Norwich United Nations Association Meeting
Posted on | February 16, 2012 | No Comments
Another interesting talk at the Friends Meeting House, Upper
Goat Lane, Norwich at 1pm on Friday 17th February 2012.
The talk will be given by Professor Ruth Pearson.
The title of the talk will be: “Burmese Migrant Workers in Thailand –
Suspended Between Two Worlds” and it is very timely given the current
interest in Burma’s tentative moves towards democracy. The two million plus
Burmese migrant workers in Thailand remain hidden from the Western gaze,
unlike the 150,000 plus people in displaced persons camps at the border.
For over a decade migrant factory workers, in the main young women, have
acted as a hidden workforce in a number of export factories, particularly in
the garment, jewellery and footwear sectors.
This talk unravels some of the
complexities of this situation, and looks at the challenges facing these
women as they move through their life stages and have families and children
of their own. Although Burma is taking tentative steps towards the
restoration of democratic intuitions, much to the delight of would be
Western foreign investors, it will take decades to restore economic
opportunities for the bulk of its population – and mean while migrant women
remain suspended between two worlds.
Ruth Pearson is Professor
of International Development at the University of Leeds, having moved there
after establishing the thriving programmes in Gender and Development at the
University of East Anglia. She is an economist by training, and has
undertaken widespread research on issues of women, work and employment in
the global economy, mainly in Latin America, though more recently in South
East Asia and Europe, including the UK. She is a board member of a number of
organisations including WEETU, HomeworkersWorldwide, the Women’s Budget
Group and Rosa, the UK Women’s Fund. She has also been a consultant and
advisor on gender issues to UNDP, UNWomen, Oxfam, DfID , CIDA and the EU.
All welcome best wishes, Marguerite Vice-Chair UNA Norwich & District Branch
Marguerite Finn 01603-722880 or e-mail bededog@btinternet.com
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