Women and Globalisation inequity results in differences between female and male workers. Women receive lower pay and they are subject to worse working condi­tions. Single mothers and their families are ex­posed to the most precarious living conditions. The country has undergone profound demo­graphic, cultural and social changes, regarding both the age structure and the family structure. In the last two decades the fertility rate has dropped and subsequently the number of chil­dren has declined. The growing number of women as head of family, due to the increasing number of widows, divorcees and new forms of cohabitation, have contributed to the trend to­wards smaller families as well. Simultaneously, the general level of schooling has increased, and i n particular the education of women. In this context, new cultural values are emerging, re­garding the role of women in the Brazilian so­ciety, bearing an important impact on the grow­ing participation of women in the labour mar­ket. Nevertheless, this increased participation of women is characterised rather by strengthening than changing the traditional structures. Between 1985 and 1995, the employment of women increased by 3.68%, compared to a to­tal increase of 2.37%. This figure clearly re­veals that the integration of women was more dynamic, especially in the sectors of commerce (9.9%) and public administration(12.98%). Women remain concentrated in a reduced range of occupations: as domestic servants, agricul­tural workers, saleswomen, nurses, bank clerks, in the health sector and the textile, clothing and electronic industries. Nearly 80% of employed women work in these areas, i.e. they can be found above all in the services sectors. Further­more, women have been predominantly present in the informal and unprotected segment of the labour market, e.g. in unregistered domestic work, in unpaid work in their own family or in homework. It has to be stressed that domestic work was considered as being economically in­4 On average, the female workers in Brazil have a higher l evel of schooling than men. In 1995, almost 25% of fe­male workers had attended school for 1l years, whereas the rate among men was only 17%. active, although it kept a lot of women occu­pied. In the formal sector, women workers are pro­tected by legislation that safeguards a mini­mum of important social rights, such as mater­nity leave, access to nursery-schools, breaks for breast-feeding, etc.. In this setting, inequality between female and male workers can be as­sessed from two different points of view. On the one hand, the sexual division of the labour mar­ket leaves few jobs for women to chose from and handicaps their access to higher ranking or executive positions, and thus to power and good salaries. On the other hand, there is a gap be­tween female and male pay in every position. On average, women's earnings in 1995 were 55% lower than male income. In this period the profile of the female work­force has changed as well. Whereas at the end of the 1970s, the majority of women workers were young, single and had no children, today they are older on average, marred and mothers. The age factor is rather relevant: in 1995, the rate of employment among women between the age of 30 and 39 was highest and accounted for 66%, in the age bracket of 40 to 49 more than 63% are economically active. These figures can be analysed from the perspective of redefining the concept of work. Nevertheless, women are confronted with a va­riety of problems in the working environment and labour relations: discrimination(implicit and explicit) against married women and mothers regarding recruitment, e.g. by demanding preg­nancy tests as a prerequisite for getting a job; sexual abuse or discrimination by the boss, su­pervisors or others; sexual harassment; sanc­tions due to absences or to being late for work resulting from child care duties; adverse envi­ronmental or health conditions; repetitive or hard work and so on. Motherhood constitutes another important as­pect, as women continue to be responsible for the household and family. The integration of women into the labour market is hampered by their responsibility for informal education and 10