Thesis (Ph.D.)--Deakin University, Victoria, 2001. / Submitted to the School of Social Inquiry of the Faculty of Arts, Deakin University. Title taken from title screen (viewed July 1, 2009). Includes bibliographical references.

The evidence presented in this thesis supports the view that men and women participate in the labour force in qualitatively distinct ways and that, as a result, policies to increase female employment in the formal economy have an impact on economic development that is quite different from those whose aim is simply to increase employment with no regard to its gender composition. While it is well known that women's work is often underreported and undercounted, the thesis contends that women's "work" is also frequently defined incorrectly. From the point of view of development policy it is necessary to define women's work as embracing not only "productive" labour done for monetary gain, but also reproductive and volunteer work which, though not directly remunerated, have important feedbacks on other social, political and economic variables. Those feedbacks in turn may determine the success or failure of a particular "development" strategy. / This theory is applied to three "Asian miracle" developing countries, chosen because of their widely varied cultural, political and economic history and structures. The methodology employed is eclectic. Too often social research is bogged down in disputes between those who favour quantitative and those who favour historical-institutional analysis. In reality, especially when dealing with developing countries where there are serious problems of data quality, these two approaches can be mutually complementary. Therefore, in undertaking a comparative study of three cases, the thesis employs quantitative, historical-institutional and anthropological data along with information derived from interviews and field work. / The thesis demonstrates ample support for the hypothesis that women's labour has an importance over and above simply more hands at work, that the particular characteristics of female labour, not only produce direct payoffs in terms of development of certain types of manufacturing industries, but many indirect ones in terms of social variables like reduced fertility, increased life expectancy and greater educational attainment. However it also demonstrates that full actualization of these benefits in terms of economic prosperity, improved social welfare, and ultimately political democratization requires a state that is both willing and able (two distinct things) to implement social and economic policies designed explicitly to promote female employment in the formal economy.

No description available.

This research is an exploration of the place of religious beliefs and practices in the life of contemporary, predominantly Catholic, Filipinas in a large Quezon City Barangay in Metro Manila. I use an iterative discussion of the present in the light of historical studies, which point to women in pre-Spanish ‘Filipino’ society having been the custodians of a rich religious heritage and the central performers in a great variety of ritual activities. I contend that although the widespread Catholic evangelisation, which accompanied colonisation, privileged male religious leadership, Filipinos have retained their belief in feminine personages being primary conduits of access to spiritual agency through which the course of life is directed. In continuity with pre-Hispanic practices, religious activities continue to be conceived in popular consciousness as predominantly women’s sphere of work in the Philippines. I argue that the reason for this is that power is not conceived as a unitary, undifferentiated entity. There are gendered avenues to prestige and power in the Philippines, one of which directly concerns religious leadership and authority. The legitimacy of religious leadership in the Philippines is heavily dependent on the ability to foster and maintain harmonious social relations. At the local level, this leadership role is largely vested in mature influential women, who are the primary arbiters of social values in their local communities. I hold that Filipinos have appropriated symbols of Catholicism in ways that allow for a continuation and strengthening of their basic indigenous beliefs so that Filipinos’ religious beliefs and practices are not dichotomous, as has sometimes been argued. Rather, I illustrate from my research that present day urban Filipinos engage in a blend of formal and informal religious practices and that in the rituals associated with both of these forms of religious practice, women exercise important and influential roles. From the position of a feminist perspective I draw on individual women’s articulation of their life stories, combined with my observation and participation in the religious practices of Catholic women from different ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds, to discuss the role of Filipinas in local level community religious leadership. I make interconnections between women’s influence in this sphere, their positioning in family social relations, their role in the celebration of All Saints and All Souls Days in Metro Manila’s cemeteries and the ubiquity and importance of Marian devotions. I accompany these discussions with an extensive body of pictorial plates.