Women at work: feminization of labor in the Philippine manufacturing industry (a case study on NXP Semiconductors and ADVAN companies).

Abstract

The emergence of export processing zones and the growth of the manufacturing industry in the Philippines gave rise to the population of women in the labor force. They are employed mainly because of their cheap and docile labor and their willingness to work for longer hours with repetitive activities common in the manufacturing industry. However, this rise of the population of women or feminization of labor also brought negative effects. Women became more vulnerable to abuse and exploitation due to the poor working conditions and oppressive practices in the industry.

This research highlights the problems women workers, particularly the ADVAN AND NXP women workers, face in the manufacturing industry. This study also includes the role of union movements in the protection of women workers.