It is a common sight in Bangkok to see women working—as food and vegetable vendors, factory and construction workers, shopkeepers, sales assistants or bus conductresses. In the countryside, on the other hand, they tend to work as rice farmers and agricultural labourers. To support themselves and their families at home, many of the less educated women seek jobs abroad as maids, mail-order brides or prostitutes. The high visibility of Thai women and their high level of participation in the labour force, however, does not imply autonomy. The modern cash economy, introduced in 1855 with the signing of the Bowring Treaty, together with contemporary socio-political factors have undermined their control over their own lives, especially among the majority of poor urban and rural women. Their work, particularly in the casual sector, which includes jobs such as bazaar trade, self-employed vendors and farm workers, have been increasingly undervalued. Poor working women today are struggling to survive in a hostile urban environment.

Development processes, like capitalism, assume different structures depending on the historical, political and social context of the country in which they originate. An attempt is made in this chapter to discuss the structure of economic development in Thailand, the shape it. assumed in social/class and regional terms, and the effects it has had on women. This chapter shows that political institutions such as the monarchy and the state, and cultural institutions such as the kinship system and religion define the status of women differently and relegate them to varying degrees of power and autonomy. Due to politico-historical reasons, poor rural women are at a severe disadvantage in terms of education, health and employment. They suffer physically and are forced to take low-paying jobs to survive, in addition to supporting their families.