ABSTRACT
This chapter highlights the local origins and character of women's movements cross-nationally and argues that women's movements must be situated within the particular political economics, state policies, and cultural politics of the regions in which they are active. Sonia Alvarez argues that women's movements are becoming increasingly bureaucratized as they have come to work more closely with NGOs, political parties, state institutions, and multilateral agencies. It is inaccurate to depict local women's movements as simply being subsumed by global ones or as engaging in sustained overt resistance to global influences. In keeping with the multifaceted character of globalization, transnational women's movements are themselves extremely diverse. A minority among them seek to challenge the feminization of poverty and class inequality that globalization entails.
