Gender, Work and Economy: Unpacking the Global Economy

摘要

"Migrar tambien es abrir el mundo. Si decides hacerlo, hazlo en el pleno uso de tus derechos" Reading Heidi Gottfried's book Gender, Work and Economy, I had to think about this slogan of a Uruguayan feminist poster campaign. Gottfried's analytical tools and elaboration on the topic allows one to look behind the campaign slogan and unveil important power structures: First of all, the social location - Uruguayan, feminist organisation - tells something about the necessity on whom to encourage and inform about one's rights. From this specific Latin American perspective, migration especially labour migration is something, that is happening and cannot be denied despite Western border regimes. As this campaign was launched by a feminist women's organisation, this also tells us that regardless of widely shared stereotypes, it is not only men who migrate. Hence, the feminist lens used by Gottfried in her book and also embraced in this campaign quote helps us to grasp a broader and more complete picture of global labour and economy. The slogan suggests that there are women who do not use their rights. This suggests an existing power imbalance, an issue which is also addressed by Gottfried in her work. Her close examination of work and economy unveils many starting points to open the world, or to put it in her words: The future cannot be known; but having the analytical tools to understand the past and to interrogate the present can improve our chances of arriving at a more just future (p. 7).