Globalization, Technological Changes and the Search for a New Paradigm for Women's Work

This paper provides the background for the essays included in the volume. In the context of the opportunities and challenges that the current technology-led globalization has brought to women's employment in Asia, the paper gives the rationale for a new conceptual paradigm. Such a paradigm is necessary, the paper argues, for analyzing the consequences of an emerging techno-economic order that is imported and does not take into account the specific needs of women. The arguments of the paper are placed in the context of the current debate on the desirability of globalization from the perspective of women in Asia. The paradigm acknowledges the liberating aspects of new technologies and modernization. At the same time, it emphasizes the role of the state, the family and women workers' organizations in counteracting the negative consequences of current globalization.