Women and the Maquiladoras of Mexico
Running head: WOMEN AND MAQUILADORAS
Women and the Maquiladoras of Mexico
Abstract
After the US government put a stop to the Bracero program, a plan known as the Border Industrialization Program was introduced in 1965 by the Mexican government aimed at creating job opportunities for the workers previously allowed to work in the US on a seasonal basis. During the same year, the maquiladora industry was born in Mexico.
Women and the Maquiladoras of Mexico
In this paper I will explore the history, background and practices of the Maquiladora industry. I will also discuss the negative aspects of Maquiladoras on its female labor force. I will first discuss the maquiladora history and the changes of government policies on foreign investments in Mexico. Second I will focus on the feminization of the labor force by the maquiladora industry.
The Birth of the Maquiladora
Since 1965, under the Border Industrialization Program, the Mexican government has granted licenses to foreign companies, mostly U.S. owned for the temporary importation of duty-free machinery, raw materials, parts, and components. After being assembled in Mexican plants, they are exported, primarily to the United States. Duties levied for export are based solely on the value added by the actual cost of wages and related costs in Mexico (Takagi, 1998).
Many U.S. companies have not simply opened new facilities in Mexico but have also taken advantage of low costs by relocating. They are attracted by labor costs that in 1990 were one-eighth the U.S. minimum wage, by loose environmental protection laws, by unions that make few demands on companies, and by unenforced safety regulations. The number of these U.S. factories-maquiladoras or maquilas as they are called in Mexico-has now risen to an estimated two thousand.
Maquiladoras at their cores “are US subsidiaries or contract affiliates under foreign ownership; are dedicated to the assembly of components, the processing
Women and the Maquiladoras of Mexico
Abstract
After the US government put a stop to the Bracero program, a plan known as the Border Industrialization Program was introduced in 1965 by the Mexican government aimed at creating job opportunities for the workers previously allowed to work in the US on a seasonal basis. During the same year, the maquiladora industry was born in Mexico.
Women and the Maquiladoras of Mexico
In this paper I will explore the history, background and practices of the Maquiladora industry. I will also discuss the negative aspects of Maquiladoras on its female labor force. I will first discuss the maquiladora history and the changes of government policies on foreign investments in Mexico. Second I will focus on the feminization of the labor force by the maquiladora industry.
The Birth of the Maquiladora
Since 1965, under the Border Industrialization Program, the Mexican government has granted licenses to foreign companies, mostly U.S. owned for the temporary importation of duty-free machinery, raw materials, parts, and components. After being assembled in Mexican plants, they are exported, primarily to the United States. Duties levied for export are based solely on the value added by the actual cost of wages and related costs in Mexico (Takagi, 1998).
Many U.S. companies have not simply opened new facilities in Mexico but have also taken advantage of low costs by relocating. They are attracted by labor costs that in 1990 were one-eighth the U.S. minimum wage, by loose environmental protection laws, by unions that make few demands on companies, and by unenforced safety regulations. The number of these U.S. factories-maquiladoras or maquilas as they are called in Mexico-has now risen to an estimated two thousand.
Maquiladoras at their cores “are US subsidiaries or contract affiliates under foreign ownership; are dedicated to the assembly of components, the processing
References: Anyul, M. and Lionello P. (2001) Mexico Beyond NAFTA. New York: Routledge Cravey, A. J. (1998) Women and Work in Mexico’s Maquiladoras. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., Lanham. Kopinak, K. Desert Capitalism. (1996) Tucson, Arizona: The University of Arizona Press. Lorey, D. The U.S.-Mexican Border in the Twentieth Century. (1999) Wilmington, Delaware. Prieto, N. (1997) Beautiful Flowers of the Maquiladoras. Austin, Texas: University of Texas Press. Takagi, T. (1998) Maquiladora. The Reader’s Companion to U.S. Women’s History. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Vila, P. (2003) Ethnography at the Border. Minneapolis, Minnesota: University of Minnesota Press.