Introduction: Feminism and Globalization: The Impact of the Global Economy on Women and Theory

Each year the Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies sponsors a major symposium. This article is an introduction and summary of papers presented at this years symposium Feminism and Globalization: the impact of the Global Economy on Women and Feminist Theory. A number of important questions gave rise to this topic. One set of questions addressed the economic, legal and political status of women in the emerging global economy. Another set of questions emerged from feminist debates about equality and difference. In addition to questions involving the impact of the global economy on women, the ways in which feminist theory might respond to these changes around the world were addressed. The papers in this conference addressed these and other important related themes and questions. The three lead papers were by Professors Saskia Sassen, Zillah Eisenstein and Aihwa Ong –each of them major theorists at intersections of economy, democracy, and feminism. Summaries of each of these papers are included in this introduction.