empowerment should be understood in terms applicable to peasant women. In the

interests of this study, I have chosen the following practical aspects as the key elements

for the empowerment of women: job availability, income, career opportunities, social

networks, knowledge, experience, and stability. These elements are generally present in

the job opportunities available to male peasants, and it is thus not unrealistic to assume

that they should be open to women as well.

Are Female Workers from Mulauco Being Empowered by Their Jobs in the Flower
 Industry?

 The question of whether women workers from Mulauco employed as wage labor in

the flower industry are being empowered cannot be answered with a simple yes or no.

As demonstrated below, this case study indicates that the outcomes of this gendered

experience are not homogenous, but, rather, extremely varied, depending on how outside

employment activities are related to household responsibilities. Consequently,

empowerment /disempowerment could be encouraged by employment in flower

plantations in certain aspects of a woman's life, though not necessarily in all the private

and social realms in which she functions.

 According to my data and observations, employment in the flower industry leads to

different impacts for every worker. I suggest three factors that could determine the level

of empowerment / disempowerment that women experience as a result of their

involvement in the flower industry: age, marital status, and the responsibility for children.

These factors, which are not only cultural determinants but also physical limits that

women cannot ignore, are linked with specific roles and responsibilities.

 These physical limits are determined by gender or family relations, that is, the

presence of parents, husband and/or children, who are powerful modifiers of female