Social outsourcing means the contracting out of goods or services to social enterprises. When used by government, it can be seen as a hybrid of the workfare outsourcing found in wage employment schemes, and the commercial outsourcing of government activities to the private sector. This paper focuses on a social outsourcing initiative operated by the government of Kerala State, India. Part of this outsources information technology (IT) services to dozens of cooperatives of women from below-poverty-line families. Interview and case study research was undertaken to assess the impacts of this initiative on five areas of livelihood assets-financial, human, physical, social and political capital. This scheme has Keralan specificities and research shows that social outsourcing may introduce vulnerabilities and questions of sustainability. Overall, though, this paper suggests that social outsourcing has the potential to deliver developmental benefits to marginalised groups. It is therefore worthy of greater attention from international development agencies and governments in developing countries. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

In this paper we examine the effect of career breaks on the working lives of women using survey data from the state of Queensland in Australia. After estimating the income penalty faced by women with career interruptions -according to the duration of, and reasons for, the interruptions -we seek to address a wider set of issues regarding: patterns of job change and income gains or losses related to job change; determinants of career re-entry plans; and satisfaction with hours worked. As women increasingly combine motherhood and employment, they face both penalties and costs, particularly if they have taken a career break in order to care for their young. This general labor market failure that penalizes motherhood should be addressed by relevant measures related to their income, working hours and the type and status of employment particularly on their reentry into employment after a child related career break.

The impact of information and communication technologies (ICTs) on development largely depends on the existing economic, social and cultural fabric into which they are introduced. This can be seen in the case of Kerala in India, which has been implementing an ICT-based strategy that particularly seeks to create growth and employment through software production. A gendered perspective on software production shows that ICTs create opportunities for women. However, they also reproduce gender inequalities seen in the broader fabric of society. ICT policies must therefore take account of the gendered roles, norms and practices that affect both labour markets and households because these, in turn, affect both the outcome and sustainability of ICT-based development. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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