Feminists’on Economic Effects of Globalization Free Essay

Introduction

According to feminists, the economic globalization process has had more negative impacts on women. Essentially, economic globalization refers to the process of global economic integration which began in the late twentieth century. Feminists hold a different perspective regarding the impact of economic globalization. In the feminist perspective, women are affected the most by the economic globalization more than men. Therefore, feminist philosophers argue that economic globalization needs to be understood concerning the impacts it has on women, making up the disproportionate percentage of the global poor (Griffin, 2015). In other words, postcolonial feminist conditions like exploitation, economic inequalities as well as gender marginalization have been propelled by globalization. Feminists also strongly claim that globalization generally favors men over women. They tend to agree that women are mostly affected negatively by globalization. Feminists hold that instead of globalization providing a better environment for men and improving their condition, it has emerged to be a hostile system for women propagating ethnocentrism and sexism (Eisenstein, 2015). With regards to the feminist view on economic globalization, this paper argues that women are disproportionally and negatively affected by economic globalization.

Arguments for

Economic inequalities caused by Neoliberal policies

According to feminists, they hold that neoliberal policies have propagated drastic economic inequalities globally. They argue that neoliberal policies have increased and strengthen inequalities based on gender, race, class and also nationality (McAfee, 2018). Noteworthy, they argue that the neoliberal policies for particular women groups have rendered them to be disparate and mostly tend to be disproportionately burdensome. In our society, women are disregarded and excluded in the formation process of the neoliberal policies. 

Low wages due to free trade liberalization

Free trade policies have received a lot of criticism, especially from feminists. They openly argue that free trade liberalization has led to the significant shift of manufacturing jobs paying well to low wages. Globalization has resulted in low wages, and women are the most affected. Globalization has transformed the means of communication and also the means of transport. People can now easily interact and move from one place to another. Consequentially, most organizations have sought to practice job outsourcing from other countries whey they get cheap labor with minimal and favorable working conditions (McAfee, 2018). Globalization has made companies be flexible in choosing their location for operation and choosing employees. When companies seek to outsource employees from other countries, the local workers who were depending on well-paying manufacturing jobs end up being unable to make a living on their own. Women have a tendency of being increasingly vulnerable to such consequences. In the family and society, women play a big role. Therefore, in situations like this, they get overburdened. Because of globalization, most of the jobs have been substantially replaced by conditional and part-time jobs, which seem to have low wages and lack retirement benefits. Women tend to need more health attention as compared to men. So, the introduction of part-time jobs lacking medical insurance and characterized by low wages places women at risk (Eisenstein, 2015). Today, women have broader responsibilities and playing low wages inconveniences women making their lives harder. In essence, the reduction of wages has extensively disproportionally affected women, mostly women of color as they tend to be more vulnerable due to their big population in the service sector jobs. 

Gendered stereotypes in job opportunities

Evidently, the assembly production facilities and foreign-owned companies in most countries have remained successful in free trade zones, resulting in what is referred to as the global assembly line. Historically, foreign-subjugated industrial expansion has created more employment for men. These foreign-owned industries have shown to prefer employing women more than men. Therefore, feminists claim that companies view women to be weaker and unsuitable for their jobs. Therefore, these companies tend to target men as their workers more than women (Benería, Berik, & Floro, 2015). Some do not employ women at all. Essentially, gendered, as well as racial stereotypes, play a significant role in creating such gendered labor division. Furthermore, because of the foreign-dominated industrial growth that has been triggered by globalization, the cultural clash has occurred mostly affecting women negatively in the host countries. Some countries do not allow women to work in companies. So, working in manufacturing companies and some tedious jobs have been set aside only for men. Because of globalization, these cultures have been transferred to other countries that do not practice such cultures. Consequentially, women in the host countries are not given job opportunities by foreign companies that practice the culture that disregards women from employment in companies. This leaves women devastated and over depended on men, which increases their vulnerability to exploitation from men. Feminists argue that globalization has enhanced the increased redundant cultures that look women making them be so overburdened and financially dependent on men. 

Difficult and insecure jobs disadvantaging women

Most works in firms tend to be quite difficult, risky and highly hazardous which do not favor women. Feminists argue that most firms are characterized by poor working conditions, associated with sexual harassment, long working hours and low-pay. Feminists hold that women are special beings and need favorable working conditions (Ponzanesi, 2014). However, the working condition and environment brought about by globalization, especially in the industrial sector, are not favorable, especially women. Men tend to tolerate such working conditions; therefore, secure job opportunities which enable them to depend on themselves and make a living. Alternatively, women get scared by the harsh working environment and conditions, making them remain unemployed and poor. This eventually contributes to the increased dependence of women on men for survival.

Disadvantaged immigrant women by the neutral immigration guidelines

With economic globalization, migration has increased all along and ladies consist of many migrants who are mainly labor migrants. Feminists fall under two-argument lines due to the response of migration feminization. Early labor especially locations shows ways immigration, class, culture, gender, and race come up with a predictable burden of immigrant women from interconnection status (Griffin, 2015). There is a debate on early feminist work that is racist, class and sexist divided such as the United States of America had some of the gender, neutral immigration guidelines that work to the disadvantage of immigrant women. Some of the U.S. immigration legislation amendments heightens the possibility of violence to immigrant women. This assisted immigrant women to escape abusive marriage due to the status of immigration.

Exploitation from foreign companies and government exclusion

Feminists have also waged an argument that regardless of the increased women’s economic power, it not only grant women freedom in their families but also expose them to substantial exploitation from foreign companies who cooperate with the government. Feminists hold that most governments have neglected and excluded women leaving them vulnerable to exploitation by international corporations. Women, as employees, usually encounter a form of labor control that is nearly medieval in its requirement of subservience as well as dependence. Foreign companies operate freely, disrespecting women and also treating them unfairly due to the government laxity to protect women from exploitation from these foreign companies (Brooks, 2016). Currently, some companies openly do not allow women to occupy top governance positions and designated for men. Only men are allowed to take the top position, which is rewarded with high wages. Women, on the other hand, are left to occupy low-rank job positions, whereby they earn low wages. Such practices indicate that despite the hopes initially given by globalization, its consequences significantly disadvantage women. There has been an increase in inequalities with regard to job positions and wages between women and men showing that women are negatively impacted. 

                                                             Ethics of care

There are claims by a feminist that the feminist ethics of care is important for theorizing global care chains. Especially care ethics stresses many main normative characteristics as well as practices that traditional theories tend to check specific appreciation of human dependency as well as the relational acknowledgment of self. Care ethics focuses on important ethics of relationships established through dependency, like those created among charges and caregivers (McAfee, 2018). There are arguments from feminists that mutual relationships that are available between certain individuals where affection and care are the norms performing an important role in the creation and sustainability of self-identities of a person. When this relationship interferes, people are affected, suffering harm to their sense as well as self-respect. The importance of global care chains is on the threat to the relationship that is created up of self-identity. According to feminists, receiving and giving care is a right needs to be considered as a fundamental human right to protect caregivers as well as dependents (Brooks, 2016). The government is required to take care of women and protect them from exploitation by foreign companies. Essentially, feminists are more concerned with women being cared for. They advocate for women’s care and be given the responsibility of caregiving. Women should, therefore, be given priorities such as jobs and better wages since they are the primary caregivers. Frustrating and financially starving those effects all families and all nationalities.

Unfair and oppressive trade liberalization policies

It has been mentioned by feminists that the presence of unfair and oppressive trade liberalization policies significantly affect women. Feminists have claimed that in some developed states that are able to sell heavily subsidized agricultural products within underdeveloped countries have led to the deterioration of the small-scale as well as subsistence farming. Therefore, any form of a business carried out in such areas especially by women fails (McAfee, 2018). This has increased frustration among women, making their lives harder. Several female farmers have fallen victims for this having been pushed away from their land and seek employment in export and processing facilities or as seek to be seasonal laborers at a low wage as compared to that of men. To add to it, because of the unfair trade practices waged by foreign firms, most women have been forced to seek low-paying and dangerous jobs. 

Gendered impacts of structural adjustment policies

Feminists also argue that many developing countries have been forcefully subjected to stringent money borrowing conditions as well as debts rescheduling. The substantial deterioration in education, public-wellbeing, healthcare services, and childcare that is funded by the government, undermine the public’s health and wellbeing that they impact. Basically, the effect of adjustment policies turns out to be disproportionate on women. Declined public health services have led to an increase in maternal mortality. School fees introduction has resulted in making education unavailable and hard to access by poor children, mostly girls are resulting in high rates of school dropouts among girls in various countries (Brooks, 2016). The deterioration of other social services that are financed by the government tends to disproportionately affect women who are the primary caregivers, which makes them be more dependent on government programs.  

Moreover, structural adjustment policies have significantly increased poverty as well as unemployment in developing and underdeveloped countries, therefore placing more burden on women in their families. When it comes to situations of economic challenges, men tend to maintain their expenditures, whereas women are anticipated to satisfy their needs using their few resources (Powell, 2015). Consequentially, women have been forced to come up with survival tactics for their families, generally by taking the caregiving labor, which is no more granted by the government. Women are also faced with intense pressure to earn income from outdoors. Feminists argue that several women have not found fulfilling jobs because of the labor migration practiced in their countries. Therefore, women do not have another option but to work as sex workers, practice child prostitution because of the conditions forcing them to find means of surviving.

Global care chains threatening women’s relations

Feminists have identified the contemporary attitudes of feminization to be the global care chains. The globalization care chains started out at the time when women enrolled in paid jobs leading to the recruitment of other women from underdeveloped countries to take care of their children (Powell, 2015). Many factors contribute to the production of global care chains in most of the countries that are wealthy because of the entrance of the paid workforce by women. In underdeveloped countries, the supply of domestic work has been emphasized by the lack of well-paying jobs and this leads to reliance on remittances. The reduction of public services by most countries have triggered the migration of women seeking a better alternative for earning income in order to provide for their families. 

Feminists have analyzed care chains and therefore argue that the traditional philosophies of justice experience hardship in the articulation of the injustices facing women. Women tend to seek job opportunities that seek to employ migrant caregivers. Migrants become able to send to home some of the money for their children and this will economically benefit their mother nation from this remittance (Federici, 2012). Caregivers who are migrants are open to abuses and exploitation from the workplace while their children left behind suffer due to their absence. The right to obtaining care or giving ought to be regarded as a basic human right so as to protect caregivers as well as dependents from the negative consequences associated with fractured relationships. Eradication of global care chains needs acknowledging care as intrinsic, identity source as well as meaning needed to be acknowledged as a basic human right.  

Arguments against

More job opportunities for women

Supporters of globalization claim that the increase in export processing has enabled a positive impact on women by giving employment opportunities for the majority of unemployed ladies and creating new forms of agency. Globalization had improved the expansion of trade, leading to the expansion and rise of companies and industries. This has created more opportunities for jobs hence most of the women are prioritized (Griffin, 2015). Both genders have been employed due to globalization and some opportunities are being set aside to be for Ladies exclusively. Therefore it will be misjudgment to say that women have been negatively affected due to globalization. They have economically benefited due to globalization by the formation of the agency which is used for protecting women. Women’s jobs are secured, enabling women to get financial freedom and liberating them from being a dependency on men.

Women are more hardworking dexterous and tractable

Women are considered to be more hardworking, tractable and dexterous according to arguments by feminist opponents today. Due to new technologies introduction and globalization, the lives of women have changed from their fast adaptability with technological changes. They are perceived to be smart and high value in workplaces due to their ability to perform multitasking (McAfee, 2018). This has made them get employment more quickly compared to men. Besides that, firms that are involved in business consider their employees as part of the brand reputation of a company. Nowadays, the body appearance of workers is greatly prioritized. This has created job opportunities for women due to their beauty and attraction to customers that enable an increase in sales hence the firm becomes profitable. Governments are now focusing on capitalizing on the perception by encouraging foreign investment whereby ladies tend to be highly employed, this effort is to address the unemployment rate.

Conclusion

Arguments for feminists create sense based on the weight of claims they come up and information they relay from their arguments. From our society, women tend to be vulnerable to the majority of environmental, economic and various social factors. The consequences of globalization affect ladies more than men due to globalization because men are systematically favored than women while impacts have mainly been negative on women. Some of the neoliberal rules for most of the groups for women have made them be desperate and become burdensome. The majority of jobs have been replaced by conditionals and part-time jobs that are being paid poorly and benefits of retirement due to globalization. Women seem to require more attention from their health as compared to men, therefore the emergence of part-time jobs that lack medical insurance and pays low wages places women a risk. The increase of redundan.t cultures that neglect women is making them be overburden and dependent economically due to globalization. They are even scared away by environment and working conditions making them poor, unemployed and broke. Women are considered to be more hardworking, tractable and dexterous according to arguments by feminist opponents today. Due to new technologies introduction and globalization, the lives of women have changed from their fast adaptability with technological changes. Globalization had improved the expansion of trade, leading to the expansion and rise of companies and industries. This has created more opportunities for jobs hence most of the women are prioritized. Women as workers, usually come across a form of labor control that is nearly medieval in its needs of subservience as well as dependence. Majority governments have failed to control foreign corporations to treat and respect women fairly. Although there is those opposing feminist, globalization has created a more positive impact on women, negative impacts are more outstanding and critical.