Preface The present documentation results from the workshop"Women and Globalisation", held from September 20 to 24.09.1999 in the Edu­cational Centre of the DGB', Hattingen. The organisers, the DGB Bildungswerk/Nord-Süd­Netzwerk 2 and the Friedrich Ebert Foundation invited female union representatives from Bra­zil, Germany and South Africa. As part of a se­ries, giving unionists the opportunity to tackle the different aspects of globalisation, women were supposed to be provided with a forum of their own. The workshop addressed three groups of prob­lems: • Mostly, globalisation is discussed on a purely economic basis, ignoring gender. Specific interests of women are not focused on. • The workers affected and their organisations, the trade unions, exercise little influence on the shaping of the public opinion, but also the discussion within the trade unions does not take women into account sufficiently. • The debate on globalisation as an interna­tional phenomenon is not global enough and is basically oriented to its implications for each individual country. In the run-up to the workshop, the participants worked in preparation groups on the issue of globalisation with regard to its national impact. The purpose of the joint seminar was then to identify to what extent women suffer from the same consequences globally, to work out a com­mon understanding of globalisation from a fe­male point of view and to take a first step in di­rection of a world-wide women's network. Aiming at the empowerment of women in the process of globalisation, strategies and con­cepts were to be developed that allow for the setting up of a network beyond all linguistic and cultural barriers. The documentation is an element of the sus­tained network and is therefore translated into Portuguese and English. It contains the most important contributions from the countries in­volved and the results of the joint discussion. It makes them thus available for future use and for women from the three countries that could not take part in the workshop. The problems discussed in the workshop are, however, of importance beyond the participating countries. Therefore, the documentation, that addresses all those interested in the specific countries and subjects, is meant to be a contri­bution to an intercultural and gender-oriented approach in the globalisation debate. I DGB = German Confederation of Trade Unions. 2 Institute for Further Education and Training/North-South­Network. 4