Kate Andrias (2003), "Gender, Work, and the NAFTA Labor Side Agreement", University of San Francisco Law Review, 37 (3) : 521-562

This article examines the relationship between gender, work and the North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation (NAALC), a side agreement to NAFTA that sets forth eleven labor principles and requires the three signatory governments (USA, Mexico, Canada) to enforce their own labor laws. Part II details the connection between gender and economic globalization and argues that labor rights and women’s equality cannot be separated, nor can they be viewed as solely local problems requiring domestic solutions. Part III analyzes the public debate surrounding the passage of NAALC, noting that gender was largely missing from the public discourse. Part IV examines NAALC through a gender lens and finds that although NAALC has expressive value, NAFTA ultimately privileges free trade over workers’ rights, resulting in particular deleterious consequences for women. Part V argues that while NAALC is flawed as an instrument for protecting the rights of women workers, it is critical that those concerned about equality not abandon efforts at creating new labor rights agreements and improving provisions such as NAALC.
texte disponible à l’adresse suivante