Women have always been engaged in the economy by their work of social reproduction, and in family enterprises, such as agriculture, as well as in the formal economy and the informal economy. With the current revival of human trafficking, the modern form of slavery, primarily women and children are caught up in the illegal economy.

Global economic integration through trade, financial liberalization and advance of technology has brought more women into the formal, informal and illegal economies, however, while women are engaged in all parts of the economy by and large they are not the prime beneficiaries of their work.

New Resources

• Women in the Food Supply Chain (Maria Riley, OP - 2006)

Agriculture is central to women and women are central to agriculture as producers, processors, retailers in the cash economy and as consumers in their role of social reproduction in the care economy. This power point presentation examines the multiple ways women interact with the food supply chain.

• The Economic and Social Context of Human Trafficking (Maria Riley, OP - 2007)

Human Trafficking, the current form of modern slavery, has escalated in the recent decade. According to UN statistics, over 2.4 million persons are trafficked a year in an illegal industry that reaps from $7 to $10million dollars annually, third only to the illegal trade in drugs and in arms. The illegal trade in human beings is both facilitated and driven by the effects of globalization economic integration and the continuing dominance of the system of patriarchy throughout the world. This power point examines the push/pull factors of trafficking and migration which brings many people into both forced economic labor and forced sexual labor.