Gender, Information Technology and Health: The Case of Women Workers in Export Zones in the Philippines (Report‪)‬

Abstract This study tried to look into the intricate relationship between work, gender, health and technology in the micro-organizations and in the context of a globalized economy. The study also showed that technology has intensified work as evident in the results of focus group discussions. The need to cope with the pace of the machines was implicated in the experience and perception of health among workers. The new work arrangements, organizational structure and new technological applications were seen in the study to produce new hazards and new illnesses. The characteristics now of the new workplace are: information technology intensive work, fast pace of work, the need for upskilling, burnout, chronic sleep debt, superspeed communications, new forms of illnesses that could not be differentiated such as new cancers and allergies, ergonomic problems, information overload, coexistence of old and new exposures and risks, epidemic of persistent fatigue, and chronic illnesses. This is based on the 21 focus group discussions among women, and a survey questionnaire of 630 women from a list of 23 establishments in the electronics and garment industries in export zones. The study has shown that with the growing internationalization of work and economies of nation states women's labour and global capital have an impact on gender and class dynamics at work, workplace construction of femininities and masculinities, and social production of ill-ness in technology driven industries.