Institute for Money, Technology & Financial Inclusion

Final Report/Synopsis of Research Results: This paper explores the relationship between modernity and gender in a traditional society, using as a case the informal storing of money among indigenous populations in the Philippines. It examines 1) gender as the interface between tradition and modernity; 2) money as the interface between tradition and modernity; and 3) money as the interface between men and women. In particular, the paper examines the ways modernity reshapes and reworks gender relations by looking at informal money storage which provides evidence of rationality and individualism that are characteristics of modernity; and also indications of tradition such as the house as a site of storage, and relationships and livestock as forms of money. In addition, this study examines money storage as a social process whereby modernity and tradition are inherently intertwined and gendered. Finally, the paper investigates gender as a class and a site of bargaining observed in the ways men and women store their money, where relations can be harmonious or antagonistic inasmuch as men and women share or conceal money from each other to protect their gendered interests in the family.