Abstract: This research is a study of the stories shared by eight women from ethnic minorities, who tell about the causes for their decision to go to work in a factory in the city of Vientiane. The research found that the voices of the eight women point out that the issues in the process of looking for work come from pressure of various types. They include the reproduction of patterns of responsibility for the family in their position as women, changes of agricultural methods towards monocultures, which cause changes in planting methods, lack of male work force in the agricultural sector, problems due to government projects on land management, which do not suit their original cultural characteristics and that working in the agricultural sector does not offer attractive attributes for the perspective of being a “modern woman”. These stories portray Laos’ economic development policies, which originated in the new mechanism era. What is clearly shown is that the policies widely affect the population in various areas and reach beyond work related changes. The term “Sao rong ngan” (young female factory worker) for the large number of ethnic minority women from the countryside, who go to work in factories in Laos is a designation that is defined in a negative sense. It shows that government policies and new liberal capitalism lead to inequalities in the development of cities compared to the countryside, including infrastructure and human resources development.
Keywords: Indigenous Women, New Mechanism Era of Lao PDR, Capitalism, Women Labor, Modernization.
Title: Becoming a Female factory worker: The Choice of Indigenous Women in the New Mechanism Era of Lao PDR.
Author: Haruethai Buakhiao
International Journal of Social Science and Humanities Research
ISSN 2348-3156 (Print), ISSN 2348-3164 (online)
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