Lecture 7.2

The Gendered Legacy of Reform

Emmanuel Teitelbaum

Economic Crises

Where is Sri Lanka now?
- What is the IMF doing?
What is the World Bank doing?
In what ways is the Bank’s approach similar to or different from the one proposed by the Washington Consensus?

When robbing a bank seems perfectly justified
Read about the World Bank’s assistance to Lebanon
How is the Bank’s strategy similar to or different from its strategy in Sri Lanka?
Which strategy is better, the one being pursued in Sri Lanka or the one being pursued in Lebanon?

Benería identifies three potential effects of women’s employment on gender relations.
- Liberating
- Intensifying
- Reconstitution of gender inequalities
Describe each of these. Which effect do you think is the strongest?

What policies effectively increase women’s empowerment?
Three (that we’ll consider)
- Empowerment through development
- Electoral quotas
- Empowerment through finance/microcredit
Two things to consider
- Effectiveness
- Attainability

Discussion
Development –> Empowerment
- How does development empower women?
- Is development the solution to discrimination and VAW?
Empowerment –> Development
- What does Duflo mean by “empowerment”?
- Is empowering women the answer for development?

Districts randomly selected for reserved seats
Some districts selected more than once
Basic findings
- Districts selected twice in a row see changes in how parents view daughters and how girls perceive themselves
- Districts selected twice in a row see improvements in educational outcomes for girls
- No effects on labor force participation and education outcomes for older women
Mechanisms:
- Changing policies (which changes beliefs)
- Providing role models

Women making up the majority of the workforce in apparel
Employment is concentrated in low-income countries in Asia and Latin America
Workers often face exploitative working conditions, including long hours and unsafe environments
Wages are typically below living wage standards, trapping workers in cycles of poverty
The sector’s reliance on low-cost labor perpetuates gender inequality and exploitation

A system where companies self-regulate adherence to labor and environmental standards without legal enforcement
Relies on corporate codes of conduct and industry standards rather than government regulations
Third-party audits are often used to assess compliance
Designed to promote ethical practices but participation is generally optional for companies

Critics argue it lacks accountability and often fails to protect vulnerable workers effectively
Vulnerabilities have been pushed down to more informal and unregulated suppliers outside of the formal supply chain
Generally private governance initiatives ignore freedom of association and collective bargaining rights
Worker empowerment is crucial, but must be pursued within an unequal economic context

Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety
- Mostly American companies
- Not legally binding
- Expired after five years, not renewed
Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh
- Mostly European companies
- Legally binding
- Renewed after 5 years but undermined by garment manufacturers in Bangladesh