Women's friendships under urbanization: A Malaysian study

One of the less visible but often serious adaptations for women under urbanization is finding support in the form of friendships with other women. This paper draws on fieldwork by the author to consider the friendship issue for a sample of white-collar women in urban Malaysia and, in particular, to address the questions: How do white-collar women make friendships with other women in the city? How are the friendships maintained? How do the friendships contribute to women's successful survival in the city? Given ethnicity as a generally important influence on the lives of urban Malaysians, some particular attention is paid differences in friendship experience according to ethnic background, but it is also suggested that occupation makes a difference, that the friendship experience of white-collar women differs in important respects from that of women in other occupations.