Putting Governance into the Gendered Political Economy of Globalization

Abstract

This article argues that the gendered analyses of governance and globalization should be integrated, because if we believe that globalization is not an immutable and irresistible force, our analyses of globalization can only be improved by a greater understanding of the gendered ways in which these processes are constructed and regulated. This understanding can also help to overcome the false dichotomy between structure and agency by helping to make clear the many ways in which actors interact with global structures and processes. Drawing on the diverse bodies of work on globalization and governance, this article focuses on four inter-related areas that are relevant to the development of a gendered political economy of governance and globalization. First it examines the processes associated with globalization, because although identified primarily with the analysis of globalization alone, an understanding of this area forms a preliminary building block for any integrated analysis. The subsequent three categories have been identified with the study of both governance and globalization and therefore are central to this endeavour. They are: the policies that have been linked to globalization; the norms, discourses and ideologies associated with globalization and its policies; and finally the contemporary forms of women's organizing that have been linked to globalization. The final section of the article examines some recent gender work that takes forward the task of integrating the analysis of gender, governance and globalization.