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Book Cover
E-book
Author Casanova, Erynn Masi de, 1977-

Title Making up the difference : women, beauty, and direct selling in Ecuador / Erynn Masi de Casanova
Edition 1st ed
Published Austin : University of Texas Press, ©2011

Copies

Description 1 online resource (xix, 239 pages) : illustrations
Series Louann Atkins temple women & culture series ; bk. 25
Louann Atkins Temple women & culture series ; bk. 25
Contents pt. 1. Gender relations : women, men, and work -- pt. 2. The look : images of beauty, professionalism, and success -- pt. 3. Direct selling in context : careers and consumption
Summary Globalization and economic restructuring have decimated formal jobs in developing countries, pushing many women into informal employment such as direct selling of cosmetics, perfume, and other personal care products as a way to "make up the difference" between household income and expenses. In Ecuador, with its persistent economic crisis and few opportunities for financially and personally rewarding work, women increasingly choose direct selling as a way to earn income by activating their social networks. While few women earn the cars and trips that are iconic prizes in the direct selling organization, many use direct selling as part of a set of household survival strategies. n this first in-depth study of a cosmetics direct selling organization in Latin America, Erynn Masi de Casanova explores women's identities as workers, including their juggling of paid work and domestic responsibilities, their ideas about professional appearance, and their strategies for collecting money from customers. Focusing on women who work for the country's leading direct selling organization, she offers fascinating portraits of the everyday lives of women selling personal care products in Ecuador's largest city, Guayaquil. Addressing gender relations (including a look at men's direct and indirect involvement), the importance of image, and the social and economic context of direct selling, Casanova challenges assumptions that this kind of flexible employment resolves women's work/home conflicts and offers an important new perspective on women's work in developing countries
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references (pages 221-228) and index
Notes English
Print version record
Subject Direct selling -- Ecuador
Women -- Employment -- Ecuador
Women -- Ecuador -- Economic conditions
Cosmetics industry -- Ecuador
BUSINESS & ECONOMICS -- Sales & Selling -- General.
BUSINESS & ECONOMICS -- Marketing -- General.
BUSINESS & ECONOMICS -- Commerce.
SOCIAL SCIENCE -- Developing & Emerging Countries.
Cosmetics industry
Direct selling
Women -- Economic conditions
Women -- Employment
Kvinnor -- arbete och arbetsmarknad -- Ecuador.
Hemförsäljning -- Ecuador.
Kosmetik -- Ecuador.
Ecuador
Form Electronic book
ISBN 9780292734838
0292734832