Sen, Gita

Women and the New World Economy : Feminist Perspectives on Alternative Economic Frameworks

With a new global economy emerging at a speed and in ways almost unimaginable only a decade ago, the author seeks to understand these changes from a Third World feminist perspective. She is critical, not only of the specific policy prescriptions but of the whole economic paradigm which the World Bank, IMF and associated institutions put forward. She presents alternative approaches - including human development and ecological economics - which are emerging and, in an attempt at paradigm shift, incorporates their best elements from a feminist perspective. This recognizes how the emerging global vision of labour is transforming not only production, but also reproduction, and argues that women need to adopt a three-pronged strategy of challenging the market, transforming the state and building a genuine civil society.