Women and Globalisation with street girls, mobilising these women for trade union activities. In South Africa, the prob­lem of a growing informal labour market with­out any union organisation has been recognised. This applies to Germany similarly, where the question is given consideration how women, en­gaged in temporary, informal and insignificant working conditions, can effectively be repre­sented by trade unions. Trade unions in Brazil and South Africa con­stitute an important element and stabilising factor of the evolving civil society. In Germany, exactly this civil society seems to turn away from the established structures of the trade unions. New possibilities for trade-union gender activi­ties, as for instance the founding of a"women's trade union" are being repeatedly discussed. The old, institutionalised structures, such as the women's delegates and equal opportunities of­ficers or the regular women's conference of the DGB are perceived as being powerless instru­ments. Trade unions lay stress on different aspects. This is where countries can profit from an exchange. In Brazil trade-union contact with the govern­ment follows a socio-political motivation. Apart from that, the orientation of trade union women is basically an economic one, with a well de­veloped awareness of the globalisation of all economic areas. The South African unions are political trade unions with close links to the government and the political parties. There are persons holding positions in both. The political influence of trade unions promotes the institutionalisation and soundness of gender structures within and outside the trade unions. Brazilian and South African women especially admire the compre­hensive education, training offers and the rich experience of German trade union work. Si­multaneously, they demand the status of gender initiatives be enhanced in the context of trade­union action. Networking and visions Confronting the traditional"old boys' alliances", existing all over the world, with"female net­works" is one thing. However, parallel to the institutionalisation of networks and networking processes, contents and demands have to be de­fined. The traditional working society and the model of the family supported by the sole male breadwinner will not hold for the future. Instead of claiming half of the"mouldy pie"(according to Dr. G. Notz), women should develop a recipe for a different pie- and bake it. This means to demand not just paid work, but meaningful work that secures subsistence, and to talk about working conditions, instead of working hours. The increased intensity and velocity of work have lead throughout the world to a new"fe­male illness", a women-specific burn-out syn­drome. There is not enough research carried out, on the effects new, world-wide applied man­agement techniques bear on women and chil­dren and on their being treated on equal or dif­ferent terms. As a short-term measure, women can unite world-wide in their demand for social minimum standards. In medium-term, they should make use of the opportunities networking offers, in order to develop visions that take into account the interests of all countries and thus prevent that they be taken advantage of, by putting up countries and regions against each other. Women have to retain the power of definition, within and outside the unions- regarding the value of different occupations and the equal distribution of paid labour among the sexes. 24