Female Employment and the Social Reproduction of the Puerto Rican Working Class 1

Abstract

This article assesses the contribution women make to the social reproduction of working class families in Puerto Rico, a society which has undergone rapid industrialization, migration and urbanization in the period since 1940. The first part of this paper will attempt to explain this phenomenon through an analysis of the role of women in the industrialization process in Puerto Rico. In the second part we shall move to a micro-level of analysis in order to understand the impact which women's earnings have on the household economy. Both levels of analysis are necessary if we are to understand the role of women in the social reproduction of working class families in a developing society like Puerto Rico.