The Effect of Gender Roles and the Feminization of Migration Migrant workers come from all around the world, traveling from Third World countries to First World. Men and women alike travel abroad to send back funds to their family in order for them to survive. They sacrifice their own dreams, and time, to help their families. Although both genders migrate, the work that they do is very different. Jobs are divided between what are suitable for men and what is better suited for women. The traditional heteronormative gender roles allow men to be the breadwinners who earn the money for the family, while a woman’s traditional role is “child care, homemaking, and sex” (Ehrenreich and Hochschild, 4). The traditional stereotype of the woman reflects
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Gender roles exist in the workers’ home countries, in their new countries, and within the families that employ them. To what level do traditional gender roles take a toll on women in terms of migration? The phrase “feminization of migration” can be best described as an example from "Introduction” in Global Woman: “In 1946, women were fewer than 3 percent of the Algerians and Moroccans living in France; by 1990, they were more than 40 percent.” (Ehrenreich and Hochschild, 5). This example demonstrates the growth of women migrating over less than 50 years. The amount of women from Algeria and Morocco who moved to France escalated from fewer than 3 percent to more than 40 percent because of the increase in need of domestic workers. Women choose to emigrate typically for better pay, but they leave for other reasons as well. The gender inequality in their home countries is a reason that a woman may leave. One example is a woman who is expected to care for children or elderly because it is a typical “woman’s duty” may escape to another country to be paid …show more content…
Women in America, for example, are joining the work force that has been primarily male dominated. Instead of having to stay at home with the kids, this woman is busy with her work life and must hire someone to clean her home and to give her children the love she cannot give them as often. This is explained by Bridget Anderson in “Just Another Job? The Commodification of Domestic Labor” in Global Woman. In the essay, Anderson states, “employing a cleaner enables middle-class women to take on the feminine role of moral and spiritual support to the family, while freeing her of the feminine role of servicer, doer of dirty work” (Anderson, 105-6). Women in First World countries now have the option to choose how what they want to do with their homes. They have the money and resources to hire someone to do the work that they do not want to perform themselves. It gives them more time to enjoy their families without the stress and pressure of having to maintain a perfect home. Other women, the employers, reinforce gender stereotypes for their help, although some do not realize it. Anderson posed a question about wealthier women who employ poorer women: “Is employing a migrant domestic worker an act of sisterhood toward a woman in need or of complicity with abusive power structures?” (Anderson, 110). In my opinion, employing a woman who escaped abuse is an act of sisterhood, but it all
Gender roles exist in the workers’ home countries, in their new countries, and within the families that employ them. To what level do traditional gender roles take a toll on women in terms of migration? The phrase “feminization of migration” can be best described as an example from "Introduction” in Global Woman: “In 1946, women were fewer than 3 percent of the Algerians and Moroccans living in France; by 1990, they were more than 40 percent.” (Ehrenreich and Hochschild, 5). This example demonstrates the growth of women migrating over less than 50 years. The amount of women from Algeria and Morocco who moved to France escalated from fewer than 3 percent to more than 40 percent because of the increase in need of domestic workers. Women choose to emigrate typically for better pay, but they leave for other reasons as well. The gender inequality in their home countries is a reason that a woman may leave. One example is a woman who is expected to care for children or elderly because it is a typical “woman’s duty” may escape to another country to be paid …show more content…
Women in America, for example, are joining the work force that has been primarily male dominated. Instead of having to stay at home with the kids, this woman is busy with her work life and must hire someone to clean her home and to give her children the love she cannot give them as often. This is explained by Bridget Anderson in “Just Another Job? The Commodification of Domestic Labor” in Global Woman. In the essay, Anderson states, “employing a cleaner enables middle-class women to take on the feminine role of moral and spiritual support to the family, while freeing her of the feminine role of servicer, doer of dirty work” (Anderson, 105-6). Women in First World countries now have the option to choose how what they want to do with their homes. They have the money and resources to hire someone to do the work that they do not want to perform themselves. It gives them more time to enjoy their families without the stress and pressure of having to maintain a perfect home. Other women, the employers, reinforce gender stereotypes for their help, although some do not realize it. Anderson posed a question about wealthier women who employ poorer women: “Is employing a migrant domestic worker an act of sisterhood toward a woman in need or of complicity with abusive power structures?” (Anderson, 110). In my opinion, employing a woman who escaped abuse is an act of sisterhood, but it all