Women, Law and the Global Economy - Professor Elvia Arriola

This is a legal scholarship seminar that will fulfill the 3L writing requirement for students at  NIU College of Law.   Students are introduced to the concepts of globalization of the economy and the arguments for and against free trade, regulation of trade and its impact on women and other vulnerable groups.  There are no prerequisites, although a background knowledge of feminist or women’s studies and critical race theory is helpful.

This course grew out of research conducted by the instructor at the U.S.-Mexico border which examined the law and public policies of foreign trade under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) on the working women, men and children employed by multinational corporations in assembly factories ("maquiladoras"). Aspects of this ongoing work may be viewed on the Women on the Border website (www.womenontheborder.org). under the Articles and Resources link. In a nutshell the critique of unregulated free trade rests on a questioning of the liberalization of corporate activity without regard for the labor and human rights of the workers.

It is often claimed that a high majority of those employed in the global economy are young women and children, while most of the world's poor are also female. This course engages students in discussions about how these realities are created, what role the law and public policy play in it and whether or not lawyers and the law can bring about reform and accountability of the worst abusers in the global economy.