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

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workers in the 19th century and reinforces the notion of women as a marginal
labor force. That women are concentrated in certain industries today, as in
the 19th century, suggests women's secondary status in the labor market.
The similarities continue. The fact that women work as part of a
household wage strategy is as true today as it was in the 19th century. The
coexistence of wage and non-wage work within the household ensures the
reproducti on of 1 abor power. Patri archal organi zati on in the fami ly is
carri ed into the workpl ace through management practi ces of 1 abor control.
Women's position in the family, at the workplace, and in society is jointly
determined by traditional social norms and the requirements for capital
accumulation.
The central ity of the household in 1 abor reproducti on is refl ecti ve of
the strategy for capital accumulation. Other elements of that strategy
include near-subsistence wages and company welfare services. Women's
secondary status in the labor market allows TNCs to pay low wages while
competi ng for women's 1 abor not on the basi s of wages but on a wi de vari ety
of "benefits" (Lim 1983). These "benefits," however, are provided largely
at a level necessary to maintain productivity levels, although any social
welfare program also serves the purpose of legitimation. These services are
also an important part of the labor process; they are an arena where
labor-management struggles take place, even though often at an individual
level. Hence, conditions for reproduction and production are closely
i ntertwi ned.
That compani es provi de welfare servi ces, however, is al so indi cative of
the level of consumption in society, that is, the lack of public investment
in social infrastructure. (In this respect, it is not surprising that
companies in Singapore provide fewer services than those in Malaysia, as the
investment in public infrastructure is greater in Singapore). So, while the
state makes possible an economic environment for foreign investment which
includes industrial peace, the companies themselves still have to provide
the infrastructure necessary to allow exploitation of human resources.
Labor control and compliance is created not only through low-wage
strategy and limited public investment in social welfare, but also through a
combination of simple and technical controls within the firm and of the
operation of internal labor markets (Edwards 1979; Marglin 1982).
Supervisors exercising arbitrary power are an extension of traditional
practices in small family firms. At the same time, machines which are
introduced dictate the pace of work. The internal labor market, in
conjuncti on with the external 1 abor market, reduces mobil ity between fi rms.
A sense of collectivity among workers is minimized within the industry. For
unskilled workers, mobility becomes, in fact, even more limited. Chances of
promotion are sl im, while at the same time seniority (and economic needs)
prevent workers from changing jobs.
Insofar as women workers 1 ack the resources and opportuni ti es to pursue
careers, their world view becomes an important coping mechanism (Sabel