Breaking the Iron Wall: Decommodification and Immigrant Women's Labor in Canada

by Habiba Zaman

Overview

In the latter half of the twentieth century, as immigrant-receiving countries such as Canada began competing to recruit the "most desirable" candidates, immigrants became commodified, their labor bought and sold for the benefit of national and global markets. By providing empirical as well as historical evidence, Habiba Zaman undertakes a rigorous analysis of immigrant women's commodification and the possibility of their decommodification in Canada. In order to present a comprehensive picture of commodification, this book uses empirical as well as historical evidence to explore the relationship between transnational migration and globalization, a relationship that sets the trajectory for immigrant women's commodification. Breaking the Iron Wall looks at the detailed lived experiences of immigrant women, expertly revealing the intersections of race, gender, and class and exposing the forces and processes of commodification in public and private spheres.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780739112359
Publisher:	Lexington Books
Publication date:	08/24/2006
Pages:	200
Product dimensions:	6.36(w) x 9.47(h) x 0.82(d)

About the Author

Habiba Zaman is an anthropologist who is an associate professor of Women's Studies at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, Canada.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Introduction Chapter 2 Globalization, Neo-Liberal Globalism, and Migration Chapter 3 Canadian Immigration in an Era of Neo-Liberalism: Trends and Impacts Chapter 4 The Canadian State and Immigrant Labor: Intersections of Gender, Class, and Race Chapter 5 Commodification of Laborers: "Defamilializing" the Privileged and "Refeudalizing" the Im / Migrants Chapter 6 Decommodification and Immigrant Women: Access to Social Benefits and Services Chapter 7 Recommodification of Labor: Results of Re-Skilling Chapter 8 Immigrant Women as Agents of Change: The Role of Networks and Associations Chapter 9 Summary and Conclusions

Editorial Reviews

Zaman's book adds to the feminist literature in this field...[she] effectively places her research within the scholarship on the welfare state...This book is very timely as the issue of immigration is once more at the forefront of political debates...

Journal of Women, Politics and Society - Patrizia Longo

Zaman has written a passionate brief.

Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society

While past migration may have been driven by the process of nation building, Zaman shows that today's transnational migration is largely market-driven where various global actors reap large profits off the backs of these migrant workers.... This is a good read not only for academics but for feminists and migration advocates who want to understand the dynamics of transnational migration and the feminization of migration....

Cecilia Diocson

Examining the processes that commodify immigrant women's labour in Canada through the lived experiences of these women, this book makes a valuable contribution to the field of globalization and migration studies.

Sunera Thobani

Examining the processes that commodify immigrant women's labour in Canada through the lived experiences of these women, this book makes a valuable contribution to the field of globalization and migration studies.--Sunera Thobani, The University of British Columbia

Zaman's book adds to the feminist literature in this field...[she] effectively places her research within the scholarship on the welfare state...This book is very timely as the issue of immigration is once more at the forefront of political debates...--Patrizia Longo, Saint Mary's College of California, Professor of Politics, Saint Mary's College of California "Journal of Women, Politics and Society "

Zaman has written a passionate brief.--Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society

From the Publisher

Zaman has written a passionate brief.

Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society

Zaman has written a passionate brief.

Signs: Journal of Women In Culture & Society

Zaman has written a passionate brief.

Signs: Journal Of Women In Culture & Society