Computer-aided Manufacturing and Women’s Employment: The Clothing Industry in Four EC Countries

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xii

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2. Introduction

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-1

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   2. Introduction

      • Swasti Mitter

      Pages 3-17

3. The Context

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 19-19

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   2. Reconfiguration of the Market and the Use of Computerised Technology

      • Jonathan Zeitlin

      Pages 21-34

4. Human-Centred Technology

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 35-35

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   2. On Using Women as Resources: Italian Unions’ Strategies Towards Information Technology and New Organisation of Work

      • Marcella Chiesi

      Pages 37-52

   3. Taylorism or Human-Centred Technology? Evaluating Alternative Paths of Technology in Germany

      • Christa Gebbert

      Pages 53-70

5. Organisational Innovations and the Use of Women’s Tacit Knowledge

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 71-71

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   2. Benetton Italy: Beyond Fordism and Flexible Specialisation. The Evolution of the Network Firm Model

      • Fiorenza Belussi

      Pages 73-91

   3. Homeworking in Italy in the Age of Computer Technology

      • Pauline Conroy Jackson

      Pages 93-101

   4. Pronta Moda: The New Business Ventures for Women in Italy

      • Raffaele Gaeta, Fiorenza Belussi, Swasti Mitter

      Pages 103-106

   5. New Openings for Women in the UK: Design and Craft for Computer-Aided Retailing

      • Sara Bowman

      Pages 107-116

6. At the Margin of New Technology

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 117-117

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   2. Technological Gradualism and Minority Women: A Case Study of the British and German Clothing Industries

      • Annie Phizacklea

      Pages 119-123

   3. An Aspect of Informalisation of Women’s Work in a High-Tech Age: Turkish Sweatshops in the Netherlands

      • Roeland van Geuns

      Pages 125-137

7. New Technology and the Internationalisation of Production

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 139-139

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   2. Technical Developments and Internationalisation of the German Clothing and Knitwear Industry

      • Michael Wortmann

      Pages 141-149

   3. Computer-aided Technology and an Emerging International Division of Labour: Prospects for Women

      • Sybille Raasch

      Pages 151-161

   4. Rationalisation and Internationalisation of Clothing Firms in the Netherlands: The Case of van Winkel Fashions Company in Budel

      • Anneke van Luijken

      Pages 163-165

Drawing on the experiences of four major EC countries, this book documents the way computer technology has changed the pattern of women's work in the manufacturing sector. The sixteen contributors are leading authorities on the subject and analyse how technology has transformed employment in the clothing industry, which is still the major employer of female blue-collar workers in the EC. The contributors assess the aspects of computerisation that particularly affect women's employment opportuni- ties: flexible hours, flexible work locations and flexible specialisation. The book also contains evaluations of post-Fordism and human-centred technology, two leading issues in the debate about the applications of artificial intelligence and computer-aided technology. These essays highlight a growing polarisation in the job market and suggest training schemes which can equip women for technical and managerial employment. This is a pioneering work; so far, most of the literature on women and computerisation has focussed on office automation and data processing. Computer-aided Manufacturing and Women's Employment makes an important contribution to the fields of technology, employment, women's work, business management and trade union studies.

• Altern
• Information Technology (IT)
• Women's studies
• artificial intelligence
• automation
• computer-aided manufacturing
• computer-aided manufacturing (CAM)
• education
• evolution
• intelligence
• manufacturing
• model
• organization
• technology
• women

• Brighton Business School, Brighton Polytechnic, Brighton, UK

  Swasti Mitter

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