Peasant production, proletarianization, and the sexual division of labor in the Andes
Deere, C.D.; Leon de Leal, M.
Women and development The sexual division of labor in rural societies: 65-94
1983
Document Number: 384072
The chapter demonstrates the importance of taking into account material conditions in analyzing the sexual division of labour in productive activities by considering the process of development in three Andean regions. An analysis is made of the effect of uneven development across these regions and of the process of social differentiation internal to each region on the sexual division of labour in peasant agricultural production and wage employment. It is argued that an analysis of economic factors must be taken into account to explain the variation in the sexual division of labour within productive activities and between productive and reproductive activities. It illustrates the manner in which the sexual division of labour in production tends to build upon women's subordinated position in the sphere of reproduction. The three regions of the Andes studied - Garcia Rovira and El Espinal in Colombia and Cajamarca in Peru - illustrate the uneven development of capitalism in Andean agriculture.