Hong Kong Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences, The University of Hong Kong

We are now in the midst of what has been called a global “chip war” with China, the United States, and Taiwan considered to be the major players. This situation is the result of the globalization within the semiconductor industry that began in the 1960s. Southeast Asia was a major site for such outsourcing by US firms such as Fairchild Semiconductor, Hewlett Packard, and General Electric. This paper examines some of the local effects of the electronics and semiconductor industries in Singapore. In particular, it examines the effects of these industries on gender norms and family life in the newly independent city state. By examining the forms of labour and patterns of development associated with early semiconductor outsourcing, the paper aims to shed light on the long-term cultural and geopolitical effects of globalization within the chip industry.