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Gender and the Global Food Chain: a Comparative Study of Chile and the UK

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Women, Globalization and Fragmentation in the Developing World

Part of the book series: Women’s Studies at York Series ((WSYS))

Abstract

The global food chain is an example of a sector that has been transformed through the process of globalization, and as a consequence has had a direct impact on women. A wide range of globally sourced, processed food and fresh produce is now available throughout the year, independent of season or location. Consumers almost everywhere, given sufficient income, are spoilt for choice, and as part of this consumer group some women have clearly been beneficiaries. Global food production and retailing in many countries has also involved a significant proportion of female employment. In many countries women have traditionally been associated with agricultural work, often as unpaid peasant labour or seasonal workers, and women everywhere have long been associated with the preparation and presentation of food within the household. With the extension of transnational capital along the food chain, these activities have become increasingly commercialized at the global level. Paid employment within production and retailing has expanded, and women have been drawn into this work as a logical extension of their socially defined roles. However, much of this female employment is low paid and flexible, which in this study usually takes the form of temporary and/or part-time work.

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Authors
  1. Stephanie Barrientos
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  2. Diane Perrons
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Politics, University of York, UK

    Haleh Afshar (Reader) (Reader)

  2. Department of Economics, University of Hertfordshire, UK

    Stephanie Barrientos (Senior Lecturer) (Senior Lecturer)

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© 1999 Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited

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Barrientos, S., Perrons, D. (1999). Gender and the Global Food Chain: a Comparative Study of Chile and the UK. In: Afshar, H., Barrientos, S. (eds) Women, Globalization and Fragmentation in the Developing World. Women’s Studies at York Series. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230371279_8

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