RESPONSIBILITY WITHOUT AUTHORITY - THE GROWING BURDEN FOR WOMEN IN THE CARIBBEAN

After achieving independence and limited economic self-assertion in th e sixties and seventies, most Caribbean states have been reabsorbed by a now globalized neocolonial system. The ''structural adjustment'' ex acted in the process has exacerbated hardship and inequality generally and has been particularly hard on women. It has deprived them of reso urces and authority while requiring them to assume service and welfare responsibilities being abandoned by the state. As male unemployment r ises, more women are working longer hours for less in new maquiladora industries. But women are elaborating new collective strategies for po oling resources, nurturing souls, and regenerating energies.