This thesis analyzes the effects of flower employment in women from the

indigenous descendant comuna Mulauco, located near Quito, the Ecuadorian capital.

Although Comuna Mulauco has been rapidly influenced by Ecuadorian mainstream

culture, its members still retain some features of the Andean traditional culture

background, particularly in gender relations (Chapter 2).

 Through the vignettes of Teresa, Maria, and Zoila, are representative characters of

the single, married, and single mother women flower workers interviewed for this thesis,

I have explored the impacts that flower employment has produced upon women. I have

considered three realms of impacts on women: personal, family, and community. I have

used the "women's empowerment" framework to establish the elements that could define

a positive effect of employment on women. The elements to define women's

empowerment were determined as income, career opportunities, social networks,

knowledge, stability, and social security.

Empowerment / Disempowerment

 Income, career opportunities, social networks, knowledge, stability, and social

security are among the elements that define empowerment in women in Mulauco's

reality. Through these elements women are more likely to overcome gender inequalities.

As described below, based on the information gathered, not all of these elements are

present in female flower employment relations. In some cases, these elements not only

do not provide empowerment, but cause disempowerment. Moreover, women workers

are additionally affected by flower employment, especially in terms of health, which

could mean a permanent form of disempowerment for them.