Faye Harrison "Gendered Politics and the Violence of Structural Adjustment"

Question 1

What is a structural adjustment?

Answer 1

• Increasing taxes
• Cutting gov spending
• Ending food subsidies
• Basically making a shit economy

Question 2

What is the story of ms beulah brown?

Answer 2

A community health aide under the government public health program
She not only made sure the community was well kept (good clothes, advice, wisdom, etc.), she cared for numerous family members at home
Mrs. brown had to subsidize her expenses with extra work
Dress making, Jamaican patty making, sold ice from a freezer
Survival for her family was an everyday struggle → despite them being a better off family
She lost her job as part of the structural adjustment costs to the gov’t
She added more jobs (baking) to her list of ways to augment income
Removal of subsidies linked with decreasing currency, living costs rose and she was merely making ends meet
She began to travel for extended visits to escape the rising costs of materials at home (2-3x price increases)
Her additional babysitting and work during visits funded her daughter at home

Question 3

What promotes gender inequality in globalization?

Answer 3

• Women’s labour is cheap and expendable (since women are not the head of the house - they are only expected to bring in a supplementary wage)
• Transnational garment production sees sewing as a woman’s job, so they are the ones that have to settle for the low wages and terrible working conditions.
• The natural women’s tasks require no special skill, training or compensation