Concepts of emotion and emotional labour have largely been defined in European and American terms and according to Euro-American sensibilities with little attention given to the question of whether emotional work or emotional labour is different globally. In particular little has been written about the issue of what defines emotions and emotional labour in public work contexts and how it is configured in different cultural contexts. Gender, Emotions and Labour Markets considers how, and in what ways, emotional labour characterises formal and informal work environments in both Asia and the West. Key themes covered include: human rights issues and gender equity in formal and informal work contexts in Asia and the West; men, masculinity and emotional labour; impact on the work-life balance of professional women in Asian and Western contexts; the impact of the 'feminization of migration' in servicing high-end economic professionals; the impact of the new economy, organizational constraints on labour markets; and demographic patterns such as fertility, procreation, marriage, divorce in both Asian and Western contexts.

List of Tables Acknowledgements Introduction: Contemporary Theorizing on Emotions and Emotional Labour - Ann Brooks; Social and Cultural Context of Gender in Asia - Theresa Devasahayam 1. Globalization, Labour Force Participation and the Gender Gap - Theresa Devasahayam 2. Changing Patterns of Caregiving and Emotional Labour in Asia - Theresa Devasahayam and Ann Brooks 3. Globalization, the 'Feminization of Migration' and Emotional Labour - Theresa Devasahayam 4. Human Rights and Female Migrant Labour in Asia - Theresa Devasahayam 5. Women Executives and Emotional Labour: The Work-Life Balance of Professional Women in the Asia-Pacific and the U.S. - Ann Brooks 6. Servicing High-End Professional Migrant and Local Populations: Female Migrant Labour as a Transnational Community - Ann Brooks 7. Men Masculinity and Emotional Labour - Ann Brooks Conclusion - Ann Brooks Bibliography