Women and Globalisation child health care, especially when the earned in­come is not sufficient for covering the costs of private institutions. The lack of social facilities, such as nursery schools, makes the burden of motherhood for women workers all the more harder to carry. The public services that are supposed to guar­antee equal opportunities for citizens, are mov­ing into the opposite direction. The precarious health services and the education facilities create even more difficulties for women who are usu­ally responsible for childcare and nursing the sick and elderly. This includes also the field of personal health care. This field is also of im­portance in this context, as there is an increas­ing number of problems affecting women spe­cifically, due to a lack of adequate treatment, information and prevention: breast cancer, can­cer of the cervix, sexually transmitted diseases, HIV, as well as a high rate of sterilisation and the consequences of illegal abortion. Despite the increasing number of women enter­ing the labour market, their participation in oc­cupational representation is still very limited: in 1995 women accounted for only 1/3 of the trade union members. The highest rates of fe­male unionisation can be observed in the agri­cultural sector(18% of the 3.8 Mio. union mem­bers) and the so-called social sector(34%). In this last area, teachers and employees in health services have, among others, a significant in­fluence. Globalisation has placed whole regions of the planet in a terrible situation where social exclu­sion, unemployment and permanent attacks against social and workers' rights predominate. The discrimination against women is one of the most dramatic consequences of this process. The cuts in public spending for social services on the basis of the structural adjustment pro­grammes have aggravated their exclusion. The situation affects internationally women and men workers directly, due to the changes in produc­tion and the flexibilisation of working relations. Nevertheless, the consequences women suffer are more severe. They are forced into the infor­mal labour market, into homework and part­time labour. Their hours of work are constantly increasing because of the necessity to recon­ciliate paid labour, household duties and child care. To our minds, this situation reveals similarities between Brazil, Germany and Africa, especially with regard to the following aspects: • Different pay in comparison with men • Double burden on women • Affirmative action(in German law and Bra­zilian legislation) • Sexual division of labour: female and male occupations, with the work performed by men and by women enjoying a different social status • Discrimination against women restricting the access to jobs and positions, especially to those with a higher degree of responsibility and decision-making power, better remunera­tion and career prospects Nonetheless, we believe that the following dif­ferences exist: • Observance of legislation that is intended to guarantee equal opportunities • In Germany, women have better possibilities of safeguarding their civil rights than in Bra­zil, and, to our minds, in Africa as well. Text written by the Comissão Nacional sobre a Mulher Trabalhadora(National Commission for Women Workers) of the CUT, Brasil in August 1999 to be presented in the seminar"Women and Globalisation", organised by the DGB and FEF, with the participation of the CUT/Brazil, Cosatu/South Africa and DGB/Germany. We especially thank Vera Soares for her valuable co-operation. I1