Impact of Globalization on Women - Complete Notes

1. Impact of Globalization on Women: Meaning of Globalization

Definition, Giddens, and Key Features

Globalization — Definition:
Globalization refers to the integration of world economies, markets, technologies, cultures, and political systems across national boundaries. It involves the free flow of capital, goods, services, information, labour, and ideas across the world. It is not merely an economic process — it is simultaneously cultural, political, and technological.

Anthony Giddens on Globalization:
Anthony Giddens — The Consequences of Modernity (1990): 'Globalization is the intensification of worldwide social relations which link distant localities in such a way that local happenings are shaped by events occurring many miles away and vice versa.' For Giddens, globalization is not just about economics but about the compression of time and space — events in Washington or Brussels directly shape the daily lives of women in rural Odisha or Bangladesh.

Key Features of Globalization:
- Liberalization: Removal of trade barriers, tariffs, and import restrictions — opening domestic markets to global competition.
- Privatization: Transfer of state-owned enterprises and services (healthcare, education, utilities) to private ownership.
- Deregulation: Removal of government regulations on business and labour — often reducing workers' protections.
- Expansion of MNCs: Multinational corporations operate across borders, seeking cheap labour and raw materials.
- Technological integration: Internet, mobile technology, and digital platforms link economies and cultures.
- Cultural homogenization: Spread of global consumer culture, Western values, and media — alongside counter-cultural backlash.

Globalization in India — The 1991 Turning Point:
India's engagement with contemporary globalization began with the New Economic Policy (NEP) of 1991, introduced under Prime Minister Narasimha Rao and Finance Minister Manmohan Singh under IMF/World Bank pressure (balance of payments crisis). The three pillars were: Liberalization, Privatization, Globalization (LPG). This fundamentally restructured India's relationship with the global economy — and had profound, gendered consequences.