The hidden ingredient: Female labour in Chilean fruit exports

Abstract

The Chilean fruit export sector has expanded rapidly over the past decade. A large army of female temporary workers is recruited annually to work in the fruit export sector, playing a key role in the preparation of high quality offseason fruit for northern markets. Despite their annual employment in a modern export sector, these temporary workers remain a marginalised force in Chile, reflected in the significant underestimation of the female agricultural labour force. This paper examines the reasons for their marginalisation, the gender segmentation of the temporary fruit labour market, and considers the potential effect of increased international competition on the employment of female temporary labour.