Preparing to Understand Feminism in the Twenty-First Century: Global Social Change, Women's Work, and Women's Movements

Torry Dickinson

doi:10.5195/jwsr.1998.155

Abstract

The history of women's non-wage work, women's wage labor, and contemporary women's movements can be understood with greater clarity if studies of "globalization", feminism, and the capitalist world-economy are examined in relationship to each other. Today many women's movements clearly reflect, respond to, and attempt to shape changes in wage (employer-organized) and non-wage (labor-organized) work relations. This paper is a conceptual, theoretical and historical exploration of how scholars, who study inter-related global areas, can prepare to do research on women's work and women's movements that will contribute to the development of "globalization", feminist, and world-economy scholarship.

Highlights

The history of wo men's non-wage work, women's wage labor, and contemporary women's movements can be understood with greater clarity if studi es of "glob alization, 11 femini sm, and the capitalist world-economy arc examined in relationship to each other
Non-wa ge and wage work, gender rel ations, and women's movements develop within a changing global context, which continues to be largely shaped by the world- economy
As labor becomes redefined globally, work relations arc becoming more highly differentiated across the face of the globe, reflecting growing global and possibly intra-zonal inequalities

Summary

Introduction

The history of wo men's non-wage work, women's wage labor, and contemporary women's movements can be understood with greater clarity if studi es of "glob alization, 11 femini sm, and the capitalist world-economy arc examined in relationship to each other. Non-wa ge and wage work, gender rel ations , and women's movements develop within a changing global context, which continues to be largely shaped by the world- economy.

Results

Conclusion