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Women Workers in the Maquiladoras and the Debate on Global Labor Standards

Author

Listed:
  • Edme Dominguez
  • Rosalba Icaza
  • Cirila Quintero
  • Silvia Lopez
  • Åsa Stenman

Abstract

This paper represents a collective contribution to an ongoing debate on the benefits and disadvantages of export-based, industrial jobs for women as well as on the implications of global labor standards on these types of jobs. On the basis of extensive research on women in Mexico's and Central America's maquiladoras (assembly plants that produce export goods), this paper aims to problematize the viewpoints that present export-based, industrial jobs as dignified alternatives for women in the South and to question the skepticism about global labor standards as a possible alternative for improving work conditions in all sectors producing for export. In so doing, the paper stresses three interrelated issues: a) the relevance of local and regional contexts that inform diverse industrialization paths over time, b) the agency the women workers represent, and c) the legal instruments already existent in our common efforts to improve working conditions.

Suggested Citation

  • Edme Dominguez & Rosalba Icaza & Cirila Quintero & Silvia Lopez & Åsa Stenman, 2010. "Women Workers in the Maquiladoras and the Debate on Global Labor Standards," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 16(4), pages 185-209.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:femeco:v:16:y:2010:i:4:p:185-209
    DOI: 10.1080/13545701.2010.530603
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Singh, Ajit & Zammit, Ann, 2000. "The global labour standards controversy: critical issues for developing countries," MPRA Paper 53480, University Library of Munich, Germany.
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    Cited by:

    1. John Anyanwu, 2014. "Working Paper 201 - Does Intra-African Trade Reduce Youth Unemployment in Africa ?," Working Paper Series 2107, African Development Bank.
    2. Christina Ergas & Patrick Trent Greiner & Julius Alexander McGee & Matthew Thomas Clement, 2021. "Does Gender Climate Influence Climate Change? The Multidimensionality of Gender Equality and Its Countervailing Effects on the Carbon Intensity of Well-Being," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-23, April.
    3. Robertson, Raymond, 2020. "Pioneering a New Approach to Improving Working Conditions in Developing Countries: Better Factories Cambodia," IZA Discussion Papers 13095, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

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