Discover Top Posts Tagged with #feminization of migration

Feminization of Migration

In the United Nations Instraw report of the feminization of international labour migration, they aim to define and show the network of oppression, power and capitalism that have caused gender to be seen as a “basic organizing principle of labour markets in destination countries, [that] reproduc[es] and reinforc[es] pre-existing gender patterns that oppress women (UN, Instraw).” It is explained that the most evident component of female migration is the extent to which it is based upon global capitalism’s continued reproduction and exploitation of gender inequalities.

I found this report very accessible and it covered the multiple facets and frameworks that combine to explain why women migrate and the experiences they have as migrant labourers. They touch on different destination countries, such as Switzerland, Spain, and Canada and different stresses that cause women to move. The report is extremely diverse in it’s theories, for instance explaining that migration can increase women’s self esteem as they are able to be economic providers for their families but that the same time the portrayal of women migrants as constantly self sacrificing and harder workers than their male counterparts for the well-being families, and the idealization of them as better managers of remittances only bolsters this very gendered construction of women and thus causes more oppression.

(http://www.renate-europe.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Feminization_of_Migration-INSTRAW2007.pdf)

-hk

#feminization of migration #transnational feminism

Undocumented Workers

As the final days of the US Presidential Elections are coming to a close, documents show that Presidential Candidate’s wife, Melania Trump was being paid modelling work in the US with proper documentation. This is huge because undocumented workers have become a huge issue during the 2016 US Presidential Debate. Will this affect Donald Trump’s campaign? If undocumented workers who have been in the US for a long period of time, and have been paying taxes, should the US deport them back to their country of origin? This is significant because the US Presidential Candidate’s wife seemed to be working without the proper documentations. If found guilty, consequences will have to be made. This news story is reliable when it comes to undocumented workers trying to find work in Global North countries who have been successful in term of their economy and better job opportunities. After Donald Trump’s announcement on the crack down of undocumented workers, it shook the main issue of deporting people back to their country of origin, and including those who have established a life in the US. If they were to be deported, it will affect families to the greatest extend. However, crack down on undocumented workers may not solve the problem entirely and may backlash. How will the government keep track of undocumented workers? Is Trump going to really make Mexico pay for “the wall” or is the wall going to be built?

http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/melania-trump-visa-1.3838664

B Cheong

#us elections 2016 #trump #the wall #transnational feminism #feminization of migration #undocumented workers #USA

Love Under Cuban Skies

On CBC’s Doc Zone, this episode focuses on Canadian women who are looking for partners in Cuba. The women in the documentary don’t realize that they are acting as “sex tourist” even though some interactions may not be sexual. In the show, the women who have decided to marry their Cuban partners don’t realize the challenges to the Canadian immigration system, which favours highly educated and skilled workers so that Canada can benefit as a country. From a Transnational Feminism perspective, the Canadian women are trying to find love, and Cuban men are trying to “find love” so they can leave Cuba its political views have change the views of Cubans in general.

This concept is very important because it demonstrates transnational feminism at its finest. It is important to look at this video because many people may under estimate situations, and think that the process of bringing a partner into a foreign country will be easy. Depending on the country and its immigration policies, it will be difficult for Cubans to want to be citizens of Canada because of its long immigration process that Cubans have to go through.

http://www.cbc.ca/doczone/episodes/love-under-cuban-skies

B Cheong

#transnational feminism #transnational #feminism #feminization of migration #travel #sex tourist #tourist #migration #globalization

The Care Crisis in the Philippines: Children and Transnational Families in the New Global Economy

In Rhacel Parreñas’ article, “The Care Crisis in the Philippines: Children and Transnational Families in the New Global Economy argues that many Filipino children have been growing up separately because of the increase of caretakers being hired by people in the Global North. However, according to the article, 34 to 54% of the Filipino population is receiving remittances from migrant workers. Videos like “Chain of Love” have been the audience an idea of the struggles that Filipino women have to endure so that they can provide for their families.

This term is important because it shows people that families are being separate so that they are able to live a better life through working in a different country, so they can send remittances back to their families. This article ties into the documentaries like “Chain of Love” and “Maid in America” since it talks about women in Global South countries are migrating to the Global North to support themselves and their families.

Ehrenreich, B., Hochschild, A. R., & Parreñas, R. S. (2003). The Care Crisis in the Philippines: Children and Transnational Families in the New Global Economy. In Global woman: Nannies, maids, and sex workers in the new economy (pp. 39-54). New York: Metropolitan Books.

B Cheong

#transnational #transnational feminism #feminization of migration #migration #globalization #feminism

Feminization of migration

Migration has become more feminized as third world women who normally do domestic work in their own country, migrate to care for the children and elders of people in rich countries as nannies or nursing home aides or maids. (Hochschild, 2002 p.17). Affluent women and poor women have their lives intertwined through migration circuits, that we can partly blame on the gap between rich and poor and the recent push to have first world women working full time jobs with no child care provided for them. Women are migrating from the south to the north to provide for their families in impoverished countries. This not only benefits the economy of the country that was migrated to but also the country of origin, by sending the profits back home to families (Sassen, 2002 p.156)

I chose this concept because by defining the specific gendered aspects of migration itself we can also look at the gendered aspects of migrant labor and how their experiences take shape in a globalized society. This is very relevant to our theme of border crossing as we can see how different female migration can be from males and also see why many women are choosing to leave their country by themselves in search of work. This leaves us with a better understanding of why women leave as well as why they can find jobs as domestic workers fairly easily within first world countries. With a better understanding of this we can then study this pattern within a transnational framework allowing us to give voices to those who have been rarely heard and better understand the plurality of transnational women’s experiences.

Posted by K.P.

Hochschild, A. R. (2002). Love and gold.

Sassen, S. (2002). Global Cities and Survival Circuits. American studies an anthology.

#transnational feminism #this is part 1 #feminization of migration