Globalization, Women Factory Workers of Bangladesh and their Autonomy

Abstract

Feminist literature on globalization has examined the forces that motivate women to stay in factory jobs despite the horrendous pay. Bangladesh is currently the second largest readymade garment manufacturer after China. How does factory work empower women? This question became a central issue in current feminist theorizing, although this question is often absent from the discussion of global factory workers of Bangladesh. This paper expands the body of feminist knowledge by using in-depth interview data of women workers of a Bangladeshi factory. I highlight how women’s income provides them relative autonomy from their family and community and empowers them.

Keywords

• feminism
• gender
• globalization
• autonomy
• factory work