Editorial
Women and Work
Two opposing trends have emerged in recent years. On one level there is the expansion and feminisation of lower-level jobs in the service sector. On the other, there is the growing number of educated women working in high-level, higher-paid employment in both public and private sectors. These findings from the 1998-1999 World Employment Report of the International Labour Office are very telling for several reasons. Firstly, it revalidates the projections made by feminist economists that the regional financial crisis would aggravate the high-vulnerability of women to any economic shake-up. Secondly, it proves that if enabling conditions are in place, women can make significant inroads into positions of decision-making.
The New Fantastic World of Work
Flexibilization is a no-win situation for women
(Women) "are recruited when needed and more easily dismissed when the time comes to move on. They have always been vulnerable to temporary, part-time work without proper agreements or trade union rights. They are paid less, particularly if they are young and inexperienced. As a result, they suffer from "increased insecurity, intensity of work, health and safety risks, disregard for family responsibilities."(Ofreneo:1997)
Sail On, Women
Being in the sex trade is not, and will never be an empowered choice
There is life after prostitution.”This is what Belen Obeja, chairperson of Lawig Bubai (Visayan for “sail on, women”) says after escaping eight years of entrapment in the sex industry of Davao City, a tourist destination in the south of the Philippines.
Life in Italy is no Dolce Vita
a migrant's life
Chato Basa's story sounds like your typical tale of a barrio lass determined to find her way out of poverty. Growing up as the eldest of eight children in a poor family in the Philippine island of Mindoro, she completed her tertiary education as a working student. But in an underdeveloped country like the Philippines, she realised early on that she could only do so much to change her life situation and move her family to a higher notch in the economic ladder. Despite the warnings of her friends, she decided to try her luck as a domestic helper in Italy.
Fighting an Uphill Battle
One on One with Irene Xavier, president of Sahabat Wanita
Irene Xavier was born in a small town in the north of Malaysia. As a student, she got involved in the protest campaign against the proposed University and Colleges Act in 1972 that threatened the autonomy of the university. The Act would give the Education Minister the power to appoint the chancellors and the deans who would in turn decide on the composition of the faculty. Most threatening however was the fact that the Act would get rid of the students’ union and the right of the students to elect the student council. Moreover, the students as well as the faculty would be prohibited from participating in political activities. The protests became so big and organised that there was a crackdown on the student body leadership. Despite the protests, the Act was passed anyway. For Irene, that initiation to the protest movement was an experience that dictated the political path she would take from then on.
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