Challenging patriarchy in the transnational floriculture industry: Household economics, identity, and gender in Colombia

Colombia produces fresh-cut flowers for export. Today, 95 percent of its production is shipped to wealthier nations. Women constitute 70 percent of Colombia's floriculture workforce, a percentage similar to those of other global assembly line industries. This study employs theoretical frameworks from two main research areas. The first is the literature on global assembly lines which includes political economy, ethnography, and development studies. The second is the literature on household economics, including ethnography, economic anthropology, and feminist economics. This research challenges the current consensus that transnational assembly line industries reinforce patriarchal relations of production. This research demonstrates that the floriculture industry in Colombia actually facilitates the breakdown of patriarchal structures, particularly, the reproductive ones. By giving women a secure and permanent source of employment that provides a steady income, women are allowed to change the patterns of decision-making inside the household, on matters ranging from purchases to family planning. In addition, women are changing the social structure of households and as a result are either opting out of the household bargaining process or using their leverage in order to acquire more equality within their households.