A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, School of Environment, Resources and Development

Thesis (Ph.D.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 1998

Thailand's industrialization and its export-oriented promotion of manufacturing has featured increased employment opportunities for many young women. By the early 1990s, 90% of the export-manufacturing labour force were women. Although such employment opportunities benefited women, especially those with less education, there is increasing debate about the effect of industrialization on women. Providing employment opportunities in industry for women is considered by the United Nations Policy on Women In Development to be the major means of integrating women into national and global development. Doubt about the success of such a strategy has been the focus of a number of cross-cultural studies of women and industrial work. Women have tended to be generally among the lower ranks of industrial workers, with boring, monotonous and mechanical jobs. They were given little training, low wages and suffered occupational health hazards. The study reported in this paper extends such research by properly comparing women and men in the developing economy of Thailand. It reinforces earlier findings of continuing disadvantage for women and challenges the idea of improving the position of women through industrial growth unless this is accompanied by specific policies targeted at women.