THE UNIVERSITY OF THE WEST INDIES

St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago

Institute for Gender and Development Studies
Semester Two 2014-2015
Course Title: GEND2025 WOMEN AND WORK IN THE GLOBAL
ECONOMY

Course Lecturer: Dr. Sue Ann Barratt

Email: Sue-Ann.Barratt@sta.uwi.edu
Telephone: 662-2002 Ext. 83566
Course Tutors: Ms. Sommer Hunte, sommer.hunte@gmail.com
Ms Renelle White, renelle_white@hotmail.com
LECTURE: Wednesday 1-3 pm, TCB 3.1
TUTORIAL: Tuesday 1-2 pm SAC FL19, Wednesday 3-4 pm ENG105
OFFICE HOURS: Monday 10 am -12 noon
IGDS St. Augustine Contact Information for Students
IGDS - Institute for Gender and Development Studies, University of the West Indies, St. Augustine
Campus, Tel: 868-662-2002 exts. 83549 / 83573 / 82533, Fax: 868-662-2002 ext. 83572,
Email: igds@sta.uwi.edu, Website: http://www.sta.uwi.edu/igds
Undergraduate Administration: Ms. Tenille Fanovich, Administrative Assistant, Email:
Tenille.Fanovich@sta.uwi.edu, Tel: 868-662-2002 ext. 83549

Course Description and Rationale

This course will introduce you to the study of women, work and social change in
developing countries, focusing on the different kinds of work women do, in both the
formal and informal sectors of the local and global economy. You will examine issues
relating to womens work in the Caribbean as well as coercive labour relations that affect
womens labour throughout the world. You will evaluate how women assert their own
agency and autonomy and claim power to act on their own behalf. Also evaluated will be
the feminization and globalization of labour, migration and poverty and the struggles of
working women trying to effect social and political change in their own communities.

Course Objectives
1. To introduce students to the study of womens labour and explain its relevance and
importance
2. To examine the concepts of paid and unpaid labour as they relate to working women
3. To describe the conditions of womens work locally, regionally, internationally.
4. To illustrate the effects of globalization and global trade effects on working women.
5. To examine various mechanisms that control female labour.

Teaching Methodologies:
This is a reading/seminar course which will make use of group and independent projects,
independent research, film and other visual resources, and online tutoring. Students need
to be carefully guided by the following demands and expectations of this course:

Compulsory short core readings will be provided for each theme developed
within the course. Each session will follow a seminar format where students
are expected to provide the main points of assigned readings. The lecturer
will provide an overview of the framework and develop conceptual or
theoretical components relevant for each week.

Readings and coursework exercises will be available online through UWIs

online teaching and learning support programme My E-Learning. To ensure
access you must complete the Universitys registration process by submitting
all outstanding fees. Completion of selected online activities will be
monitored and will contribute to your participation grade. Students are
expected and encouraged to do additional searches and reading as part of their
graded course participation.

PLEASE NOTE: The UWI considers plagiarism an offense.

(iii) Plagiarism is a form of cheating.
2

(iv) Plagiarism is the unauthorized and/or unacknowledged use of another

persons intellectual efforts and creations howsoever recorded, including
whether formally published or in manuscript or in any typescript or other
printed or electronically presented form and includes taking passages, ideas
or structures from another work or author without proper and unequivocal
attribution of such source(s), using the conventions for attributions or citing
used in this University. (Extracts from the Examination Regulations for
First Degrees, Associate Degrees, Diplomas and Certificates including
GPA)
There UWI has established severe penalties for proven evidence of
plagiarism in the presentation of assignments.

Course Assessment
Undergraduate: This course is assessed through coursework assignments (60%) and
final exam (40%). There are two assignments for this course amounting to 40% of your
coursework grade with attendance and participation accounting for the remaining 20%.
Pass Mark and GPA Changes: Effective Semester I, 2014-2015, ALL
UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS (new and returning) face changes to their grading and
GPA calculation. See Below:
GRADE
A+
A
AB+
B
BC+
C
FAIL-E
FAIL

GRADE
POINT
4.3
4.0
3.7
3.3
3.0
2.7
2.3
2.0
1.3
0.0

%
RANGE
90-100
80-89
75-79
70-74
65-69
60-64
53-59
50-54
35-49
0-34

#
1
2
3

Assessment Activities
Film Report
Group Proposals
Participation Ten 1 page Analytical Reflections on

the assigned readings for the week

Final Examination (2 hr written paper)
TOTAL

%
20%
20%
20%
40%
100%

Due Date:
March 11, 2015
April 8, 2015
Every week in tutorial
from Weeks 2-11
TBA

Course Content and Schedule

Session
Session 1
Jan 21

Session 2
Jan 28
Session 3
Feb 4
Session 4
Feb 11
Session 5
Feb 18
Session 6
Feb 25

Topic
Course Introduction
- Review of Course Outline, Tutorials and
Assignments
- Collection of Students contact info and
selection of tutorial day and time
- Discussion - The Sexual Division of
Labour
Defining Key Concepts
- Work, Labour, The Global Economy
Feminist Perspectives
Mechanisms Affecting Womens Work
- Patriarchy, Status, Sexism, Boundaries
etc
Womens Work and Social Change - - Agency, Autonomy and Resistance
through Work
Caribbean Women at Work
- History and Development
Women at Work, and Womens Work I
- Womens work in the private sphere
- Domestic relations, work/life/family

Required Readings (TBA)

Tutorials begin next week.

Session
Session 7
March 4
Session 8
March 11
Session 9
March 18

Session 10
March 25
Session 11
April 1
Session 12
April 8
Session 13
April 15

Topic
Required Readings (TBA)
balance
Women at Work, and Womens Work II
- Womens work in the public sphere and
the social relations of gender
- Feminized labour
Women at Work Local and Global
Connections I
Film Reports Due
- Womens Role in Economic Development
Women at Work Local and Global
Connections II
- Migratory labour nannies, domestics
and other caregivers
- Human Trafficking sex and other slaves
Examining Womens Work
- The Global Market and Manufacturing
Examining Womens Work
- Professionals and Executives
Examining Womens Work
- Creators and Entrepreneurs
Course Review & Wrap Up
NA
- Return Outstanding Assignments
- Review Course Grades

RECOMMENDED READINGS
There is no one required course text, and all required readings are posted on my elearning. To Be Announced