Women and Work: Production and Reproduction
Gender and Women’s Studies/Social Science
Women and Work: Production and Reproduction
AP/GWST/3510 6.0; AP/SOSC 3130 6.0; GL/GWST 3510 6.0; GL/WKST 3610 6.0
Term Two Essay Topics
Worth: 15% of total grade
Length: 1500 – 2000 – words or 6 – 8 pp. double-spaced typed (word count excludes endnotes or bibliography)
Answer one of the following. Refer to at least two course readings in the course kit and include reference to two academic sources beyond the course readings (e.g. social science journals, books and other references relevant to your topic). Use proper
citations (e.g. MLA, Chicago).
1. Why do brand name corporations in the food, electronics and garment industries rely almost exclusively on young women to work in these global commodity chains?
Explain how jobs in these industries are gendered and the benefits that
accrue to corporations due to the feminization of supply chains. Choose one supply chain for discussion.
2. Define the term ‘global care chain’. Choose one form of care work such as domestic care work or the sex trade or another type of care work (e.g. nursing)
and explain why this type of work is commodified, and why it is performed by a migrant labour force.
Explain the gendered nature of the care chain, and its
significance for social reproduction in the global economy.
3. Significant debate has arisen in feminist analyses of globalization concerning the question of whether women benefit or are harmed by their participation in wage work.
Analyze studies of women workers in either transnational reproductive care chains (e.g. domestics/nannies, nurses) or in global commodity supply chains (e.g. garment, food, electronics) to explain why women experience advantages or disadvantages in these sectors. Choose one supply chain for discussion.
4. The growth of interactive service employment in the global economy has created new types of feminized work.
Identify and explain the types of gender-specific work demanded by employers in industries such as clothing retail, hospitality, or
other personal services. Has employer demand for feminine embodied labour disadvantage workers? Explain your reasons.
5. According to Jean Pyle and Kathryn Ward ‘there are systemic linkages’ within globalization processes (trade, finance, international production) that contribute to the growth of gendered production networks. Explain how economic globalization produces gendered effects.
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