Abstract, Women’s Small-Scale, Home-Based Informal Employment during Cuba’s Special Period

:::::: Abstract ::::::

Women’s Small-Scale, Home-Based Informal Employment during Cuba’s Special Period
by Daliany Jerónimo Kersh


There is consensus in the literature that adherence to the traditional division of labor in Cuban society caused women to be disproportionately affected by the cutbacks to state services and shortages during the post-Soviet economic crisis known as the Special Period. After the devaluation of the state wage, many Cubans had to look for alternative forms of employment. Highly skilled professional Cuban women turned to feminized informal activities that made them similar to women in capitalist countries in the region and amounted to a partial reversal of the revolution’s substantial progress on gender equality. In contrast to the regulated self-employment on which existing studies focus, women’s informal labor up until 2010 was often small-scale, home-based, and unregulated. An analysis of oral histories and press archives identifies changes and continuities in women’s informal work during the crisis and shows where the interviewees locate themselves within this watershed in the Cuban Revolution.

Abstract, Women’s Small-Scale, Home-Based Informal Employment during Cuba’s Special Period

:::::: Abstract ::::::

Women’s Small-Scale, Home-Based Informal Employment during Cuba’s Special Period
by Daliany Jerónimo Kersh


There is consensus in the literature that adherence to the traditional division of labor in Cuban society caused women to be disproportionately affected by the cutbacks to state services and shortages during the post-Soviet economic crisis known as the Special Period. After the devaluation of the state wage, many Cubans had to look for alternative forms of employment. Highly skilled professional Cuban women turned to feminized informal activities that made them similar to women in capitalist countries in the region and amounted to a partial reversal of the revolution’s substantial progress on gender equality. In contrast to the regulated self-employment on which existing studies focus, women’s informal labor up until 2010 was often small-scale, home-based, and unregulated. An analysis of oral histories and press archives identifies changes and continuities in women’s informal work during the crisis and shows where the interviewees locate themselves within this watershed in the Cuban Revolution.

Book, Violence Against Latina Immigrants Citizenship, Inequality, and Community

:::::: Book ::::::

Violence Against Latina Immigrants
Citizenship, Inequality, and Community
by Roberta Villalon 

Caught between violent partners and the bureaucratic complications of the US Immigration system, many immigrant women are particularly vulnerable to abuse. For two years, Roberta Villalón volunteered at a nonprofit group that offers free legal services to mostly undocumented immigrants who had been victims of abuse. Her innovative study of Latina survivors of domestic violence explores the complexities at the intersection of immigration, citizenship, and violence, and shows how inequality is perpetuated even through the well-intentioned delivery of vital services. Through archival research, participant observation, and personal interviews, Violence Against Latina Immigrants provides insight into the many obstacles faced by battered immigrant women of color, bringing their stories and voices to the fore. Ultimately, Villalón proposes an active policy advocacy agenda and suggests possible changes to gender violence-based immigration laws, revealing the complexities of the lives of Latina immigrants as they confront issues of citizenship, gender violence, and social inequalities.

Political Report # 1177 The Brazil you won't see at the Summer Olympics: Women on the Frontlines

By Global Fund for Women, Champions for Equality

The 2016 Summer Olympics are about to come to an end in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. And while there's been talk about risks in Brazil from water contamination and the Zika virus, there's a far larger threat that's gone largely un-reported: the threat to women's rights from the current political and economic crisis. As the world looks to Rio for the Olympics, it's time to look more deeply at what's going on for women in the country. Women activists are tackling unprecedented rollbacks in human rights, silencing of women's voices, especially in government and public life, and an administration that is turning a blind eye to, among other things, Zika-a public health crisis that disproportionately impacts women. Women's groups have been on the frontlines, leading demonstrations opposing the removal of President Dilma Rousseff (which many characterize as a coup), and denouncing the damaging new policies of the interim government led by Interim President Michel Temer.