Abstract
This paper shows that homework in Italy is not confined to the slums of Naples but is intrinsic to Italy’s economic miracle and advanced robotised industrial production. The new management policy of “productive decentralisation” leads to increased subcontracting and consequent spread of homework. The author documents the contradictory impact of such a policy on women’s employment in the clothing industry. With the judicious use of robotised technology, artisanal production and indirectly of homework, companies like Benetton increase the job opportunities of women. Yet in the absence of strong bargaining power, clothing homeworkers also get enmeshed in Italy’s expanding black economy.
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© 1992 Springer-Verlag London Limited
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Jackson, P.C. (1992). Homeworking in Italy in the Age of Computer Technology. In: Mitter, S. (eds) Computer-aided Manufacturing and Women’s Employment: The Clothing Industry in Four EC Countries. Artificial Intelligence and Society. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-1837-4_6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-1837-4_6
Publisher Name: Springer, London
Print ISBN: 978-3-540-19656-3
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