Trade globalisation may have brought more economic benefits to Asia and the Pacific region on the surface, but this has meant more women entering low-paid jobs in the service sector. This is a result of the study made by Jayati Gosh, Professor at the Center for Economic Studies and Planning,
School for Social Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi, India. Gosh presented her paper at a panel held during the ESCAP High Level Ministerial Meeting (HLM) to Review Regional Implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action in Bangkok, Thailand on 07 September 2004.

Gosh observed that the speed of economic change brought both fast growth and rapid decline to some of the industries in Asian countries. Her report showed trends in global trade affecting employment patterns for women from the early 1990s to 2003. During the early part of that period, the export-oriented manufacturing industries experienced the most inflows of capital, contributed significantly in the total GDP for the region, and raised the demand for workers. More women were hired to boost the workforce. However, because of a balancing tendency of global trade, the
import market thereafter grew in Asia. This resulted in a decline in export manufacturing.

Labour market shifts were more deeply felt by women. By the time the decline in export industries became apparent, many of the women had already lost their jobs. Gosh’s contention is that even after the Beijing world conference, fewer women had formal paid jobs. Labour force participation rates of women actually fell in the period after 1995 to 2004. On women’s work conditions in this scenario of lower labour demand, Gosh said “In general, the paid work performed by women has become less
permanent and more casual or part-time in nature.” She added that “services are now apparently the refuge sector for underemployed workers.” Service jobs, she said, tend to be in petty trade, work in the care industry (as domestic help or care-givers), and as ‘entertainers’ (which encompass both legal and illegal activities). Jobs in the information technology industry, while getting a high profile in the news, still contribute an insignificant share of country GDPs to be seen as a viable service sector, and are more likely to hire the smaller percentage of women with higher education.

These trends have also led to more women seeking work outside their countries. Within Asia, women migrant labour compose 60 to 80 percent of all documented migrants. Unfortunately women migrant workers are vulnerable to exploitation and trafficking, specially if they enter a country illegally.

Gosh recommends that both sending and receiving countries tackle the root causes of migration which includes poverty, marginalisation, patriarchy, environmental disasters, and displacement.

Women labour migration is a complex issue, avers Gosh. She enjoined governments at the HLM to look towards employment generation through public investment, provision of adequate labour protection for all workers, and fiscal and other incentives to make female labour more stable
and remunerative.

--Aileen Familara for Isis International Manila for APWW

Bangkok, Thailand