Gender implications of the "new" economic policy: A conceptual overview

A major effect of globalization has been the opening up of the Indian econo my for international trade. Economic reforms under the "New Structural Adju stment Programme" (1991) include the deregularisation of the economy to all ow free market forces to operate unfettered. With increasing global economi c competition, employment conditions have declined and government spending on social and welfare services has decreased. This article demonstrates the impact upon women, and how policy makers take for granted that the burden of social services can be "costlessly" transferred from the "productive" ec onomy to the "non-productive" economy, that is, to women within the househo ld. Women's multiple role in production and reproduction is negated by the absence of gender analysis in economic policy making. It is, therefore, nec essary for feminists to identify the forces that continue to deconstruct an d reconstruct patriarchy, and to investigate the interrelationships between public and private spheres, and social and economic capital. (C) 1999 Else vier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.