Out Now in My Asian Arguments Series – Thailand’s Hidden Workforce

The latest book in the series, Asian Arguments, that I edit for Zed Books is now available in paperback. It’s an interesting study of a little known group of migratory women workers moving from Burma to Northern Thailand’s manufacturing areas…

Thailand’s Hidden Workforce: Burmese Migrant Women Factory Workers – Asian Arguments

Ruth Pearson and Kyoko Kusakabe

Millions of Burmese women migrate into Thailand each year to form the basis of the Thai agricultural and manufacturing workforce. Un-documented and unregulated, this army of migrant workers constitutes the ultimate “disposable” labour force, enduring grueling working conditions and much aggression from the Thai police and immigration authorities. This insightful book ventures into a part of the global economy rarely witnessed by Western observers. Based on unique empirical research, it provides the reader with a gendered account of the role of women migrant workers in Thailand’s factories and interrogates the ways in which they strategize about their families and their futures.

‘The authors give a voice to a part of Thailand’s workforce invisible to many Thais, and to consumers across Asia and around the world who buy the cheap goods they produce. That voice is authentic, and paired with sound analysis of the issues raised.’
Chris Hogg, correspondent BBC Asia, Shanghai

‘The labels on your clothes do not say ‘Made by Burmese migrant women in Thailand’, but once you have read this book you will carry that information with you. Many thanks to the authors for exposing these conditions.’
Jackie Pollock, director, MAP Foundation, Thailand

‘This book reveals the hidden face of Thailand’s industrial and migration policies by giving visibility and voice to Burmese female migrants employed in the country’s ready-made garment and knitwear factories. The authors shine the spotlight, not only on the women’s work experiences on the factory floor, but also on the way they juggle care responsibilities for their children. It is a compelling story about ordinary women making hard decisions under precarious conditions as they live transborder lives.’
Professor Brenda Yeoh, National University of Singapore

About the Authors:

Ruth Pearson is Professor of International Development at the University of Leeds, UK. She has undertaken research on women’s work in the global economy, focusing recently on migrant workers and gendered globalisation, and has carried out empirical work in Latin America, including Mexico, Argentina, Bolivia and Cuba, as well as in Thailand and Europe. She has a particular interest in the intersections of women’s productive and reproductive roles and their implications for understanding globalisation and crisis in the contemporary economy.

Kyoko Kusakabe is Associate Professor of Gender and Development Studies in the School of Environment, Resources and Development at the Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand. Her research interests are centred on gendered mobility and migration in the Greater Mekong Subregion and the effect of regional economic integration on women’s work and employment. She has undertaken empirical work in Thailand, Laos and Cambodia and has a special interest in women and transborder trade.