ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an overview of the nature of contemporary globalization, the policies that have driven it, and the ways in which it has transformed economic relations and people's lives. Women as well as men have been affected by these processes—as workers, consumers, producers, investors, and borrowers in credit markets. The trends associated with contemporary globalization have been changing women's connection to the market, influencing gender roles and gender relations, and altering the meanings of gender across countries and cultures. The chapter examines the "global feminization of labor" thesis, which refers to the increasing incorporation of women in paid work and the associated changes in working conditions. It also evaluates the extent to which gender inequalities in the household are reproduced, weakened, or reconstituted as women's participation in wage work has expanded. The chapter discusses the far-reaching effects of contemporary globalization on shifting production sites, labor markets, feminization of employment, daily lives, and gender inequalities in the household.
