(Re)Scaling Gender and Globalization: Livelihood Strategies in Accra, Ghana

Abstract

Feminist analyses of globalization provide important perspectives on the increasing integration of global political, economic, and social processes. This paper focuses on several themes in feminist scholarship that inform our understanding of globalization as a dynamic and contested process in contemporary society. The discussion encompasses an analysis of scale that incorporates the intersection of diverse economic processes from the level of the body to the global arena. This paper also offers feminist insight on spaces of resistance that have formed alongside neoliberal globalization. The empirical component of this analysis draws from research conducted in the West African nation of Ghana, where externally-driven neoliberal reforms have been instituted for decades with significant implications for livelihood strategies. Specifically, the study focuses on how gender shapes the connections between these global processes and local economic strategies. The conclusion outlines the possibilities for collective resistance to neoliberal globalization that engages social networks, utilizes household resources, and reframes the market-based parameters of capitalist production.