Resources

Annotated Bibliography

All publications, articles listed here are in English, unless otherwise

In Asia

Women and Work in West Malaysia, Hing Ai Yuno, Women in Malaysia, Pelanduk Publications, Malaysia, 1984.

Women's employment in rural and urban area; domestic work and wage labour. The writer concludes that even though industrialisation has liberated women from the feudal yoke, it has also subjected them to new forms of domination. The incorporation of women into the process of production is restricted and marginal.

The Impact of Industrialisation on the Social Role of Rural Malay Women, Susan E Ackerman, Women in Malaysia, Pelanduk Publications, Malaysia, 1984.

A survey on the employment of rural women in the factory of the Free Trade Zones in Malaysia. The impact on economic position of Malay women, changes in marriage pattern, moral obligation and wage earnings, and occupational prestige and attitudes towards factory work.

Tough Times for Electronics Workers, Utusan Konsumer, Malaysia, May 1985.

A survey of the recent mass retrenchment of workers in the electronic industry in Malaysia. The electronic companies used various ways to reduce the working hours (thus lowering the earnings) of the workers other than retrenching them directly.

Industrialisation Process in Malaysia: A Historical Perspective With Particular Reference to Free Trade Zone, Ishak Shari and Toh Kin Woon, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, prepared for Catholic Welfare Services, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, March 1983.

A historical review of the industrialisation policy in Malaysia since after the war. The establishment of FTZ and the employment of young women. A sample survey carried out by the writer in 1981 disclosed the rural background of the women workers employed in the FTZ. Problems faced by the women workers especially in electronics industry and working conditions.

Women at Construction Sites and Rag Rug Project, Siriporn Skrobanak, Thai Development Newsletter, Oct 4, 1984.

A study of the women workers in the construction industry in Bangkok, the Capital City of Thailand. While constituting over 50% of the unskilled labour force in the industry, women are often lower paid than men, provided no training and remain under the complete control of the male supervisors. Any fluctuations in the industry will cause the women workers being laid off. Being laid off and without any skill, the women workers are often left in a destitute situation. The Rag Rug Project is a project to help women to attain economic independence and skill by learning the skill in producing rugs.

Real Life Conditions of Thai Women Textile Workers: Looking beyond them and their Prospectwes, Malinee Wongphanich, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand.

A study of the health situation of women workers in textile industry in Thailand: how it relates with the working condition, the work pressure and the need to take care of children and household chores.

Conditions of Working Life of Women Textile Workers in Thailand on Day and Shift Work Systems, Malinee Wongphanich, Proceedings of the Sixth International Night and Shift Work Symposium, Kyoto, Japan 1982.

A survey comparing the health situation and life conditions of women workers working in day shift and workers in night shift in Thailand.

Tribal Filipino Women Workers: They Shall Win, Maria Teresa G. Cruz, Tribal Forum, Episcopal Commission on Tribal Filipinos, Vol. V No. 3, May-June 1984, p. 6 — p.8, Philippines.

A report on a strike of women workers of a garment factory in the Baguio EPZ in the Philippines.

Retrenchment at T1?, Clear Bulletin, Center for Labor, Education, Assistance and Research, Philippines, Dec 1984.

Texas Instrument, an American MNCs which began operation in the Baguio EPZ since 1980 started to lay-off workers in its factory in the EPZ in 1984. This is a study of Tl's global operation, the profits it make and situation of the women workers working in its factory in the EPZ.

The Philippines' Textfle Industry (A Labour Study), a study by the Centre for Human Resources, Philippines. Original in Tagalog, English translation by the Committee for Asian Women, 1983.

An in depth study on the textile industry in the Philippines, its production process and conditions of workers. The significance of the industry in the national development of the Philippines.

The End is the Beginning: Alternative Philippines Report on the Impact of the Decade for Women (1976 - 1985), prepared by the Philippine Women's Research Collective, July 1985, Philippines.

A paper on the history of women in the Philippines, the situation of women in different social sectors including industrial women workers, rural women, women in sex tourism and migrant women. Other issues concerning women such as health and mass media are also discussed.

Female Labour in Indonesia, Sri Kusyuniati, paper presented at the Regional Consultation of the Asian Cultural Forum on Development, Bangkok 1983.

This paper outlines the characteristics of female labour force in Indonesia, the problems the women workers face and women's inactive part in trade union organisation.

Women in Asia. Minority Rights Group Report No. 45, UK, 24 pp

A collection of articles outlining the general situation, employment, social status and political participation of women in various Asian countries: Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Philippines, Indonesia, Korea, Japan, China.

Women Workers, National Commission for Justice and Peace of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Bangladesh, March 1981.

Report of a survey study undertaken by the Commission on the situation of various type of women workers who are at the lowest strata of the Bangladesh society, namely industrial women workers, brick breakers and construction workers and housemaids. The last group of women workers were found to be most deprived in terms of wages and most maltreated.

Women Garment Workers Study, National Commission for Justice and Peace, Bangladesh, 1985.

Report of a study carried out in 1985 based on interviews with 1,000 women workers working in the garment factories in the Bangladesh capital city of Dhaka and in Chittagong where the Free Trade Zone is situated. The study found that 62.1% of the women workers interviewed aged only between 16 and 20, most of whom were married. Among all the women workers, 77.7% of them reported that they were forced to work overtime, often at the normal wage level. Only 15.9% of the workers reported to be members of a trade union. One-tenth of the women had suffered physical torture by the management, among whom 19 had been hospitalised for 1 - 13 days.

Women Industrial Workers: Report on Brick-Kiln Workers, Women's Division, Cabinet Secretariat, Government of Pakistan, published on Justice and Peace Newsletter, Idara-eAman-o-Insaf, Pakistan, 1984.

Lessons from the Strike at Polytex Garment Factory, Kumudhini Rosa, Voice of Women, No. 5, Vol. 2, No. 1, Sri Lanka.

A brief article analysing the cause for the victory of a strike by 800 women workers in a foreign invested garment factory in the Greater Colombo Economic Conunission Area in Sri Lanka.

Working Women in Sri Lanka: Problems, Demands, Participation in Trade Unions, May Wickramasuviya, CMU, Sri Lanka, a report submitted to the International Federation of Food Workers' Union, Regional Seminar on Women's Issues, July 1985.

In this paper, the writer reflected on various aspects of discrimination against women workers in Sri Lanka, namely: discrimination in wages; relegation of women to the lowest grade jobs; lack of training and opportunity in promotion; lack of childcare facilities; inadequate maternity benefits; sexual harassment by employers; double work.

Problems of Working Women in India, Asian Action, Newsletter of the Asian Cultural Forum on Development, May/June 1984.

A paper presented at the Regional Consultation of ACFOD, Bangkok 1983. The paper discusses discrimination against women in employment in India. Legal provisions and benefits are rarely implemented despite various laws which call for equality for women workers such as the Maternity Benefit Act, the Factory Act, and the Equal Remuneration Act.

Productivity First: Japanese Management Methods in Singapore, Vivian Lin, Bulletin of Concerned Asian Scholars, Vol. 16, No. 4, 1984, USA

Study of a Japanese electronic corporation in Singapore, the health hazards which threaten the women workers as a result of the working conditions and the management methods.

The High-Tech Production Line - A Case of Hongkong Women Workers, Trini Leung, paper presented at the Conference on International Women and New Technology organised by Isis in Geneva, June 1983.

Report on an incident of gas intoxication of women workers in Mabuchi, a Japanese owned electrical factory in Hong Kong in January 1983. As a result of the incident, 115 workers were hospitalised, among whom one women suffered permanent health damage. Reflection on the impact of technology on women.

Tales of the Filipino Working Women, Committee for Asian Women, Hong Kong, 1984, 68 pp

Through the personal stories of various women working in the factories in the Philippines, their working conditions and their struggles are told.

Our Rightful Share, Committee for Asian Women, Hong Kong, 1984, 108 pp

Using cartoons, the book evaluates the labour legislation pertinent to women workers in Asian countries vis-a-vis the living and working realities of the workers.

The Plight of Asian Workers in Electronics, Committee for Asian Women, Hong Kong, 1982,85 pp

Problems of Working Women in India, Asian Action, Newsletter of the Asian Cultural Forum on Development, May/June 1984

Productivity First: Japanese Management Methods in Singapore, Vivian Lin, Bulletin of Concerned Asian Scholars, Vol. 16, No. 4, 1984, USA..

Study of a Japanese electronic corporation in Singapore, the health hazards which threaten the women workers as a result of the working conditions and the management methods.

The High-Tech Production Line - A Case of Hongkong Women Workers, Trini Leung, paper presented at the Conference on International Women and New Technology organised by Isis in Geneva, June 1983

Tales of the Filipino Working Women, Committee for Asian Women, Hong Kong, 1984, 68 pp

Through the personal stories of various women working in the factories in the Philippines, their working conditions and their struggles are told.

Our Rightful Share, Committee for Asian Women, Hong Kong, 1984, 108 pp

Using cartoons, the book evaluates the labour legislation pertinent to women workers in Asian countries vis-a-vis the living and working realities of the workers.

The Plight of Asian Workers in Electronics, Committee for Asian Women, Hong Kong, 1982,85 pp

A book of caricatures demonstrating the working conditions of, and the health hazards threatening the women workers in the electronic industry in Asia. The background which give rise to the industry, the establishment of the Free Trade Zones, the multinationals.

From the Womb of Han: Stories of Korean Women Workers, CCA-URM, Hong Kong, 1982,92 pp

The book consists of several parts including an overview of the situation of various sectors of women in South Korea including the factory women workers. The second part collects statements of and interviews with women workers. One chapter highlights the political and social conditions under which the Korean women workers struggle.

Struggling to Survive: Women Workers in Asia, CCA-URM, Hong Kong, 1981, 162 pp. Original in English. There are translations in Chinese, Thai and Tagalog.

One of the first books in Asia which disclose the conditions under which industrial women workers live in various Asian countries, and the common problems they face.

Malaysian Women: Problems and Issues, Evelyn Hong (Ed.), Consumers Association of Penang, Malaysia, 1983.

In this book, ten articles are collected in which different aspects of the women's question in Malaysia today are discussed: discrimination and marginalisation of women in development process; situation of women working in the manufacturing industry; health hazards faced by women at work and at home; violence and sexual abuse against women.

Women's Labour in the Indian Textile Industry, Development Research Institute, Tilburg University, P.O. Box 90153, Hogeschoollaan 225, the Netherlands.

The effects of how production is organised, based on the sexual division of labour, and the effects of employment on women's social autonomy. The book includes sections on technology and the organisation of production, class and gender relations in women's labour, and work and social autonomy.

Women in Free Trade Zone, Voice of Women, No. 4, 1982 July, Sri Lanka

Articles on the problems of organisation working within the FTZ, the interview with an active trade unionists about organising women workers, and the situation of night work.

Asian Women Workers Newsletter, a quarterly published by the Committee for Asian Women with reports on strikes, actions of women workers in Asian countries. For subscription: 57, Peking Road, 5/F, Kowloon, Hong Kong.

Inglayan, a quarterly published by the Women's Program of the Montanosa Social Action Center. Carries articles on women workers in the Baguio Export Processing Zone and poor women in the area. For subscription: PO Box 55, Baguio City 0201, Philippines.

In Other Continents

International Labour Reports, Mayday Publications, 300 Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9NS, U.K.

Report on Filipino women workers and how they successfully launch mass stoppages in the Free Trade Zone. Parallel to this article is another report on women workers' effort in setting up a cooperative in the FTZ in Honduras. Two other articles report on black women and home working in the U.K.

Working Women in Socialist Countries: The Fertility Connection, International Labour Office, CH-1211 Geneve 22, Switzerland.

Many centrally planned socialist countries are characterised by low birth rates and high female labour force participation rates. In addition, these countries have generous social programmes, including several which are particularly helpful for working women, such as extended paid maternity leave, free creches, additional leave for taking care of a sick child, etc. Their experiences are relevant for countries in the developing world which are concerned about bringing greater equality for men and women in the labour market and lower fertility rates. These cases studies on the effect of labour force participation and demographic and labour policies on fertility are on Bulgaria, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland and the Uzbek SSR.

Women Working Worldwide, 1983, War on Want, 467 Caledonian Road, London N7 9BE,UK

This is the report of the conference Women Working Worldwide held in England 1983 to examine the new international and sexual divisions of labour in the electronics, clothing and textiles industries. It consists of a series of articles on multinational strategies. Free Trade Zones and Enterprise Zones, health and safety, women organising, homeworking, new technology, sexual divisions of labour and international links. The report also related the situation of women in the UK faced with job losses as their companies relocated to Third World countries.

Women of Africa: Roots of Oppression, Maria Rosa Cutrufelli, Zed Press, 57 Caledonian Road, London Nl 9DN, U.K.

This book by Maria Rosa CutrufeUi published originally in Italian and then translated by Nicolas Romano into English attempts to analyses the women's position in African societies by trying to integrate the cultural, economic and the rural levels of analysis. The chapter that deals with the function of women's labour in particular describes the situation with general as well as specific statistics.

Femmes au Travail or Women at Work, International Labour Office in English and French.

Women at Work is an ILO Bullatin on the economic and social contribution of women to society. It is published twice a year reporting on recent trends and containing international comparative information.

Working Women: A portrait of South Africa's black women workers. Edited by Helene Perold, Sached Trust and Ravan Press, P. O. Box 31134 Braamfontein, 2017 South Africa, 144 pp, 1985.

In 1970 about 4% of the total industrial workers in South Africa were women. Though this figure increased more than two times in 1980, women industrial workers take up the least skilled and worst paid jobs and they are also trapped in particular industries like food, clothing, textile and leather etc. which are known for their low wages and poor working conditions. On top of these, women workers are discriminated against by labour laws. Up until 1981 the law allowed women workers to earn 20% less than men who did the same job. There is no law to protect a pregnant women from losing their job, and there are no proper maternity benefits for pregnant women.

AFSC Women's Newsletter, American Friends Service Committee, 1501 Cherry St., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19102, USA.

The AFSC Women's Newsletter has a special section of Women and Global Corporations, in every issue. It covers information on global industries where women are concentrated as workers or targets of consumer culture: electronics, agribusiness, textiles and the garment trades, tourism, media, and pharmaceuticals. There is also a useful list of resources on journals, newsletters, books and centers on women.

Electrical Workers, University of Illinois Press, 279pp

The Electrical Workers is a case study in the history of labour unions at General Electric and Westinghouse Corporation from 1923 to 1960, detailing the rise of unionism during the Depression, the gains of the union movement, and the toll of the MaCarthy Era. Women's wages, position in the workforce, and particular concerns are noted throughout.

The Hidden Workers: Migrant Women Outworkers in Australia, Refactory Girl, Australia. March 1982.

Outwork has been traditionally used by the industry for its flexibility to cope with seasonal peaks and rush jobs. It has also been used for its money saving advantages. In Australia, they are the most marginal and the most hidden workers and virtually all of them are women with the migrant women as the majority. This article discusses the exploitative conditions, and some problems faced by these migrant women outworkers in Australia.

Sharing the Shop Floor: Women and Men on the Assembly Line, Radical America. 38 Union Square, Somerville, MA 02143, USA. p. 69-88, vol. 18, no. 5, 1985

This article is written by a male health and safety representative in the Westinghouse. This is a first-hand account on the struggle of women factory workers in the male dominated Westinghouse and how they suffer from decades of maltreatment by the management.

Italy: Working Class Militancy, Feminism and Trade Union Politics, Radical America. vol. 18, no. 5, p. 39-51.

This article traces anthropologically the development of Feminist Unionism in Italy from the late sixties and early seventies when the student movement influenced the working class struggles and the feminist militants brought the messages into trade unions respectively, to the eighties when feminists in the unions face challenges brought along by structural and institutional changes over the years. The author points out that the increased participation of women in the labour markets does not imply a decline in the sexual segregation of the workforce, and that a new population of women workers, with new demands for representation, confronts the Italian unions in the 1980s. However, due to its political openness and its late development, Italian trade unionism may be in a more favorable position to respond to new demands from women.

Women Fighting Poverty in the United States, American Friends Service Committee, 1985.

This is packet put together by the American Friends Service Committee to "help organisers better understand how economic power is deployed along sex lines." A chapter in this packet, pools 10 articles from different journals or books under the title, "Women and Work: Some Domestic and International Dimensions". There is facts and figures on how women's work are undervalued and underpaid, testimonies of working women and also discussions on women and new technologies etc.

Les Zones de Conditionnement des Exportations (ZCE): Menace pour les femmes! Menace pour les syndicates! Menace pour I'ensemble des travailleurs canadiens!, 85pp, in French.

This paper tries to analyse the operation of export processing zones both in the developing and industrialised countries, like the USA, England and Canada. The cases quoted in this paper demonstrate clearly how the multinationals and the investments in the ZCEs, both in developing and industrialised countries, exploit the workers, bring about the deterioration of working conditions, deprive the workers of their social benefits and control the unions. Women are affected most. They are the majority of workers in the ZCEs. These young women take up the most repetitious, and the most monotonous tasks under the most dangerous working conditions and receiving a salary much lower than their male counterparts. Aside from the three examples from the North, the Bataan ZCE (EPZ) in the Philippines, the Masan FTZ (Free Trade Zone) in South Korea and the FTZ in Sri Lanka are quoted.

Technologie Nouvelle et Emploi des Femmes, Confederation Internationale des Syndicats Libres (C.I.S.L.), rue Montagne aux Herbes Potageres 37-41, B-1000 Bruxelles, Belgium. 80pp, 1983, in French.

This book examines the impacts of applying new technologies in both the factories and the offices on women at workplace.

Audio visuals

ROSIE THE RIVETER (USA 1979)
Film, 1 hour, in English
Made by Connie Fields
Distributor: Clarity Educational Films (USA)

Set in wartime America, this film tells the story of the "Hidden Army" the women drafted into the munitions factories when the men went off to war. It is based on extensive interviews with five women — three blacks and two whites — as well as original original recruiting films and posters. The film presents a segment of women's struggle and development history books have ignored. It helps see the differences and similarities between the 1940's and women's struggles today.

WE DIG COOL (USA 1981)
Film, 16 mm, 60 min., in English
Distributor: State of the Art

It documents the entrance of women into the Appalachian coal mines and the death of the first woman to die in an underground mine. The interviews with women miners, their families, and their male co-workers are engaging. Unfortunately, the film fails to help us understand why this tragic accident occurred and what could be done to prevent such accidents in the future. The film also fails to tell us much about the United Mine Workers which is a crucial part of the country.

ROBOTNICE (Poland 1980)
Film, 16mm, 17min., black and white, in Polish
Made by Irena Kamienska
Producer: Warsaw Studio of Documentary Film
Distributor: Centre Audiovisuel Simone de Beauvoir (France)

Produced during the peak of the Solidarity movement, this film depicts working conditions for women employed in a Polish textile factory.

VUES D'CI (France 1978)
Film, 16mm, 98 min., black and white, in French
Made by V. Pinel, C. Zaffirian and a women's collective in Le Havre, France.
Distributor: Films Armorial c/o Mouvement Francois pour le Planning Familial (France)

This film is about Annie, a mother of five children who goes back to her job in a factory. This film focuses on issues such as the double work day, marital relations, factory work conditions and union organizing.

SEIRL (Hong Kong)
Film, 8mm, 30 min., color, in English
Made by Christian Industrial Committee
Distributor: Christian Industrial Committee (Hong Kong)

This film describes the relationship between a garment worker and her family in Hong Kong.

FROM NOTHING TO SOMETHING (Hong Kong)
Slideshow, 25 min., color, in English
Made by Christian Industrial Committee
Distributor: Christian Industrial Committee (Hong Kong)

This slideshow tells the story of a woman garment worker and her struggle to win maternity rights in the workplace.

AFTER THE DIFFICULTIES: WORKING WOMEN IN SOUTHEAST ASIA (Canada 1982)
Slideshow, 20 min., in English
Made by Souad Sharabani and Helene Klodawsky
Distributor: Development Education Center (DEC) (Canada)

This slide montage on working women in Southeast Asia addresses both the personal and political aspects of social change. The slideshow focuses on the many young women employed in textile and electronics factories in Southeast Asia today.

SHIRTS AND SONGS: A STRUGGLE FOR SELF MANAGEMENT (France 1972)
Film, I6mm, 15 min., color, in French with English subtitles
Made by Paul Bourron
Distributor: The Development Education Center (DEC) (Canada)

The film depicts the struggle of women textile workers in Western France. Mobilized in response to the arbitrary firing of a co-worker, the women organize their own production line. The film documents the astounding transformation of the women as they become increasingly assertive and self-confident.

THE SONG OF THE SHIRT (England 1979)
Film, 16mm, 135 min., black and white, in English
Made by Susan Clayton, Jonathan Curling and the Film and History Project
Distributor: Sydney Filmmakers Co-operative Ltd. (Australia)

The film examines the lives and working conditions of women employed in the clothing industry in 19th century England. With the decline of cottage industries following the introduction of mechanized forms of production, thousands of women left home for London to work as apprentice dress-makers. The film goes beyond the stories of the needlewomen to consider the role of women in British history and industrialization.

ON THE BIAS (Canada 1980)
Slideshow, 28 min., color, in English
Made by Women's Group Development Education Center (DEC)
Distributor: Development Education Center (DEC) (Canada)

Using clothing as a theme throughout the show. On the Bias looks at the situation of women workers in the garment and retail industries and at home. It looks at the role of fashion and advertising in the manipulation of women's self-image, the history of women's work and women's clothing as changes in fashion styles have matched changes in women's roles at work and in society.

TOO DIRTY FOR A WOMAN (Canada)
Film, 17min., in English
Made by Signe Johansson, Kathleen Shannon
Distributor: Studio D (USA), National Film Board of Canada (Canada)

In the late 1970's, the Iron Ore Company of Canada opened to women jobs traditionally held by men only. This film studies the personal lives and working experiences of several women who moved to the remote single industrial town of Labrador City to take the advantage of these job opportunities.

MAIS QU'EST CE QU'ELLES VEULENT? (France 1975)
Film, 35 and 16mm, 90 min., color, in French
Made by C. Serreau
Distributor: Institut National de I'Audiovisuel (France)

This film looks into conditions for women from different social classes and professions, including peasant women, workers in the confectioners' industry and their boss, a middle class woman, an actress who occasionally stars in porno films (and her director), a young woman who is obsessed with her looks, a young shepardess and a poor widow.

WOMEN ON THE GLOBAL ASSEMBLY LINE (USA)
Videocassette, 25 min., in English
Distributor: contact Educational TV and Film Center

Not yet completed.

TAMBAKU CHAKILA OOB AALI (India)
Film, 16mm, 24 min., black and white, in Marathi and other Indian languages
Made by Yugantar
Distributor: Yugantar (India)

This film is a historical reconstruction of the struggles of women employed in tobacco industry. It explores the pre-union days, the formation of the union and the current issues facing them. It is a testament to and expression of the women's uncrushably militant will and spirit.

RISKY BUSINESS (England 1980)
Film, 16mm, Video, 15 min., color, in English
Made by Leeds Animation Workshop
Distributor: Leeds Animation Workshop (England)

A Union Safety Representative called Carol is the main character in this cartoon which will be of interest to anyone concerned with health and safety at work. Reggie the Robot is Carol's assistant. Programmed with the Health and Safety at Work regulations, he advises her as best he can, but he doesn't know all the answers. The hazards faced by Carol and her workmates include many common factory and office problems: lifting, noise, chemicals, machinery, and a dust monster which stifles its victims. The questions raised in the film aim to stimulate discussion: What can the Health and Safety Inspectorate do to help? How useful is protective clothing? How can we resolve the conflict between Safety and Profit?

DON'T T BE TOO POLITE GIRLS (Australia 1976)
Film, 16mm, black and white, 15 min., in English
Made by Martha Ansara
Distributor: Sydney Filmmakers Co-operative Ltd. (Australia)

This documentary was shot in a Sydney appliance factory during a performance by the Melbourne Women's Theatre Group of their Women and Work Show for a lunch time audience. It looks at women in the paid workforce and their dual roles of worker and housewife.

THE ICE CREAM FACTORY (Australia 1977)
Film, 16mm, 11 min., black and white, in English
Made Naomi Christie
Distributor: Sydney Filmmakers Co-operative Ltd. (Australia)

This film takes a subjective look at a day in the life of a young woman who works as packer in an ice-cream factory. It shifts between reality, dreams, memories and flashes of the future. The day is one of revelation and leads to a great change in her life.

TODAY/WORKING WOMEN OF WALDO COUNTY (USA)
Video, 314 inch, Betamax, 30 min., color, in English
Made by The Women's Video Network, Inc.
Distributor: The Women's Video Network, Inc.

"For Waldo County industrialization meant the end of the family farm. As men became wage earners, women's role caring for the family seemed to lose economic importance. For her to combine managing the home with working outside was a hard transition. Today in Waldo County women are 35% of the workforce, 55% of the unemployed and earn 65% as much as the men." In factories, laundromat, and supermarket the camera studies women at work today.

THE WOMAN QUESTION (USA 1980)
Film, 16mm., 5 min., color, in English
Made by Nina Wax
Distributor: Iris Feminist Collective Inc. (USA)

The Woman Question is a hilarious five minute political satire that illuminates the situation of many women in the workforce. A woman is presented working in a welding metal working factory performing repetitious and tedious work, while the audience hears the voices of various interested parties as well as those of other workers in the factory who narrate the story.

ASI LUCHAMOS LAS MUJERES DE CANARIA!! (Peru 1983)
Slideshow, 30 min., color, with accompanying text in Spanish
Made by Proyecto Mujer Nuevo Despertar and Centro de Informacion Estudios y Documentacion (CIED) with the collaboration of Marcelina Pillpe
Distributor: CIED (Peru)

Located in the region of Ayacucho, ever since 1979 the Minas Canaria mining company has been accused of openly violating workers' rights and of refusing to respect collective bargaining agreements. Following the firing of 150 miners by the Minas Canaria management in 1980, workers in the local miners' union launched a 3 month-long protest strike to demand the immediate reinstatement of their colleagues. This audiovisual documents the participation of a large number of peasant women and miners' wives in the battle against the company management. Organized in the Housewives' Committee (Comite de Amas de Casa), in 1982, these women decided to march 758 kilometers from Canaria to Lima in search of support and solidarity at the national level, an effort which cost a total of 21 lives. Produced in conjunction with the women themselves, this audiovisual is designed to stimulate discussion about working conditions and the role of women in supporting workers' struggles. It has been widely shown in mining centers and grass-roots organizations throughout Peru.

ECHALE MAS AGUA A LOS FRUOLES (Mexico)
Documentary slideshow, 94 slides, 15 min., color, in Spanish, with signals for manual slide change
Made by Comunicacion Intercambio y Desarollo Humano en America Latina (CIDHAL
Distributor: CIDHAL (Mexico)

This slideshow is about the rising cost of living in Mexico, including an analysis of internal markets and the role of transnational corporations in domestic production. It goes on to show how these factors affect women, whom, as the slideshow shows, are those that suffer the most in times of economic downturn, especially among Mexico's poorer classes.

MONIQUE ET CHRISTIANE (France 1976)
Black and white, in French
Made by Carole Roussopoulos
Distributor: Centre Audiovisuel Simone de Beauvoir (France)

Two women discuss the difficulties of being a woman during a factory struggle with management, emphasizing the lack of internal democracy within the union and their and others' attitudes toward workplace production.

TRABALHADORAS METALURGICAS (Brazil 1978)
Documentary Film, 16mm, 15 min., color, in Portuguese
Made by Olga Futema
Distributor: Cinema Distribucao Indpendente (Brazil) and Grupo Femenino de Pesquisa Cinematografica (Brazil)

Filmed during the First Women Metalworkers' Conference in Sao Bernardo do Campo in January 1978, this film deals with working conditions for women metalworkers.

THE NEW
Isis International Audiovisual Resource Guide For Women

bringing together the wealth of audiovisual materials (films, slideshows, videos, filmstrips) that women in all parts of the world have been producing over the past ten years;
forming a mosaic that shows how women see themselves and their worlds and how they are creatively transforming the images of women;
sharing the experiences of women, especially in the Third World, in creating, using and communicating through audiovisuals;
giving ideas and information on the use of audiovisuals for women's groups;

The contents:

Annotated resource listings of 600 audiovisuals (films, slideshows, videos and filmstrips). Mostly made by women, these cover the most important issues women are dealing with today, from organizing to health, work, violence, development and more.
More than 250 addresses of organizations, groups and individuals producing and/or distributing audiovisual resources.
Bibliography of books and other printed materials on audiovisuals.
Articles and interviews sharing the experiences of women, especially in the Third World, in creating and using audiovisuals.
Reflections, ideas and information on women using audiovisuals.

Price

US$12 for individuals and US$20 for institutions. Add $7 for airmail outside of Europe.

All orders must be prepaid. Enclose cheque and send to: Isis International, via Santa Maria dell" Anima 30,00186 Rome, Italy.

Isis International

Isis International is a women's information and communication service

Promoting communication channels among women around the world.
Strengthening women's networks nationally, regionally and internationally.
Providing information and models of action for women who are organizing and mobilizing against the oppression of women.
Building links of support and solidarity among women's groups and organizations worldwide.

Through the Isis International Women's Journal, women around the world share ideas and experiences for mobilization and organization. The Journal provides a channel for women to make contact with each other and build up networks. Each issue of the Journal is produced jointly with one or more women's groups in the Third World.

Women in Action is the supplement to the Journal. It gives news and information about groups, conferences, events and resources - what is happening in the women's movement worldwide. The Journal and supplement each appear twice a year. Subscription rates are on the back cover.

Isis International has a network of over 10,000 contacts in 150 countries and a resource center with thousands of documents — magazines, studies, newsletters, pamphlets, etc. — from all over the world on the issues women are working' on: health, women's alternative media, development, transnationals, housework, child care, tourism, violence against women, sexuality, peace, theories of feminism and more.

Isis International:

Provides technical assistance and training in communication skills and information management.
Organizes conferences and workshops.
Produces Resource Guides; The Isis International Resource Guide on Audio-visuals for Women will be available in January, 1985.

For more information write to us in our resource centers:
Isis International Via Santa Maria dell'Anima, 30 00186 - Rome, Italy Tel: (06) 6565842
Isis International Casilla 2067, Correo Central Santiago, Chile Tel: 746097

SUBSCRIPTIONS

A subscription to the Isis International Women's Journal (2 issues/year) also brings you the supplement Women in Action (2 issues/year).

Subscription rate for one year:

Individual or women's group US$15 — surface mail; US$20 — air mail

Institutions ' - US$25 — surface mail; US$30 — air mail

Single issue

Journal US$6 — individual/women groups; US$10 — institutions - (add US$2 for airmail)

Women in Action US$1.5 — individual/women groups; US$2.5 — institutions (add US$.50 for airmail

Enclose cheques or money order and send to:

Isis International,
Via Santa Maria dell' Anima, 30
00186 Rome
Italy

Isis International Women's Journal No. 4 is also available from the Committee for Asian Women at US$4/copy for Third World countries. Cheques or money order can be sent to:

Christian Conference of Asia — Urban Rural Mission
57, Peking Road, 5/F, Kowloon, Hong Kong
Attn. Committee for Asian Women

Resources

Annotated Bibliography

Audio visuals

THE NEW Isis International Audiovisual Resource Guide For Women

Popular Tags

THE NEW
Isis International Audiovisual Resource Guide For Women