Abstract :
The gendered nature of globalization has received considerable analysis across several economic sectors, and much has been learned about its general impacts, although less about the specifics. Within a particular locale and/or general pattern of impact, what factors shape a person or group’s ability to adapt to changing economic contexts? Why are some groups and/or individuals more adversely impacted than others? Using the fisheries sector of Kerala, India, as a case study, this paper delineates a framework for understanding complexity and difference within general gendered patterns of economic processes. Combining feminist commodity chain analysis, livelihoods analysis, and insights from feminist studies of gender and development, I examine different impacts of globalization rooted in gender divisions of labour, and assess their implications for fisherfolk livelihoods. The results are usually complex and often paradoxical.
