Free trade zones and women workers.

This essay in a book of writings on gender and development looks at the impact of Free Trade Zones (FTZs) on womens lives. After noting that most of the manual labor in the FTZ industries is performed by women working in the clothing and electronics industries the role of women in the clothing industry in the US is traced. In its first phase the clothing industry employed native-born female laborers from rural areas who worked until they married. Then European immigrant women supplied the labor force and continued to work after marriage. Finally the industry moved to the third world and organized factories in FTZs. Research has revealed that sexual discrimination exists in the manufacturing industry of the FTZs and that employers use various strategies to insure that women receive less pay than men. In the Dominican Republic where the women were traditionally employed only in domestic work the FTZs have made the industrial sector the second major employer of women. The women working in the factories tend to be 20-35 years old to be married or cohabiting to have a low level of education and to have children. The working conditions are poor with extended periods spent earning low wages while in "training." The official minimum salary is offered to workers and workers change jobs fairly frequently. Although it is difficult to measure the effects of the FTZs they have resulted in more male unemployment since women are more likely to accept lower-paying jobs and the lack of adequate child care for working mothers can lead to increases in malnutrition and injuries among children. It is expected that the consequences of the development of FTZs will be profound for women and for society as a whole.