Resumen

This research is the second phase of the project Mujeres maquiladoras en Ibagué: trabajo remunerado y economía informal ("Maquila women en Ibagué: paid work and informal economy"), which seeks to ascertain the living and working conditions of maquila women of the informal sector in the city of Ibagué, both in their homes and in maquila workshops, where hard work is evidenced, with piecework payments and without social benefits. In order to analyse specific aspects such as gender relations in the working environment, barriers to access, permanence and promotion of women in the work environment and, especially, feminization of precarious work, a bibliographical review was carried out on topics such as informal economy and gender equity, in order to establish their effects and applications in a clothing industry in Ibagué which looks to confront globalization. Thus, informality is conceived as the way that small and medium-sized enterprises in Tolima’s capital respond to the challenges posed by economic openness and commercial competition. The purpose of this research is to suggest government policies to implement a comprehensive and balanced labor reform, that protects maquila workers and generates development for Tolima's capital in textile sector.