Making the Woman Worker : Precarious Labor and the Fight for Global Standards, 1919-2019

Founded in 1919 along with the League of Nations, the International Labour Organization (ILO) establishes labor standards and produces knowledge about the world of work, serving as a forum for nations, unions, and employer associations. Before WWII, it focused on enhancing conditions for male industrial workers in Western, often imperial, economies, while restricting the circumstances of women's labors. Over time, the ILO embraced non-discrimination and equal treatment. It now promotes fair globalization, standardized employment and decent work for women in the developing world. In Making the Woman Worker , Eileen Boris illuminates the ILO's transformation in the context of the long fight for social justice. Boris analyzes three ways in which the ILO has classified the division of labor: between women and men from 1919 to 1958; between women in the global south and the west from 1955 to 1996; and between the earning and care needs of all workers from 1990s to today. Before 1945, the ILO focused on distinguishing feminized labor from male workers, whom the organization prioritized. But when the world needed more women workers, the ILO (a UN agency after WWII) highlighted the global differences in women's work, began to combat sexism in the workplace, and declared care work essential to women's labor participation. Today, the ILO enters its second century with a mission to protect the interests of all workers in the face of increasingly globalized supply chains, the digitization of homework, and cross-border labor trafficking. As Boris shows, the ILO's treatment of women is a window into the modern history of labor. The historic relegation of feminized labor to the part-time, short-term, and low-waged prefigures the future organization of work. The labor force is increasingly self-employed and working as long as possible--a steep price for flexibility--with minimal governmental oversight. How we treat workers in the next century will inevitably build upon evolving ideas of the woman worker, shaped significantly through the ILO. Founded in 1919 along with the League of Nations, the International Labour Organization (ILO) establishes labor standards and produces knowledge about the world of work, serving as a forum for nations, unions, and employer associations. Before WWII, it focused on enhancing conditions for male industrial workers in Western, often imperial, economies, while restricting the circumstances of women's labors. Over time, the ILO embraced non-discrimination and equal treatment. It now promotes fair globalization, standardized employment and decent work for women in the developing world. In Making the Woman Worker, Eileen Boris illuminates the ILO's transformation in the context of the long fight for social justice. Boris analyzes three ways in which the ILO has classified the division of labor: between women and men from 1919 to 1958; between women in the global south and the west from 1955 to 1996; and between the earning and care needs of all workers from 1990s to today. Before 1945, the ILO focused on distinguishing feminized labor from male workers, whom the organization prioritized. But when the world needed more women workers, the ILO (a UN agency after WWII) highlighted the global differences in women's work, began to combat sexism in the workplace, and declared care work essential to women's labor participation. Today, the ILO enters its second century with a mission to protect the interests of all workers in the face of increasingly globalized supply chains, the digitization of homework, and cross-border labor trafficking. As Boris shows, the ILO's treatment of women is a window into the modern history of labor. The historic relegation of feminized labor to the part-time, short-term, and low-waged prefigures the future organization of work. The labor force is increasingly self-employed and working as long as possible--a steep price for flexibility--with minimal governmental oversight. How we treat workers in the next century will inevitably build upon evolving i deas of the woman worker, shaped significantly through the ILO. "Founded in 1919 along with the League of Nations, the International Labor Organization (ILO) establishes labor standards and produces knowledge about the world of work, serving as a forum for nations, unions, and employer associations. Making the Woman Worker illuminates the ILO's transformation in the context of the long fight for social justice. Before 1945, it focused on enhancing conditions for male industrial workers in Western, often imperial, economies, while restricting the circumstances of women's labors. After WWII, the ILO--then a UN agency--highlighted the global differences in women's work, focused on bringing women into "development," began to combat sexism in the workplace, and declared care work essential to women's labor participation. Today, it enters its second century with a mission to protect the interests of all workers in the face of increasingly globalized supply chains, the digitization of homework, and cross-border labor trafficking. The ILO's treatment of women provides a window into the modern history of labor. The historic relegation of feminized labor to the part-time, short-term, and low-waged prefigures the future organization of work. How we treat workers in the next century will inevitably build upon evolving ideas of the woman worker, shaped significantly through the ILO." -- Oxford Scholarship Online Founded in 1919 along with the League of Nations, the International Labor Organization (ILO) establishes labor standards and produces knowledge about the world of work, serving as a forum for nations, unions, and employer associations. __Making the Woman Worker__ illuminates the ILO’s transformation in the context of the long fight for social justice. Before 1945, it focused on enhancing conditions for male industrial workers in Western, often imperial, economies, while restricting the circumstances of women’s labors. After WWII, the ILO—then a UN agency—highlighted the global differences in women’s work, focused on bringing women into “development,” began to combat sexism in the workplace, and declared care work essential to women’s labor participation. Today, it enters its second century with a mission to protect the interests of all workers in the face of increasingly globalized supply chains, the digitization of homework, and cross-border labor trafficking. The ILO’s treatment of women provides a window into the modern history of labor. The historic relegation of feminized labor to the part-time, short-term, and low-waged prefigures the future organization of work. How we treat workers in the next century will inevitably build upon evolving ideas of the woman worker, shaped significantly through the ILO. Founded in 1919 along with the League of Nations, the International Labour Organization (ILO) establishes labour standards and produces knowledge about the world of work, serving as a forum for nations, unions, and employer associations. Before WWII, it focused on enhancing conditions for male industrial workers in Western, often imperial, economies, while restricting the circumstances of women's labours. Over time, the ILO embraced non-discrimination and equal treatment. It now promotes fair globalisation, standardised employment and decent work for women in the developing world. In 'Making the Woman Worker', Eileen Boris illuminates the ILO's transformation in the context of the long fight for social justice. Cover Making the Woman Worker Copyright Contents List of Illustrations Acknowledgments List of Abbreviations A Note on Nomenclature Prologue Introduction: Making Women, Defining Work Part I 1. Protection 2. Equality Part II 3. Development 4. Reproduction 5. Outwork Part III 6. Home 7. Women’s Place (in the Future of Work) Appendix 1: List of Key Conventions and Recommendations Appendix 2: Publications of the Programme on Rural Women, 1978–​1988 Notes Index This book explains how the 20th century labor standard regime, forged by the International Labor Organization, cast the woman worker as a special type of worker, but a century later, previously excluded home-based workers placed caring labor at the center of debates over the future of work amid new precarity.