Women Workers in Multinational Corporations: The Case of the Electronics Industry in Malaysia and Singapore

Abstract

This chapter examines the demand and supply factors leading to the development of offshore sourcing industries with particular reference to their present and future activities in Malaysia and Singapore. It analyzes the labor practices of these multinationals and how they exploit certain characteristics of women workers for profit maximization. The chapter discusses the interaction between multinational activities and culture. It also discusses some of the theoretical issues and implications arising from the empirical study of women's labor in offshore sourcing industries. The electronics industry is perhaps the classic example of an industry which has used offshore sourcing extensively. The electronics industry combines high technology with unskilled labor-intensive processes. Offshore manufacturing industries which cater to foreign export markets where consumer and industrial demands fluctuate with the business cycle tend to be highly unstable. Export-oriented manufacturing industries like electronics have a unstable pattern of unemployment, high labor turnover, and periodic layoffs, all of which serve to keep the average wage levels low.

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