Mortgaging Women's Lives: Feminist Critiques of Structural Adjustment

by Pamela Sparr

This book explores the impact on Third World women of the stringent economic prescriptions of the World Bank and IMF. Introductory chapters explain in non-jargonistic terms exactly what structural adjustment is. These are followed by feminist critiques of its implications, and then a series of carefully chosen case studies examining the specific dimensions of structural adjustment in countries as diverse as Jamaica, Ghana, Nigeria, Egypt, Turkey, Sri Lanka and the Philippines.

224 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1993

About the author

Pamela Sparr works to cultivate UUSC’s relationship with individual activists and congregations as well as grow its activist base. As associate director for UUSC’s Justice-Building Program, she leads the development of campaigns to support UUSC’s programs, spearheads advocacy and engagement opportunities for volunteers of all ages, and mobilizes ministers and congregations to advance justice.

Sparr has run a consulting business that helped nonprofits conduct strategic planning, develop and implement new programs and campaigns, and engage constituents in more powerful ways. Her work included advising the Ford Foundation and international development organizations on anti-poverty strategies, conducting a gender audit of worldwide operations for the AFL-CIO’s Solidarity Center, and leading a national advisory group that worked on a justice-oriented sustainability road map for U.S. cities and towns. Sparr holds a bachelor’s degree in economics and government from Oberlin College and a master’s degree in economics from the New School for Social Research.