The Political Economy of Gender in the Twentieth-Century Caribbean
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The Political Economy of Gender in the Twentieth-Century Caribbean Eudine Barriteau International Political Economy Series General Editor: Timothy M. Shaw, Professor of Political Science and International Development Studies, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia Titles include: Leslie Elliott Armijo (editor) FINANCIAL GLOBALIZATION AND DEMOCRACY IN EMERGING MARKETS Eudine Barriteau THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF GENDER IN THE TWENTIETH-CENTURY CARIBBEAN Gabriel G. Casaburi DYNAMIC AGROINDUSTRIAL CLUSTERS The Political Economy of Competitive Sectors in Argentina and Chile Matt Davies INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY AND MASS COMMUNICATION IN CHILE National Intellectuals and Transnational Hegemony Yvon Grenier THE EMERGENCE OF INSURGENCY IN EL SALVADOR Ideology and Political Will Ivelaw L. Griffith (editor) THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF DRUGS IN THE CARIBBEAN Jerry Haar and Anthony T. Bryan (editors) CANADIAN–CARIBBEAN RELATIONS IN TRANSITION Trade, Sustainable Development and Security Tricia Juhn NEGOTIATING PEACE IN EL SALVADOR Civil–Military Relations and the Conspiracy to End the War R. Lipsey and P. Meller (editors) WESTERN HEMISPHERE TRADE INTEGRATION A Canadian–Latin American Dialogue Don Marshall CARIBBEAN POLITICAL ECONOMY AT THE CROSSROADS NAFTA and Regional Developmentalism Juan Antonio Morales and Gary McMahon (editors) ECONOMIC POLICY AND THE TRANSITION TO DEMOCRACY The Latin American Experience Henry Veltmeyer, James Petras and Steve Vieux NEOLIBERALISM AND CLASS CONFLICT IN LATIN AMERICA A Comparative Perspective on the Political Economy of Structural Adjustment Henry Veltmeyer, James Petras THE DYNAMICS OF SOCIAL CHANGE IN LATIN AMERICA International Political Economy Series Series Standing Order ISBN 0–333–71708–2 (outside North America only) You can receive future titles in this series as they are published by placing a standing order. Please contact your bookseller or, in case of difficulty, write to us at the address below with your name and address, the title of the series and the ISBN quoted above. Customer Services Department, Macmillan Distribution Ltd, Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS, England The Political Economy of Gender in the Twentieth-Century Caribbean Eudine Barriteau Director Centre for Gender and Development Studies University of the West Indies Bridgetown Barbados © Eudine Barriteau 2001 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London W1P 0LP. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The author has asserted her right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. First published 2001 by PALGRAVE Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS and 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N. Y. 10010 Companies and representatives throughout the world PALGRAVE is the new global academic imprint of St. Martin’s Press LLC Scholarly and Reference Division and Palgrave Publishers Ltd (formerly Macmillan Press Ltd). ISBN 0–333–73282–0 This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Barriteau, Eudine. The political economy of gender in the twentieth-century Caribbean / Eudene Barriteau. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index. ISBN 0–333–73282–0 1. Sex discrimination against women—Caribbean Area. 2. Man–woman relationships—Caribbean Area. 3. Women– –Barbados. 4. Women—Caribbean Area—Economic conditions. 5. Women in development—Caribbean Area. I. Title. HQ1237.5.C27 B37 2000 305.42’09729—dc21 00–069472 10987654321 10 09 08 07 06 05 04 03 02 01 Printed and bound in Great Britain by Antony Rowe Ltd, Chippenham, Wiltshire Contents List of Tables and Figure viii List of Abbreviations ix Acknowledgments xi Preface xiii Maps xv 1 Introduction: Mapping the Terrain 1 Political Culture and Demography 3 Aims and Objectives 5 Barbadian Political Economy: a Case Study 9 Race and Racism 10 The Barbados Economic Model 10 Men and the State 12 Gendered Development Planning 16 2 Theorizing the State and Gender Systems in the Twentieth-Century Caribbean 20 Theorizing Gender Systems in the Caribbean 24 Gender and Gender Systems Defined 25 The Methodologies of Gender Analysis 28 The Distinguishing Features of Caribbean Gender Systems 29 The Post-Independent State and the Enlightenment Legacy 34 The State and Modernization Strategies 37 Theorizing Gender Relations in the Post-Independent State 40 Conclusion 44 3 Women and Gender Relations in the Twentieth- Century Caribbean 45 Caribbean Women and Gender Relations 48 1900–37: Economic and Social Deprivation 49 v vi Contents 1937–50s: Nationalist Developments 53 Indo-Caribbean Women in the Public Domain 58 1950s–1970s: Independence and Nation Building 61 Migration, Matrifocality and Economic Development 62 Women and Political Participation 63 1970s–2000: Economic Restructuring/Gender Backlash 68 Conclusion: Toward the Millennium Round? 71 4 Constructing Gender Containing Women: Promoting Gender Equity in Caribbean States 74 Institutional Mechanisms within the State 75 Limitations of the WID Discourse 78 Liberal Feminism and Women-in-Development 80 Socialist Feminism and Women-in-Development 81 Gender-and-Development and Women? 82 Gender and Policy Confusion in the Caribbean 91 Caribbean Male Marginality and Gender Equity 92 5 Gender Systems in an Independent Caribbean State: the Barbadian Case 95 Colonial Development Planning 96 Political Parties and the Creation of Gender Ideologies 99 Constructing Gender Roles in Economic Development 104 Women’s Fertility and Reproducing the Labor Force 110 Conclusion 117 6 Women, the Economy and the State 121 The State and Entrepreneurial Development 122 Profile of Women Entrepreneurs 123 Race/Racism and Ethnicity 124 The Business Environment and Women’s Economic Agency 126 Industrial Sectors 127 Ownership Patterns 128 Sources of Investment Capital 129 Major Problems Experienced 130 Perceptions on Size of Operations 132 Contents vii Assessment of Performance 134 Characteristics for Success 134 Government Assistance 135 Macroeconomic Linkages 136 Sources of Support 138 Networking 139 Work/Home Role Conflict 140 Future of Women in Entrepreneurship 142 Rethinking Women’s Economic Behavior 143 Conclusion 146 7 Rethinking Gender and Development for the Twenty-First Century 151 Trinidad and Tobago: from WID to GAD 153 Jamaica: Using Gender Analysis to Improve Women’s Condition 156 Barbados: the Invisibility of Programming on Women 158 The Limitations of Existing Research 159 Rethinking Development Policy 162 Revising Theoretical Claims 164 Postmodernist Feminist Openings 165 Future Directions in Research on Gender 168 Research on Men and Masculinities 169 Women and the Economy 169 Conclusion 171 Notes 179 Select Bibliography 185 Index 202 List of Tables and Figure Tables 1.1 Basic Socioeconomic Indicators for Commonwealth Caribbean Countries, 1989–97 2 1.2 Amerindian Population of CARICOM 1994 5 2.1 Caribbean Countries and Establishment of National Machineries for Women 22 3.1 Historicizing Gender Systems in the Caribbean: the Early Years 50 3.2 Historicizing Gender Systems in the Caribbean: Public Openings 54 3.3 Historicizing Gender Systems in the Caribbean: Backlash 55 3.4 Women Candidates in National Elections in the Eastern Caribbean, 1951–79 64 4.1 Comparative Rank of Caribbean Countries on the 1995 and 1998 Gender Development Index 76 6.1 Type of Business Ventures 127 6.2 Main Source of Investment Capital 129 6.3 Importance of Government Assistance to Survival 136 Figure 2.1 Gender Systems: Relations of Power Based on Gender 32 viii List of Abbreviations ACP African, Caribbean and Pacific (countries) BDB Barbados Development Bank BLP Barbados Labour Party BVI British Virgin Islands BWU Barbados Workers Union CARICOM Caribbean Community CBI Caribbean Basin Initiative CEDAW Convention on the Elimination on all Forms of Violence Against Women CGDS Centre for Gender and Development Studies CIM Inter-American Commission of Women DLP Democratic Labour Party ECONSOC Economic Social and Cultural Rights EPZ Export Processing Zone GAD Gender and Development GATT General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade GDI Gender Development Index GEM Gender Empowerment Measure GMS Gender Management Systems HDI Human Development Index IDC Industrial Development Corporation IBRD International Bank for Reconstruction and Development IMF International Monetary Fund MDI Medium Development Index NCOW National Commission on the Status of Women NGO Non-Governmental Organization OAS Organization of American States OECS Organization of Eastern Caribbean States POWA Professional Organization of Women in Antigua SAP Structural Adjustment Program UNDP United Nations Development Program UNC United National Congress ix x List of Abbreviations UNECLAC United Nations Economic Commission on Latin America and the Caribbean UNESCO United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization UNIFEM United Nations Development Fund for Women US