ABSTRACT
We have identified economic and socio-cultural processes of change which affect women in various ways. The major focus has been on changes which can directly be related to international industrialization and national development strategies. We have been able to identify changes in women’s lives and livelihoods, and in this way to show that gender is at the interface, open to negotiations and new interpretations. The prevailing situation is best described as a social interface, meaning a critical point of intersection of different social fields where structural discontinuities prevail (Stølen 1991). Having analysed the different social fields where women participate, we find that processes of change may vary considerably between them, resulting in different and sometimes conflicting demands.
