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Patriarchy, Labour Markets and Development: Contesting the Sexual Division of Labour in Sri Lanka

Author

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  • Matt Withers

    (Matt Withers is a Ph.D. candidate and academic from the Department of Political Economy at the University of Sydney, researching the causes of temporary labour migration in Sri Lanka and the subsequent impact of remittance expenditure on patterns of trade and development. E-mail: matthew.withers@sydney.edu.au)

  • Janaka Biyanwila

    (Janaka Biyanwila lectures at the University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. He is the author of the book The Labour Movement in the Global South: Trade Unions in Sri Lanka (Routledge). E-mail: s.j.biyanwila@unsw.edu.au)

Abstract

Although certain strides have been made towards increased female participation in paid work, Sri Lanka’s labour market remains heavily segmented and offers limited sustainable economic opportunity for a majority of women. Differentiated entitlements determined by gender, ethnicity and class have left women disproportionately burdened by the challenges of economic development. Shaped by neoliberal reforms embedded in patriarchal ethno-nationalist economic policies, women remain over-represented in the labour-intensive, low-paid occupations that have historically formed Sri Lanka’s export base and underpinned development. As migrant domestic workers and garment producers, a majority of Sri Lankan women have been restricted to earning their livelihood through vulnerable and exploitative work within stratified labour markets. By framing domestic labour markets as embedded in global production networks, this article explores the potential for International Labour Organization (ILO) and civil society initiatives to shape domestic policy measures to re-regulate labour markets by addressing mechanisms that devalue and marginalize women workers. It then considers the ways in which civil society actors, women workers groups and labour unions contest or complement entrenched patriarchal tendencies within labour markets. Although ILO and state-led measures are significant, the challenges women face in articulating their collective concerns within labour markets remain central to addressing conditions of exploitation that women workers endure.

Suggested Citation

  • Matt Withers & Janaka Biyanwila, 2014. "Patriarchy, Labour Markets and Development: Contesting the Sexual Division of Labour in Sri Lanka," IIM Kozhikode Society & Management Review, , vol. 3(1), pages 33-43, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:iimkoz:v:3:y:2014:i:1:p:33-43
    DOI: 10.1177/2277975214520905
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Ajwad, Mohamed Ihsan & Kurukulasuriya, Pradeep, 2002. "Ethnic and gender wagedisparities in Sri Lanka," Policy Research Working Paper Series 2859, The World Bank.
    2. Dunham, D.M. & Kelegama, S., 1994. "Economic liberalization and structural reforms : the experience of Sri Lanka, 1977-93," ISS Working Papers - General Series 19114, International Institute of Social Studies of Erasmus University Rotterdam (ISS), The Hague.
    3. Elson, Diane, 1999. "Labor Markets as Gendered Institutions: Equality, Efficiency and Empowerment Issues," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 27(3), pages 611-627, March.
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