How has globalization worked for women working on the frontlines of neoliberalism on the Mexico-US border? This critical comparison of socially similar women, working either in export production industries or in small-scale commerce and low-level services in Ciudad Juárez, reveals how export factory work constrains women's empowerment at home - as well as the wages they earn and the well-being of their households. It challenges neoliberal notions of "empowering" women to work for market growth, and analyzes women's empowerment as gender democracy to counter neoliberal globalization touching down in the lives of ordinary working women.

Gay Young is Associate Professor of Sociology at American University, and was Director of AU's Program in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies for eight years.

Introduction 1. Political Economy of Globalization and Its Alternatives: A Gendered Analysis 2. Mexico's Neoliberal Political Economy - In Place in Ciudad Juárez 3. Analyzing Mexican Women's Work and Empowerment in the Household Setting 4. Strategizing for Household Survival 5. Engaging in Feminized Work 6. Claiming Empowerment at Home. Conclusion. Appendix: Cuestionario - Las Mujeres y el Trabajo en Ciudad Juárez.