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by Ho Sung-Hee, Editing Director

What does neoliberal restructuring want from women?

The 2001 inauguration of Ministry of Gender Equality(MOGE) and the recent debate surrounding the ratification of preliminary prime minister Chang Sang as first-ever women prime minister of Korea, are both representative 몊ymbols?of gender policies of the Kim Dae-Jung administration. Despite the fact that Kim Dae-Jung뭩 restructuring policies have instigated job insecurity and crisis of households, his policies on women are generally viewed as positive 뻲hich fundamentally questions the position of his policies on women.
To do proper enquiry into this policies, it is necessary to look at the context in which international development agencies have started to focus on gender as part of its development program, since capital뭩 strategy to perceive and use women in 몊ustainable development?manifests what it is that neoliberalism wants from women. It is also necessary to look at the conditions in which liberal women뭩 movement cannot help but sympathise with this international trend.

The change in paradigm of international gender policies 뻯he appearance of new gender identities

The tendency to incorporate women into the development process was of major concern during the 1970뭩. There was significant increase in the number of women participating in the labour market, and the 멹eminisation of labour? in which work conditions in all industries averaged off onto the low level of women workers, meant the breaking down of the 몀ale-breadwinner?model. Some international development agencies, who have accommodated Ester Boserup뭩 concerns (Women뭩 Role in Economic Development) that women are excluded from the benefits of development, have identified women as producers and developed an approach that defines women as active economic subjects (밯omen in Development(WID)? which incorporates women into the development process). This kind of approach emphasises the necessity for women to improve their abilities in gainung the benefits of development, and the importance of training, financial credit and employment for women. However, it does not explain 몏hy?women accept the disadvantageous conditions of the labour market.

The perception that childcare and housework are still primarily the responsibility of women has not changed. Women had to first of all increase the amount of reproductive labour and sell her labour at a sacrificial price, to compensate for the loss of income that has come as a result of neoliberal restructuring -the countermeasure to the crisis of capitalism. Women also had to increase the amount of reproductive labour because of the shrink in public expenditure. The social and economic costs of restructuring tend to be shifted to those who are powerless. Thus, it is through the sacrifice of women that the restructuring process is maintained.

At the 3rd UN Women뭩 Conference held in Nairobi in 1985, the WID approach was assessed to have 몆roductionist?tendencies and it was pointed out that the market and other institutions need to be transformed to overcome this 몆roductionism? In this self-realisation, the conference proposed the 멒ender and Development Strategy(GAD)? which was then systemized after a decade (4th UN Conference on Women in Beijing 1995) as the 멒ender Mainstreaming Strategy? The latter is a strategy where systematic procedures and mechanisms that consider gender issues in all policy decisions, program construction and implementation are required.

International development agencies have begun to recognize the 멵risis of reproduction?emanating from restructuring which they themselves had conjured, and are attempting to overcome the problem through 밺evelopment with a human face?since the beginning of 1990뭩. The strong political resistance from developing countries and the studies implemented by UNICEF and others increased concern about the social costs of restructuring, and it was in this context that the gender mainstreaming strategy came to be promoted.

In Korea, we can witness the gender mainstreaming strategy from the mid-1990뭩 뻖eginning from the enactment of Women's Development Act in 1995, the establishment of the Special Presidential Commission on Women뭩 Affairs in 1998, the revision of the Gender Discrimination Prevention and Relief Act in 1999, to the inauguration of Ministry of Gender Equality in January 2001.

The change in women-related policies in Korea

1) Before 1990뭩

In 1947, during the US military government, the Department of Maternal Affairs was set up within the Ministry of Health and Welfare, mainly to deal with those women who need 몉egulation? During the 1980뭩, the ratification of various treaties and resolutions on international development of women that were promoted under the auspices of the UN, acted as unavoidable pressure on the Korean government. However, the main focus of the Korean government when it came to women뭩 issues remained on population control through revisions to the Family Act and promotions of birth control. The other side of the government뭩 policies on women involved ex post facto welfare to the women who require 몉egulation? During the democratic revolt of 1987, women demanded elimination of discrimination and maternity protection at the workplace. With the increase in the number of employed women and development of the women뭩 movement, Ministry of Political Affairs No. 2 was inaugurated to deal with women-related administration. Also, the Equal Employment Act was passed in 1987 -and its revision in 1989- and in 1989 the Maternal Welfare Act was passed. All these laws were enacted to use women labourpower in the development of the State and society.

2) After 1990뭩

The Act for Punishment of Sexual Crimes and Victim Protection was enacted in 1993 and the Equal Employment Act was revised in 1995 (prohibition of recruitment and employment based on women뭩 physical conditions). Also in 1995, the concept of gender mainstreaming was adopted, and the Women's Development Act was passed in 1995 with the objective of materializing an equal society, increasing women뭩 social participation and promoting welfare for women.

After Kim Dae-Jung came into power, the Ministry of Political Affairs No. 2 was changed to the Presidential Commission on Women뭩 Affairs(PCWA) and departments on women-related policies were established in six ministries. In 1999, the Gender Discrimination Prevention and Relief Act was passed to prohibit sexual harassment and discrimination in society in general and in government agencies in particular.

The demand of the mainstream women뭩 movement for the establishment of an independent unit with policymaking and implementation authorities materialized in 2001 with the establishment of the MOGE. The MOGE stipulated that policies on women must be mainstreamed in order for them to be dealt as issues of major focus in all areas of the government, and advocated gender equality as the objective of policies on women. The MOGE, an independent ministry with legislative rights and execution authority, has as its main work those related to discrimination transferred from the PCWA, to women labour resources transferred from the Ministry of Labour and to violence against women transferred from the Ministry of Health and Welfare.

Women-related policies of the Kim Dae-Jung government: Formation of infrastructure to balance housework and employment

The MOGE has received hearty welcome from the mainstream women뭩 movement. They argue that (although there are some areas that need further attention) the gender policies of Kim Dae-Jung government should be seen differently from his other political and economic accomplishments. The basis of the assessment on gender policies seems to be the fact that the government has opened up the path to empowerment of women and realization of gender equality. Also, to fill in and complement the blanks, mainstream women activists are untiringly implementing studies and proposing new policies. However, the policies that appeared as a result of all these collaborative efforts seem to face the direction of 뭚orming infrastructure to balance housework and employment? Before we go into a critique of this kind of approach, let뭩 first of all look at the reality women face today in Korea.

The increase in the participation of women in the labour market is a global trend. Likewise, in Korea, economic participation of men during 1960-90 increased only slightly from 73.5% to 74.4%, while women뭩 participation increased twofold during the same period to reach almost 50%. Obviously, these official statistics exclude the number of women working in the informal sector and in domestic manufacturing. Women뭩 employment has now become a necessity in life. However, this does not mean that the increased participation of women in employment has led to the improvement in the lives of women. Women constitute one-third of official labour worldwide and four-fifth of informal labour, but only benefit from 10% of the total income. It is also estimated that women only own 1% of property worldwide. In fact, women are getting poorer and poorer. Also, because of the instability of the labour market, many women are left with no choice but sex work or the service sector. Several questions arise from this reality 뻲ho is going to be responsible for reproductive labour when more and more women enter the labour market? Why are women still so poor?

The reality of Korean women can be indirectly confirmed through the 밪tudy into the national mentality on the life and work of Korean women? There were differences depending on marital status and between two genders, but to the question asking why women work, the answer to top the ranks was 뱓o contribute to the household income? 밄urden of balancing housework and employment?was named to be the biggest difficulty in a woman뭩 life, and 밹hildcare and education?was named second. Married women were responsible for 80% of the household chores. Also, although unmarried men still expect women to do all the housework, women felt more discrimination not in the household, but at the workplace. Despite MOGE뭩 publicity and education that the sense of equality has spread, the study shows that the reality of women has not changed and that women are merely bearing through the disadvantageous positions in the labour market. Perhaps the MOGE is trying to remain blind to this reality when it started the 밚et뭩 raise our children together?campaign along with Chosun Ilbo [the most reactionary mainstream newspaper].

There have of course been efforts from the government to tackle the various problems women face. Starting from the latter half of 1980뭩, the Gender Equality Act was passed in 1987 and was revised four times from the first in 1989, the MOGE was inaugurated in 2001, and revisions were made to the Act on Maternity Protection.

The Kim Dae-Jung government, through government change and the economic crisis, actively promoted neoliberal restructuring. Neoliberalism is policy and ideology of the bourgeoisie to counteract the crisis in capital accumulation. Financial globalisation, which is capital뭩 present development strategy, and labour instability form the core of neoliberalism, and the crisis of governance that comes with the crisis in accumulation has brought forth political strategies. The restructuring that has been promoted to overcome the crisis has transferred the costs of the crisis to the socially weak, who are less likely to resist. The Korean family has historically been responsible for all of the welfare of its members and women have been the bearers of the burden. The capitalist system of Korea depended on women뭩 sacrifice for its development.

The more neoliberalism transfers the costs of crisis to the people, the more the household relies on itself for survival. The countermeasure to the present crisis is for all members (especially women) to work not just the men (the patriarch). Women participate in the labour market to compensate for the fallen real wage, and choose part-time or irregular work in order to balance employment with housework. Women do not 멵hoose?part-time jobs because they offer better conditions for women as the MOGE likes to say, but in fact are selling off their labour at sacrificial prices precisely because they have no other choice.

In the light of this situation, the MOGE is actually concealing the poverty and the double burden that women increasingly experience. It is not a matter of the fact that MOGE is not enough. MOGE뭩 policies on maternity protection and childcare may come from the practical needs of women, but they also act as concealment of deadly effects of neoliberalism. Capitalists and the government no longer need to force women to go back home. They demand that women do both wage labour and housework. This is because the restructuring policies that delay further crises are actually only maintainable through the dependence on the ability of women to absorb the costs of crisis.

The crisis of social reproduction 뻧ust women choose the 'most evil good'?

Some might argue that the gender policies of the Kim Dae-Jung government are better than the others, and that the MOGE can improve the quality of women뭩 lives. Although it lacks some refinements, they say, this small change came as a response and acceptance of the government to the demands of the women뭩 movement 뻕nd thus positive assessment of the Kim Dae-Jung뭩 policies seem to be quite broadly accepted.

However, the most tragic position of the MOGE lies not in its individual policies but in its ideology. One simply cannot look at reality with only an half-opened eye. The only role that the MOGE can play right now is to transfer the burden of the present crisis as the responsibility of the household (not just to the housewife, but also to the husband), and to prevent the collapse of the household income by encouraging women to work harder.

If we continue to look only at the validation of Kim Dae-Jjung뭩 gender policies and of the MOGE, we fall into the trap of accommodating the neoliberal logic of division and exclusion. Women뭩 unequal position inside the household and at the workplace comes from the demand of capital. The decrease in the wage gap between women and men do not come from the improved social status of women, but from the decrease in men뭩 wages due to job insecurity. The 멹eminisation of poverty?means that the overall conditions women had to bear are now becoming general for all people. Just as the debate on the maternity protection laws shows [for further information, read PICIS뭩 "Protection of maternity? Undermining of women workers' rights!"], the working conditions of women in general have been undermined, the recipients of the benefits limited, and conflict internalized as a pro-con debate between women. The government witnessed the effects of the policy without having to consider the boundary of the effects. Also, the government뭩 so-called alternative to the problem of childcare has not been the strengthening of social responsibilities of the State and corporations, but promoting more private childcare facilities with better quality service. There has not been a socialization of childcare, but the 멵ommercialization?of it. (The MOGE is, at the moment, looking for exemplary private childcare centers.) And of course, women have to work harder to be able to afford these 몆roducts?

A new change

The tragedy of the women뭩 movement in Korea was the fact that the women뭩 movement had the paradoxical objective of winning the nuclear family system (if we are to connect the struggle of the women뭩 movement for the revision of Family Act with the debate on the nuclear family). Unfortunately, this objective could not be fully attained in the semi-periphery (subjugated to the world economy) where the nuclear family model was simply transplanted without mass consumption. It also acted as one of the major forces in making the women뭩 movement reformist. It is not possible for women, who are participating in a highly unstable labour market, to demand the wages of men and compete with them 뻕s MOGE likes to argue.

We must adopt the dialectics of crisis at this point. The economic crisis brought on by restructuring does not stop at being the transition point of capital accumulation, but becomes the transition point of all social instruments and practices. The attempt of the State to transfer the role of welfare to the household is in fact a strategy to increase the burden of women. Women, as human being with physical limits, cannot have any flexibility in the amount of non-wage labour she can give. The reproductive and maintenance abilities of women can collapse. In particular, Korean families, which are established on top of women뭩 sacrifice, can lead to serious crisis of reproduction. When we say that we must resist neoliberalism, it means we must lend powerless all attempts of the ruling class to over-ride the present crisis, and criticize and convert the structural crisis of the capitalist mode of accumulation. Women뭩 desires are important in this context. Instead of supporting or organizing women so that they can bear the costs of capital development and its crises better, we must be able to criticize the system and convert it.

If we are to assess the workers?movement in this perspective, the fact is that the workers?movement is only retrospectively defending itself. This is merely reproducing the crisis within the workers?movement. As we experienced in the 밨ice, flower, lamb?case, [밯omen who cook rice, flowers of the struggle, sacrificial lambs? a documentary film about how jobs of Hyundai Motors women workers were sacrificed under the collaboration between the management and the trade union to 몊ave the men? Some unionists at the Hyundai Motors union later boycotted the film from being shown at a film festival.] the workers?movement not only made an agreement with the capitalists by sacrificing women workers who tried to defend the front against lay-offs, but also shut the women뭩 mouths and turned a deaf ear to them. To recover from the crisis of the workers?movement, we must face the truth about the essence of the present crisis, and how we are going to form new struggles and fronts that have as their central agendas the demands of women. Making the demands of women our universal demands remains as a task we all must solve.