Health, Women's Work, and Industrialization - Center for Gender in ...

-22-
operations began in 1968 with a factory located within a housing estate.
Singapore was chosen partly because of tax incentives and partly because of
the appeal of government policies in general.
Company M2 in Penang is a leading Japanese diversified corporation, with
a number of production facilities in Southeast Asia. The Penang plant set
up in 1973, is involved in assembly and testing of ICs, memories, and
transistors. A new, smaller plant is now being set up in a semi-rural area
not far from Penang. The top level management is dominated by Japanese
expatriates, in larger numbers than are found in American and European firms.
The Penang plant of Company M3 just celebrated its tenth year in 1983.
The company specializes in ICs for military/aerospace uses, and has offshore
plants only in Malaysia and Philippines. It does not see itself as a
"pioneer" in "opening up" countries. The Penang plant is its most important
offshore facility. The company chose Malaysia for its political stability,
low cost, accessibility, infrastructure, and government incentives, in that
order. M3 has the di sti ncti on of bei ng the only company where wil dcat
strikes have taken place.
The producti on process is generally di vi ded into three components -­
assembly, end-of-line, and testing -- with each function including many
tasks. The basic production flow is as follows:
1. Assembly: wafer mount scribe sort and pl ate vi sual
inspection -- die attach -- 2nd optical -- lead bond -- 3rd optical
2. End-of-line: encapsulation tin-dip
straightening -- final outgoing inspection
marking
lead
3. Testing: electrical
leak -- fine leak
temperature cycl e -- centrifuge -- UV
-- gross
While each step is based on complex technical principles, the
performance of these tasks is extremely simpl e. Indeed, most tasks have
been finely divided and each worker has only a few simple repetitive motions
to perform.
All five companies in the study have established personnel policies and
offer welfare services that are representative of the industry in the region
and that reflect norms in the countries. While all serve the need for labor
control in some way, the companies' policies and services can be divided
into: (l) mode of recruitment, (2) workplace organization, and (3)
reproduction of labor.
The hiring process is similar in all companies, recruiting female
workers with minimum educational qualifications and work experiences.
Contrary to earlier reports, the companies do not appear to have a conscious
policy of screening out older, married workers, or ones with poor eyesight.
Thus, the distinct profile of the workforce reflects the female labor market
more than the di scrimi nati ng nature of the industry. Once accepted for