Hazarding health: experiences of body, work, and risk among factory women in Malaysia.
In the 1970s, Malaysia launched an export-oriented development strategy as a means of financing the nation's modernization. The success of the strategy hinged significantly on intensive recruitment of women for factory employment. I draw on descriptive qualitative research, including interviews (51), surveys (106), and ethnography in Malaysia to investigate factory women's experiences of work and work-related health risks. Discourse analysis surfaced a latent consciousness of bodily changes in relation to work. A grounded theory analysis showed a compromised access to occupational risk knowledge that may bear negatively on women's well-being and the role women's new labor identities played in mediating the meanings of work and risks. Given the predominance of women workers in low-end manufacturing globally, I aimed to contribute to theoretical and applied understandings of gender, globalization, and health.
Root
Robin
R
Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Baruch College, New York, New York 10010, USA. rroot@nyc.rr.com
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000884:Anthropology, Cultural; D001294:Attitude to Health / Q000208:ethnology*; D001828:Body Image; D004651:Employment / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D005783:Gender Identity; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007221:Industry; D038622:Internationality; D008296:Malaysia; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D016272:Occupational Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D036301:Qualitative Research; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D012922:Social Change; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014930:Women / Q000193:education / Q000523:psychology*; D016387:Women's Health / Q000208:ethnology; D055815:Young Adult