Exploring Gender Divisions In A Community Currency System: The Case Of The Barter Network In Argentina

Abstract

This article aims to explore the ways in which Community Currency Schemes (CCS), as markets, are permeated by other influential social orders, in this case that of gender. The paper therefore looks at the way in which gender structures may be reproduced or reflected in these kinds of markets and how they sometimes acquire certain features depending on the CCS in question. The paper is based on a particular case study, the Argentine experience with a CCS – known as the ‘Barter Network’ – and is structured around three main issues. The first analytical section deals with a characteristic of the Barter Network shared by many other CCS: the preponderance of female (or the scarcity of male) participants. Thus, the reasons for the gender composition of the Barter Network are examined. The second section explores the way in which, through its development, this CCS generated its own gendered structures. Hence, the dynamics of certain trade practices which imply differential returns for men and women are examined. Finally, the article considers the degree of empowerment that participation in this sphere may have implied for female participants.