Final Essay

Running Head: IMPACT OF GLOBALIZATION ON WOMEN 1

Introduction

Globalization has both benefits and setbacks that impact on the social, political and economic structures. Different studies point that globalization is a feminist issue as it tends to impact on the wellbeing of the female gender (globalization impacts everyone; what makes the impacts on women different?). Currently, there has been positive growth in the number of global shopping destinations and retail stores. They have led to an increase in demand levels for industrial goods leading to an equal increase in the number of workers. However, there are issues relating to workers’ rights, inequalities, and disruption of social structures that can be linked to globalization.

1. Economic Liberalization

One of the impacts is economic liberalization (stop here: define this — what is economic liberalization & how does it relate to globalization? how does this relate to feminism?) that calls for minimal regulations by the government. Most of the goods sold in these stores are in large

IMPAC T OF GLOBALIZATION ON WOMEN 10

cases sourced from other countries where the cost of production is low. An example is the fact that most of the global goods are manufactured in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean regions. The presence of these goods in industrialized countries is a manifestation of the extent of economic globalization across the world.

Workers on these assembly and processing lines are in most cases, women, and children. There is thus a link between globalization and gender as most of the production processes are centered on the female gender (why/how?). Export production is one of the pillars to globalization but has also been found to infringe on the rights of the concerned parties. Many production processes point that workers are in most cases subjected to harsh working conditions (Gökarıksel, 2017). Common causes include low wages, unsafe working conditions, sexual assaults, long working hours and other problems. Globalization thus creates both losers and winners. There is growing stress on the need to adopt free trade with the objecti9ve of allowing the free movement of people and goods.

The setting implies that there will be lower levels of government interventions and also acts as the basis of registering global economic prosperity. There is the argument that the free market has the benefit of bringing prosperity and improvement in the wellbeing of people living in third world countries. However, feminist economics oppose this view (expand on feminist critiques here) and note there is the risk of discrimination (they note much more than a “risk” — their critiques are precisely what you should discuss). In cases of market failure, there is the risk of labor problems and violation of workers’ rights (we don’t need market failure to know that women are jeopardized). Unfettered globalization increases the disparities among the workers

and subjects them to many sufferings. There is thus the call to ensure that there are government regulations in the operations. While there are benefits of Economic liberalization, there is the risk that the dominant forces may violate the rights of women, children, and other vulnerable persons. As noted, this discussion does not adequately define liberalization, show how it relates to globalization or discuss feminist concerns & critiques)

2. Deregulation

Deregulation refers to the elimination or reduction of government control/ power in a specific industry. The objective of the eliminations is to ensure that there is competition among the market players. Under the globalization concept, struggles in deregulation continue to shift market conditions (how is deregulation part of globalization?). In many societies, women are seen as being worse off as compared to men. Globalization has the effect of asserting more pressure on the responsibilities of the female gender (expand & explain). Traditionally, trade and gender have been intertwined (in what ways?). Globalization is often keen on the privatization of operations implying that there is minimal control by the government on the operations (is privatization related to deregulation?).

Currently, there has been the elimination of restrictions on investments/ trade, and improvements in communication systems. The private sector considers the globe as the business field and often violates the policies and rules that are put in place. While the trend contributes to growth in the economic structures, there is the danger that the trend continues to increase inequalities among genders. Different governments are yet to put in place measure to address the inequities (this ignores power imbalances between governments and global capital & the

pressures associated with competition — government power is limited by the context). An example is the fact that the female gender is paid lower wages for the same job description with men (how is this not a continuation of the discussion of trade liberalization? how does this relate to deregulation?). The case is even though women account for the huge portion of workers in factories. However, the female gender is often exposed to many acts of discrimination as evident in the quote “Teen respondents outlined a multitude of experiences that they described as rape culture, including street harassment, rape ‘jokes’ and the policing of their clothing by school administrators, parents, and peers.” (Keller et al. 2018) — this quote is not properly cited, but it also has no relevance to a discussion of globalization.

Nonetheless, without the contribution of the female gender, there are chances that the global economy would lag (why? explain). Although there has been the elimination of restrictions (you haven’t shown this), there has been no setting of social-economic goals, rules, workers' rights, and environmental policies. Moreover, most of the global conferences that have been held in the past have been unsuccessfully in communicating the plight of the female gender (Livingston, 2004) — this is not a substantive use of the reading. There is the central need to identify cases of gender inequalities in the traditional social contexts.

3. Social reproduction/ mothering

The feminist economist notes that globalization has had adverse impacts on the social reproduction/ mothering. Women take a central position in the globalization processes through their role in the industries. The case is evident in the quote “An increasing demand for domestic workers is a response to the changing trends in women’s employment that include a growing

number of working mothers with small children and elderly Parents” (Romero, 2018). The case is unlike the previous settings where women were only seen to take part in social activities. How do course readings define the work associated with social reproduction? Why is this important to a discussion of globalization?

Globalization asserts more pressure on the female gender thus reducing the time that such individuals have with their families. In most cases, women are seen as being mothers and are charged with the role of bringing up children. However, there is a disruption in these duties as the female gender now takes an active position in the economic activities. Globalization requires that all genders would be offered with a platform where they are to take part in social activities (what is the purpose of this paragraph?).

However, this is not the case with many industries are they are painted as being keen on maximizing the profits levels. There are cases where workers have been found to work for long hour with little pay (Romero, 2018). The situation deprives mothers the chance to look after their families or children (this does not accurately reflect the critiques of social reproduction). When compared to men, it is evident that the female gender has a heavier burden as women are required to take care of their families and also take part in economic activities. In a situation where the rights of workers are upheld, there would be an emphasis on the need to reduce the number of hours. In extreme cases, factories are seen to violate on the rights of the workers by subjecting to long working hours, lack of off days and other problems.

Emergence of Transnational Feminist Organizing In Relation to Globalization

While the female gender takes an active role in the coordination of such activities, there is the view that there are paid low wages. It can thus be argued that the female gender is part of

the losers in the globalization activities. The situation is made worse by the fact that the plight of women in third countries is limiting. Unlike female individuals in developed countries, it is worth noting that women in third countries lack access to empowerment opportunities. In other cases, single mothers are forced to shoulder the burden of providing for the families. The low wage levels imply that it is challenging for the affected person to access basic services. On the contrary, they find it challenging to access medicals services and other necessities (how is this paragraph relevant to a discussion of transnational activism?).

The operations by many market players are unethical as they focus only on economic aspects. Other than just maximizing the profit levels, it is expected that the policies used by the factories would deal with environmental and social problems (Romero, 2018) — this is not a good use of this source. However, this is not the case as they are many cases of workers right violation, discrimination, and other vices. Another factor that helps focus on the issues facing the female gender concerns discrimination at workplaces. While globalization was initially viewed as a platform where all genders would economically be empowered, there is the marginalization of one gender.

The trend is evident in the number of senior positions that are occupied by women.

Focusing on the management of many organizations indicates that they are dominated by men.

According to the reports issued by the United Nations, there is higher exploitation of the environment and people in third world countries. Many of the developed countries exploit third world countries for raw materials and cheap labor. Consequently, there has been a rise in the

level of social problems such as diseases and food shortages. Both children and the female gender are seen as being the most affected groups.

Most of the environmental and social problems are linked to free human activities in factories. Before globalization, there was a reduced level of environmental degradation. However, the increase in the demand for goods implies that there is an equal demand in the raw materials. In the case of the non-renewable resources, there are adverse impacts on the environment leading to the loss of biodiversity. It is expected that having controls on the exploitation of such resources would come in handy in ensuring that the welfare of workers is upheld. The models in many factories are based on the imperialist viewpoints where there is a violation of the rights of the involved parties. The lack of the required support services implies that women do not have access to saving platforms.

An increase in the wage levels implies that there is the ability to save and invest some of the incomes. On the other hand, low levels of income mean that there is the risk of increasing the dependency levels. The argument may be used to explain the reason why the poverty level in third world countries is high. While the citizens in these countries play an instrumental role in the industries, it is imperative to mention that most of the benefits are seen to developed countries. The situation is evident in the quote “The chance to have an independent social life also attracts many young women to the city and to work in the maquiladoras” (Livingston, 2004)

An example is the fact that while the Asian countries have for many years provided labor to products for foreign markets, the plight of workers in these regions remains to be wanting. The wage levels are below the recommended level and make it hard to meet the basic needs. The

trend is evident in the quote “Fairey’s rendering of the Muslim woman is based on Ridwan Adhami's iconic photograph of a Muslim American woman swathed in the Stars and Stripes. The headscarf often misread as a symbol of Muslim women's oppression" (Gökarıksel, 2017) This discussion should focus on women’s organizing efforts in the international arena; that doesn’t happen here)

Conclusion

From the provided information, it is evident that globalization has had some benefits, there are also some problems. Feminist economist is of the view that globalization has adverse impacts on the female gender as it leads to exploitation, discrimination, and violation of workers' rights. Focusing on many factories indicates that most of the workers are women. There are often exposed to harsh working conditions and paid low wages. The situation is linked to deregulation and the removal of laws that previously sought to regulate business operations. The lack of these laws implies that the workers are open to exploitation. The long working hours also means that women lack adequate time to spend with their children and families.

Your essay should be framed as an analysis of globalization as a contradictory force in women’s lives. Clarify this focus in your introduction. Define the aspects of globalization that you examine here & explain how these aspects impact women. Your essay must make more substantive use of course readings. It is not clear that you understand or can explain the feminist critiques of globalization. Instead, you seem to rely on your knowledge of economics — in this, you have to be able to show how and why feminists are critical of economic explanation. Finally,

your discussion of women’s organizing does not address the topic. How do our authors discuss women’s organizing through globalization? Clarify.

References

Gökarıksel, B., & Smith, S. (2017). Intersectional feminism beyond US flag hijab and pussy hats in Trump’s America. Gender, Place & Culture, 24(5), 628-644.

Keller, J., Mendes, K., & Ringrose, J. (2018). Speaking ‘unspeakable things’: Documenting digital feminist responses to rape culture. Journal of Gender Studies, 27(1), 22-36.

Livingston, J. (2004). Murder in Juárez: gender, sexual violence, and the global assembly line. Frontiers: A Journal of Women Studies, 59-76.

Romero, M. (2018). Reflections on Globalized Care Chains and Migrant Women Workers. Critical Sociology, 0896920517748497.