International Trade Liberalization and Gender Wage Inequality: A Cross-National Analysis 1975–1998 by

This study examines the effects of economic globalization on gender wage inequality. A theory of global economic restructuring and its impact on the quality of women’s work suggests that national integration into the world economy through trade liberalization significantly expands women’s access to income but does not necessarily remove barriers to women’s advancement or ameliorate the predominance of low-paying, menial jobs held by women. A measure of gender wage inequality is employed as the dependent variable in cross-sectional and panel OLS regression analyses of fifty-five nations using data from 1975–1998. In addition to national socio-economic forces, trade openness is found to have increased the female share of earned income from 1990–1998 in selected models. Furthermore, trade risk and transnational corporate penetration are found to be significantly related (both positively and negatively) to gender wage differentials. However, these effects are determined by a country’s world system position and region. The analyses illustrate that global economic restructuring is a gendered process that transforms and builds upon existing gender inequalities and national economic status. Therefore, the inclusion of global structural characteristics into comparative research on gender inequality is essential. Biography Lisa B. Meyer is Associate Professor of Sociology at SUNY Geneseo. Her interest and current research is in the field of globalization and gender and development. Specifically, she is interested in the ways in which increased trade within the world economic system over the last three decades has influenced gender relations in the realm of formal employment and household relations. Women and International Development Center for Gender in Global Context 206 International Center, Michigan State University East Lansing, MI 48824-1035 Phone: 517-353-5040; Fax: 517-432-4845; E-mail: [email protected] Website: http://www.wid.msu.edu Copyright © 2007 MSU Board of Trustees International Trade Liberalization and Gender Wage Inequality: A Cross-National Analysis 1975–1998