By Rachel Evans
If the status of women marks the success of a society, then global capitalism is clearly failing the grade. Women have always been capitalism's second sex, and globalisation has made conditions for women worse.
Globalisation is the ugly term coined by capitalist public relations managers to justify the latest round of profit-seeking measures. It is both a practical and ideological attack on the poor, by corporations and capitalist governments, characterised by a massive transfer of wealth from the poor to the rich.
Ideologically, corporate globalisation is trying to convince us that when the rich get richer, everybody wins. Individualism is the recipe for success, everyone has to make it on their own and rely on the family to provide health and welfare.
Women, they argue, should pick up where governments left off and provide all welfare services for free, in the home.
The anti-corporate movement has erupted onto the political scene because the business barons and their governments can no longer convince us that making the rich richer is a strategy for overcoming the impoverishment of the working majority. This movement is on the rise, and women activists are a vital component of it.
Globalisation impoverishes most women
Corporate globalisation has been disastrous for the majority of women. Seventy per cent of the 1.2 billion people living in poverty are women.
Women's economic position is weak under capitalism because our primary role is supposed to be maintaining the home and raising children, for free. Women perform nearly two-thirds of the world's work yet only receive 10% of the world's income. On average, women are still paid 30-40% less than men for comparable work. Women's work may never be done, but it is always underpaid!
The increased economic desperation women face is indicated by the rise in trafficking of women. According to the United Nations Population Fund, an estimated four million women and girls around the world are sold either into forced marriages, prostitution or slavery. Trafficking of women rose dramatically with the collapse of the Soviet Union, where women were the first to be fired as capitalist conditions took hold.
Poverty is the number one cause of illness. Women, facing greater impoverishment than men, face greater health problems. Iron deficiency anaemia affects double the number of women compared to men.
While capitalist governments cut social spending on health to service their debts and subsidise business, there will be no improvement to women's health.
Rising violence against women
Violence against women is rising. A 1999 report to the UN Commission on Human Rights noted the "growing prevalence of violence against women generally and domestic violence specifically".
Domestic Violence against Women, a UNICEF report, estimates that 20-50% of women everywhere have experienced domestic violence.
More shocking is the 2000 UN report The State of the World's Population which reveals that sex-selective abortions, female infanticide and neglect have led to the absence of 60 million girls who would otherwise be alive. One hundred and thirty million women and girls have also been the victims of female genital mutilation. Along with an increase in sexual violence, incidences of early and forced marriages, dowry deaths and "honour" killings and crimes of passion have risen.
An increase in violence towards women is a result of three factors:
* Global capitalism's drive to place all economic and social responsibility on the family has seen women's status and economic independence decline.
* The increased economic dependence on the male breadwinner means women can't escape mentally or physically violent partners. Workers face greater economic insecurity through corporations and capitalists government's attacks, leading to pressure in the family unit, finding expression in violence against women and children. A stronger family unit also means increased isolation for women.
* The decline of mass protest actions by the feminist movement. A strong, grass-roots movement would educate society and debunk anti-woman mythology.
Anti-capitalist movement on the rise
The corporate offensive being waged upon the poor and the environment is having a disastrous effect on women. Poverty, violence, health problems, entrenchment of women in the home - all these problems are increasing and a result of globalisation.
Women are involved in the fight back against capitalism and more are needed. The May 1 strike and blockade of stock exchanges is the next important step in the campaign. We must also continue to build the feminist movement and incorporate feminist demands into the anti-corporate movement.