“Globalization of Gender”
Introduction
Globalization
-Globalization is a phenomenon of ever increasing political integration, economic interdependence and
technological interaction among states, markets, and societies at global level, resulting in a time space
compression leading to global village.
- Through globalization, gender roles and expectations are also changing and becoming more fluid.
GENDER
- Gender refers to the roles, behaviors, activities, attributes and opportunities that any society
considers appropriate for boys and girls, and men and women.
- Gender also refers to the relationships between people and can reflect the distribution of power
within those relationships.
Globalization of Gender
Definition :
Over the past two decades, economic processes associated with globalization have deeply impacted the
lives of men and women of all ages, nationalities, social classes and ethnicities around the globe.
(Globalization is important not because it creates gendered patterns/norms of consumption but because
it changes how these patterns and norms are formed.)
Globalization is shifting gender roles and norms:
Increased access to information, primarily through television and the Internet, allows countries to learn
about social mores in other places, which can change perceptions and promote the adoption of more
egalitarian attitudes.
Economic empowerment for women reinforces this process by promoting changes in gender roles and
allowing women to influence time allocation, shift relative power within the household and exercise
agency more broadly.
Gender Equality:
Globalization has the potential to contribute to greater gender equality. However, in the absence of
public policy, globalization alone cannot end gender inequality. Despite significant increases in agency
and in access to economic opportunities for many women in many countries, large gender gaps remain
in some areas. Public action is needed to close gender gaps in endowments, agency, and access to
economic opportunities. Only then will countries be able to capitalize on the potential of globalization as
a force for greater gender equality.
