LATINA/O WORKERS AND U.S. ECONOMY
BY STUDENT
Women have stood
by their roles as caretakers, mothers, wives, and homebodies for generations.
But what happens when women are forced to step outside of the role that they
have known for so long? The economic misfortunes at the end of the 20th
century casted women out of their homes and into the global workforce. Women in
the United States especially, were no longer dependent on the financial
stability of their husbands but instead shared some of the financial burden by
going out and finding work for themselves. The economic effects on masculinity
and femininity took a complete transformation (Ward 1998). Women were no longer
seen as dependents, but even though they were striving closer to economic
equality, the workforce still found a way to exploit them and cast them into a destiny
worse than before. Instead of embracing the idea of women working outside of
their homes, the U.S industries such as garment production and electronics took
advantage and targeted Hispanic women for low cost labor in order to beat
competitive international markets (Kelly and Sassen 1995).
The nimble and
swift fingers of Latinas were beneficial to industries in the 1980’s and their
presence in the labor force was prominent in sections such as the textile
industry and clothing industry (Ward 1998). In fact 35 percent of all women in blue collar work were Hispanic and
responsible for direct production in the United States (Kelly and Sassen 1995
).Although women had finally gained some new found independence the salaries
they received were still far less than what men had made. The dynamic between
men and women in the work force was composed of tension and anguish. Men felt
as their patriarchal roles were being challenged and exchange women were
sexualized and abused in the labor force.
This turn in
history lead Latina women to step out of their oppression and speak out about
the physical, mental and emotional abuse they suffered in the labor force. Women
were no longer passive against these injustices and used their strengths in
numbers to organize strikes and marches. The gender role switch from housewife
to breadwinner was a controversial and pivotal moment in history for both
Latinos and Latinas and not only changed the Machismo dynamic but also altered
the political, economic and social standings in the United States (Ward 1998).
Works cited:
Ward, Kathryn.
1988. “Women and the Global Economy.” In Women and Work Annual Review, vol. 3
(Barbara Gutek, Anne Stromberg, and Laurie Larwood, Editors).
Fernandez Kelly, Patricia, and Saskia Sassen.
1995. “Recasting Women in the Global Economy: Internationalization and Changing
Definitions of Gender.”
This dynamic change of the typical household is a relief to some, including myself, and others still are having trouble realizing the changes that have come with technological advantages and other changes within the 21st century. As a young woman myself, college was not an option for quite some time for my parents as it was something that they did not know. As the years have gone by and my attendance at school, they have grown super proud of me and my accomplishment of the first in my family to soon graduate from college.
ReplyDeleteFor many though this is not the case. Especially when women in the workplace are not paid the same as men in the same workplace and not offered the same opportunities, much less if they are a minority women. With this drastic change, women now immigrate on their own from Latin America to escape from a horrible living situation, to provide for their families, or to be able to work on their own. As we see in the reading, some women act in this way to defy their fathers and work outside the household and even move away from the patriarchal conditions in their homes.
I enjoyed reading this. I think it's fantastic that women are able to be the breadwinners of the home and are no longer dependent of their husbands, who could be abusive and manipulative due to that sense of machismo. However I think as women we still have a lot of strides to make. Women, specifically women of color and/or Latinas are taken advantage of by the workforce and are underpaid and sometimes poorly treated. They are used for their nimble fingers and "docile attitudes" and since perhaps some are immigrants or do not have much of an education, these women may feel like they have no other option but to deal with this abuse. Latina women need to work together and fight the labor force! Great post!
ReplyDeleteI agree with your post. You started off great by mentioning the relationship between females and males in the workforce. This is an issue which unfortunately still occurs today. I believe that the increase in Latina women in the work force is a great thing. However, the manner and conditions in which they were treated once there is a problem. The ability for many of those women to step up and speak out about their oppression in the workforce is one of the many ways in which they gained strength in the community. They are definitely a force to be reckoned with.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what you stated in your post. Inequality in the workforce between women and men has been an issue for a long time and even though we have made some progress towards equality there is still a lot to overcome. As women are continually getting together and making their voices heard the closer society will get to equality in the workforce.
ReplyDeleteYour blogpost touched on a great topic because to this day inequality is still occurring for men and women. It's hard to accept the fact that just because of our gender, people are receiving different salaries. For many women, they came together and did something about that. It was great how you included the strengths of the women and what they did to overcome the abuse they had in their workforce.
ReplyDelete