Cambridge University Press Gender, Law and Justice in a Global Market (Law in Context)

Theories of gender justice in the twenty-first century must engage with global economic and social processes. Using concepts from economic analysis associated with global commodity chains and feminist ethics of care, Ann Stewart considers the way in which 'gender contracts' relating to work and care contribute to gender inequalities worldwide. She explores how economies in the global north stimulate desires and create deficits in care and belonging which are met through transnational movements and traces the way in which transnational economic processes, discourses of rights and care create relationships between global south and north. African women produce fruit and flowers for European consumption; body workers migrate to meet deficits in 'affect' through provision of care and sex; British-Asian families seek belonging through transnational marriages. Review 'In this important new work drawing on insights from law and regulation, political economy and feminist theory, Ann Stewart urges us to think about global gender inequalities not from the perspective of women's rights, but from the perspective of care and social reproduction.' Professor Rosemary Hunter, Kent Law School, University of Kent'This elegant and profound work - emerging out of a lifetime of scholarly and solidarity engagement - exemplifies many a virtue of what Max Horkheimer named once named as 'interdisciplinary materialism'. Foregrounding the global social (re)production of women's vulnerabilities via the frameworks of global 'commodity' and 'care' chains stands accompanied by a steadfast, though anxious, normative concern with the ethics of care, justice and human rights. This book enlarges our horizons of critical understanding. It takes women's human sufferings and rights seriously to map a new agendum of transformative politics, by women-in-struggle and the practitioners of 'feminist' theory, that may yet convert historic 'constraints' into future 'opportunities' for collective social action. Ann Stewart writes with dazzling clarity - an inestimable resource for communicative solidarity surcharged with an ethical responsibility for making the world better than one finds it.' Upendra Baxi, Emeritus Professor of Law, University of Warwick and University of Delhi'It is relevant literally right across … from [courses on] feminist theories, through … courses on research methodologies and human rights to … courses on access to land; labour and social security law; women's sexuality and the law; women and the criminal justice system; women's social realities and the law; women, social justice and law reform; gender, masculinities and the law; and … women, commerce and law … Each chapter of this compelling book provides a simple framework for further research and a template for action.' Julie Stewart and Rosalie Katsande, Journal of Law and Society Book Description Considers how law interacts with economic and social processes to create global gender injustices. About the Author Ann Stewart is a Reader in Law and Associate Professor in the School of Law at the University of Warwick, where she specialises in the area of gender and the law, particularly in the context of international development.