as an activity made handicrafts of various types includ-
with little risk, and profits are high. Credit ing mats and embroidered table-cloths.
is often needed to start raising pigs, as the None were able to make a profit; because
initial investment required is high. Pig- of the lack of marketing opportunities,
farming also involves veterinary fees for handicraft-making provided little or no
vaccines and castration to make the pigs opportunity for income generation.
grow faster. The pigs eat kitchen scraps Research carried out in India reached
and root for food around the houses. One similar conclusions (Mayoux 1991). There
group was raising four pigs which it was almost no local market for handi-
planned to sell after a year, expecting to crafts, as nearly every family had
make a 50 per cent profit: enough to pay someone who made them. In order to be
annual primary school fees for six child- sold outside the area, they would need to
ren. Three individual women kept pigs: be made in bulk to a high standard, for
two sold piglets for small sums of money, sale to tourists or to NGOs involved in
and one raised piglets for sale as mature 'fair-trade'. Craft production could there-
animals, which she described as a form of fore be regarded more as a social activity,
capital accumulation. and an opportunity for women to gather
Poultry, like pigs, require considerable to discuss issues of concern to them.
investment in terms of feed and veterin- One group of women, who appeared to
ary fees in the early stages and can then be rather disorganised, were engaged in
be very profitable. But poultry also need intermittent brick-making. They had not
constant feeding and attention throughout attempted to identify a market before
their lives. They are vulnerable to infec- starting, and in consequence had diffi-
tions which, if not recognised and acted culty in selling the bricks. The group said
on, can spread through the flock and kill a they were unable to recall how much
large number of birds. One of the women money they had spent on producing the
entrepreneurs kept poultry. She raised bricks, or where it had come from. When
Women's groups and individual entrepreneurs 59
the bricks were sold, they paid off their machine, and selling second-hand clothes.
known debts and found they had very Two elderly women were traditional birth
little left to distribute. However, our attendants, and their services were
research demonstrated that, for these usually remunerated with small gifts.
women, brick-making could potentially
yield profits of up to 200 per cent.
Conclusions
Alcohol production and sale Perhaps NGOs should in future focus
One group, and one individual woman, more on individuals than groups in order
were involved in commercial beer to raise rural incomes and give both men
brewing. Not all respondents could have and women greater economic power. Our
considered this as an activity; for example, reasons for wishing to provoke a debate
of the 12 individual women entrepren- on this issue are several. First, from an
eurs, three were Muslim. For the group, economic perspective, the financial
brewing was a highly profitable activity, success of the groups was, overall, low
making up to 25 per cent profit over a few when compared to that of the individual
days. Each member donated one bunch of women. Individuals who grew ground-
bananas which was pressed by hired nuts, for example, sold sufficient in one
labour, mixed with sorghum, and season to pay for a child's school fees for
fermented for two days. The resulting one year while the groups only realised
beer was sold by the jerry-can to small enough for one term.
'shebeen'-type bars in the local area. The According to the members of groups in
individual woman brewer had to buy her the study, part of the rationale behind the
bananas, and was barely able to cover her formation of groups is that it is believed to
costs. Two women distilled spirits about be easier to raise capital through joint
once a fortnight and made nearly 100 per contributions. However, in the Ugandan
cent profit. They provided their own context, projects based on traditional
bananas and used family labour. agricultural activities actually need little
Several women ran small bars from capital, as land can normally be borrowed
their homes, selling locally-made alcohol. until sufficient capital can be accum-
Some operated intermittently, mainly at ulated, and labour is given free. In
weekends. Both beer and spirits are sold addition, despite the perceived advant-
at about 30 per cent above their cost. ages of group membership regarding
capital accumulation, the problem of
Other activities acquiring capital did not appear to be
A middle-aged woman who had never insurmountable to the individual women;
married was a trained teacher. She had those who raise pigs, chickens, the woman
built her own primary school, which she who built a school, and the one who
ran in addition to having a part-time job rented a shop, had all raised the necessary
and doing subsistence farming. An elderly capital themselves over a period of years.
woman had a regular income from Part of the rationale for development
renting a shop in the trading centre, agencies to support group income-
selling a few mats, and water collected generating activity rather than the efforts
from the roof of her house. One woman, of individual women is that, in addition to
whose husband was in prison, supported offering opportunities for income genera-
herself and five children through subsist- tion, groups are widely believed to offer
ence agriculture, brewing beer intermit- other benefits, including mutual support,
tently, dress-making using a hired sewing skills training and leadership experience.
60 Gender and Development
IN T E RVIE W
Sukaynah Salameh
Director of the Vocational Development
Association (VDSA), Lebanon
Interviewed by Lina Abu-Habib
Sukaynah Salameh is a Palestinian woman living in Lebanon, who recently became a Lebanese
citizen. She has been involved in social and development work since 1976, as a founding member
of several NGOs, including VDSA. She studied law and arts at the Beirut University College.
How and why was VDSA set up? You say that VDSA particularly targets
In 1982, following the Israeli invasion of young Palestinian and Lebanese men and
Lebanon, and the departure of the women. Why are these people particularly
Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) vulnerable?
from Beirut after the dismantling of its Young people in Lebanon have been
political and social infrastructure, particularly disadvantaged by the 15
thousands of young poorly educated years of civil war. Some of them have
Palestinian men and women found them- known nothing else. They have had little
selves without any employment or any opportunity to develop properly, learn
marketable skills. useful skills, and make informed choices
VDSA was created as an association in about their life and future. There has been
1983 by a group of development workers a deteriorating economic situation in the
and professionals. It became officially country generally, and additional econ-
registered in 1988, aiming to equip young omic hardship has been caused by the
Palestinian and Lebanese men and massive influx of Palestinian returnees
women with the skills that would allow from Gulf countries. Educational grants
them to find employment, taking into from the former Soviet Union and Eastern
consideration the local market demands bloc are no longer available.
and the legal restrictions placed on For young refugees, the problems are
Palestinian refugees: they need work even worse. They have been confined
permits, and by law there are some white- within the boundaries of refugee camps,
collar jobs that they are not allowed to do. with little chance of completing their
VDSA now runs vocational training education, and the lure of joining military
centres in a number of Palestinian refugee and political factions. There are also
centres in Beirut, North and South restrictive laws regulating the employ-
Lebanon. ment of refugees.
I should also mention the plight of the their inferior situation and status in their
thousand or so young men who are ex- community.
soldiers from the various military factions. If I had to summarise the main obst-
Most of them were recruited to fight at a acles preventing the Palestinian refugee
very young age; many are illiterate, or women finding gainful employment, I
semi-literate. They are too old to go back would point out the general causes, such
to school, and the present educational as scarce job opportunities, the laws
system cannot integrate them. regulating the employment of refugees,
For all these young people, who have competition due to the availability of
been ill-equipped to enter the job market cheaper migrant workers, the view, held
right from the start, there are very few by many, that women simply cannot do
opportunities to find work and lead a certain jobs, the belief that women's
decent life. employment is in any case 'temporary'
(that is, until they get married), and the
Would you say the situation of refugee unavailability of real opportunities for
women, and especially young women, is women to acquire skills.
particularly difficult? The limited employment opportunities
Yes, indeed because they are women, available to them tend to reinforce their
to start with! Opportunities, which are traditional roles as mothers, carers, and
already scarce for men, are almost non- housewives. Palestinian refugee women
existent for women. In addition to the who are able to find jobs work as
particular problems in this situation, unskilled labourers in sewing factories,
women here suffer from the same diffi- agriculture labourers, embroiderers,
culties as women elsewhere. Although domestic workers, or social workers and
Palestinian women were very much teachers with local NGOs.
involved in the national struggle, their Vocational training programmes aimed
participation in this has not improved at women are invariably concerned with
concern that women workers were being public relations exercises, and had not
put into conflict with each other. In materially improved conditions for
Mexico, conditions for women workers in workers. In discussion, it was agreed that
the maquiladoras had worsened after the for such codes to be effective, a truly
North American Free Trade Agreement independent monitoring system had to be
(NAFTA). In South Africa, it was crucial devised. This was still some way off.
to develop the strength of unions and to Opinions varied as to whether the
protect the rights of women workers. The adoption of social clauses in international
economic development of southern China trade agreements, which are being
rested on the labour, in often appalling campaigned for by many international
conditions, of seven million women work- trade union bodies and sympathetic
ers. Women workers in the UK had NGOs, would be effective in improving
suffered more than men from job losses conditions for women workers. As they
resulting from privatisation. stood currently, there was not enough
UNIFEM (one of the specialised UN emphasis on gender-based labour rights,
agencies) had focused on women and which took into account the specific
trade as a key area, and was currently situation of women workers.
trying to build an international network. Jane Tate from Homenet (an inter-
Much more research needed to be done national campaign group for home-
before we could understand the impact of workers) emphasised that international
trade liberalisation on women. Michael links were needed because of the inter-
Hindley spoke as a member of the national chains of production. Workers in
European Parliament's trade committee. both the South and the North were
Trade was a matter dealt with at affected by internationalisation, and new
European, not national, level. He called kinds of coalitions and organisations were
for more collaboration between parlia- needed. Homenet itself was a network of
mentarians and NGOs over trade issues, different kinds of groups: trade unions,
to counter the power of multinational NGOs, new trade unions such as SEWA
corporations' (MNCs) lobbying on trade. (India), and researchers working with
The second part of the conference was home-based workers. Participants then
concerned to discuss different but told of the different strategies already
complementary strategies which would being developed, including trade-union-
help to develop a social dimension to based education and research in the UK
world trade. There were three main areas and the Netherlands, UNIFEM's advocacy
in which to develop strategies: first, of a social strategy for the new World
linking consumers and producers in ways Trade Organisation (WTO), to campaigns
not solely dependent on cash; second, for codes of conduct in the toy and
enforcing minimum labour standards; garments industry.
third, alternative trade networks which, Women Working Worldwide drew up
although small, had significant effects. the following statement on the aims and
Most of the speakers focused on the agenda for the conference:
first two strategies, with many speakers
emphasising the role consumers could World trade is a women's issue, because all
play in pressurising MNCs to improve women are affected by world trade as workers,
conditions for workers. Some companies consumers, and parents.
had adopted codes of conduct, stipulating Today, world trade is organised in the
minimum working conditions. The service of making money, rather than meeting
problem was that many were simply people's needs. The agenda is dominated by
Resources 67
Lives of Working Women in India: Selected women in management in the 1990s; the
Readings from Manushi, A Journal About motives behind their career patterns; the
Women and Society, Women's International effects of motherhood on a senior
Resource Exchange, New York, USA, manager's career; and outlines situations
1975. Collection of articles that describe endemic in many large corporations that
the situations of women working in coal are making senior women managers leave
mines, as street sweepers, as migrant their organisations.
labourers, and as porters, in India.
Women United, Women Divided:
Reforming World Trade; The Social and Comparative Studies of Ten Contemporary
Environmental Priorities, C LeQuesne, Cultures, P Caplan and J Bujra (eds),
Oxfam Publications, 1996. Stresses the Indiana University Press, USA, 1979.
urgent need for enforceable minimum Includes chapter by Nelson and Nici
international standards to protect entitled 'Women must help each other',
workers' basic rights and to promote on informal groups of women who brew
sustainable development. beer in Kenya.
Shadows Behind the Screen; Economic Women Workers and Global Restructuring, K
Restructuring and Asian Women, Asian Ward (ed) ILR Press, USA, 1990. Collec-
Exchange Vol. 11, ARENA and CIIR, June tion of articles analysing strategies used to
1995. Collection of essays exploring the control young Third World women on
costs of economic growth to women in factory assembly lines; how women have
China, Hong Kong, and Korea; how resisted these tactics; and how govern-
economic globalisation and liberalisation ments have promoted development while
affect women in India, Vietnam, and the reinforcing traditional gender roles.
Philippines.
Women Workers in the New Decade, Gender
Silk and Steel: Asian Women Workers and Development Research Institute,
Confront Challenges of Industrial Thailand, July 1991. Collection of articles
Restructuring, Committee for Asian on issues such as women's safety in the
Women, Hong Kong, 1995. Research workplace; women's failures and
papers and consultation recommenda- successes at organising themselves; and
tions on the impact of industrial women's employment and pay in the
restructuring on women workers in Asia manufacturing, industry, and business
sectors in Thailand.
Sweated Labour; Homeworking in Britain
Today, L Bisset and U Huws, Low Pay Women and the World Economic Crisis, J
Unit, UK, 1984. Describes how telecom- Vickers, Women and World Development
munications technology has created a Series, Zed Books Ltd., UK/USA, 1990-91.
'new breed' of homeworkers. Reports on Explains how the debt crisis in the South,
a survey of homeworkers in both new and and periodic recessions in the North, have
traditional occupations. Confirms the affected women's health, children, and
disadvantage and isolation faced by nutrition, and contributed to unemploy-
homeworkers. ment, homelessness, and illiteracy. Gives
detailed examples of how women in
Women in Management: A Developing Ghana, Jamaica, Mexico, the Philippines,
Presence, M Tanton (ed) Routledge, and Zambia are confronting these
UK/USA, 1994. Discusses the position of problems.
Resources 69
Top Shop and C&A to ensure that the Netherlands. Tel: (31) 13 535 02 53; Fax:
clothes they sell are made in humane (31) 13 535 02 53; E-mail: IRENE
working conditions by handing in ANTENNA.NL
coupons to the stores asking for the fair
treatment of garment workers. To obtain Labour Behind the Label: network of UK
coupons, or for more information, call the organisations that aims to draw attention
Clothes Line, at (44) (0)1865 312456. to the plight of garment workers around
the world; to campaign for the improve-
HomeNet (The International Network ment of working conditions; to encourage
for Home-Based Workers): focus in 1996 retailers to extend their responsibility for
has been the campaign for a Convention workers in all stages of production; and to
on Homework at the ILO, to fight for promote fair trade.
homeworkers' rights at the international LBL at CER, St. Augustines, Lower
level. In 1997, Homenet will move to Asia, Chatham St., Manchester M15 6BY,
where it hopes to extend its contacts to England. Tel (44) 0161 247 1760; Fax (44)
many different countries. 0161 247 6333; E-mail MCRl:women-ww
Jane Tate, HomeNet, c/o 24 Harlech
Terrace, Leeds LS11 7DX, UK. Tel: (44) Maquila Solidarity Network: new
(0)113 270 1119. Fax: (44) (0)113 277 3269. initiative to promote solidarity between
Canadian labour and social-movement
ICDA (International Coalition for groups, and Mexican and Central
Development Action): works with NGOs American counterparts organising to raise
throughout Europe and is preparing standards and improve conditions in
policy guidelines on gender and trade. maquiladora zones. Supports innovative
Pamela Dar, ICDA, 115 Rue Stevin, 1040, organising strategies that connect com-
Brussels, Belgium. munity and workplace issues, and
address health and environmental prob-
ICTUR (International Centre for Trade lems and the specific problems of women
Union Rights): defends and extends the in the maquiladora workforce.
rights of trade unions and workers MSN, 606 Shaw St., Toronto, Ontario,
worldwide. Has National Committees in Canada M6G 3L6. Tel: (1) (416) 532-8584;
23 countries, and trains and works with Fax: (1) (416) 532-76; E-mail: perg@web.
women trade-unionists. Publishes quart- apc.org
erly journal International Union Rights.
Tom Sibley, Executive Secretary, 177 National Labour Committee: organised
Abbeville Road, London, SW4 9RL, UK. the consumer boycott campaign that
Tel: (44) (0)171 498 4700. Fax: (44) (0)171 made the GAP group force its contractor
498 0611. in Latin America to allow organising in
their factories, improve labour conditions,
IRENE (International Restructuring and pay better wages. The majority of
Education Network Europe): currently workers in these factories are women.
working to define the role and respons- NLC, 15 Union Square West, New York,
ibilities of transnational corporations, and NY 10003-3377, USA.
to develop codes of conduct for TNCs,
and strategies and campaigns to protect No Sweat: campaign coordinated by the
workers' rights worldwide. US Department of Labor.Committed to
Anneke van Luijken, IRENE, Stations- abolishing sweatshops in America. Raids
straat 39, 5038 EC Tilburg, The sweatshops; sues sweatshop owners to
Resources 71
pay overdue back wages to employees; WISE (Women's Initiatives for Self-
educates retailers and manufacturers Employment): links lower-income
about systems they can adopt to help their women with skills, information, and
contractors and suppliers to comply with financing to help them support small and
labour laws. micro-enterprise business development.
US Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Also works to remove institutional
Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20210, barriers that prevent women's equal
USA. Tel (1) (202) 219 5529. participation in the economy.
WISE, PO Box 192145, San Francisco, CA
Tools For Self Reliance: network of 94119, USA. Tel: (1) (415) 512-9471.
voluntary groups throughout Britain who
collect refurbish and then send tools to Woman to Woman (Mujer a Mujer):
some of the world's poorest countries. continental women's network focusing on
Also supports tool production at the the impact of free trade and restructuring
village level in Africa. Works with partner on women. WW is working to build
organisations in Ghana, Mozambique, connections between garment workers in
Nicaragua, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Canada, Mexico, the US and Central
Uganda and Zimbabwe. America.
TSR, Netley Marsh, Southampton SO40 WW, 606 Shaw St., Toronto, Ontario,
7GY, UK. Tel: (44) (0)1703 869 697; Fax: Canada M6G 3L6. Tel: (1) (416) 532-8584;
(44) (0)1703 868 544. E-mail: tools@gn. Fax: (1) (416) 532-76; E-mail: perg@web.
apc.org apc.org