How the Globalization of Industry Has Led to the Deterioration of Women in Third World Countries - Essay Example

How the globalization of industry has led to the deterioration of the position of women in Third World countries Introduction The expansion of globalization in all industrial sectors worldwide has led to the deterioration of the position of workers especially those belonging at the low levels of organizational hierarchy. The above phenomenon is more common in the Third World countries. Workers in these countries have to face a daily violation of their rights. However, the study of the relevant literature has led to the assumption that the problem is more intense in the case of women. The role of the latter in the increase of industrial activity in the countries of the Third World cannot be denied; however, their value for the increase of performance of firms operating in these countries is often ignored; as a result a series of problems follows related mostly with the lack of sufficient and fair compensation of female workers. These problems are not appropriately addressed – measures like the provision of psychological support (Schein, 1999) to female workers can be considered to be inadequate if taking into consideration the level of participation of these workers in most industrial activities worldwide. Current paper focuses on the examination of the role of globalization of industry in the deterioration of position of women in Third World countries. Relevant studies have been used and analyzed; all of them lead to the assumption that the participation of women in most industrial activities developed in Third World countries is continuously increased; however, no measures are taken for the effective protection of these women’s rights. As a result phenomena like the low compensation for work or the absence of measures of safety in the workplace of these countries are quite common – referring specifically to women – male workers in Third World countries offer similar problems however their physical strength operates as a protective mechanism towards the extremely adverse conditions developed in industrial sites in Third World countries. It should be also noticed that women have additional duties – care for children/ members of family that are over-aged or ill; therefore, the volume of work delegated to women – if their participation in the workplace is taken into consideration – daily is extremely high. For this reason, the support by the governments in Third World countries towards women should be improved incorporating effective and fair mechanisms for the protection of the women’s rights both in the workplace and the family. 2. Role of women in the development of industrial activity in Third World countries The role of women in the development of industrial activities in Third World countries can be understood only if the relevant percentages are presented. The fact that these percentages are indicative of the importance of women for the increase of performance of firms in Third World countries does not seem to have been taken into consideration by legislators in these countries – the same assumption can be made regarding the behaviour of the members of International Organizations that have the obligation to examine the respect of rights of women and children globally. In accordance with the study of Nanda (2000, 25) ‘literate but unskilled—and largely female—labor has thus far fuelled the tremendous increase in manufactured exports of garments and microelectronic products from the Third World to the industrially-advanced economies of the North’. In the above study it is made clear that women have a critical role in the development of industrial activities in most countries around the world – not only in these belonging in the so-called Third World. From another point of view, this study could lead to the assumption that in the future women in those countries would need to be appropriately trained in order to meet the demands of market globally (development of technology used in all industrial sites, improvement of communication among employees and managers, increase of daily performance and so on). The above projects – if attempted - could meet a series of obstacles; more specifically, as it is noticed also by Nanda (2000) – women in firms in Third World countries are likely to be non-skilled - at an extremely high percentage. From a different point of view, women have helped towards the improvement of work conditions in both the Third World countries and the developed countries. In this context, it is highlighted in the study of Turner et al. (2004) that women had a major role in the development of protests again the oil companies operating across Nigeria. The examination and the analysis of the above protests have led to the assumption that women initiated – in most cases – the specific protests participating also in the occupation of these firms’ sites in Nigeria. In other words, women are not only active participants in the development of industrial activities in Third World countries; they are also initiators of protests against the practices of these firms when the latter are found to be involved in violations of workers’ rights. Despite their role in the increase of productivity of firms in Third World countries, women often face the violation of their rights – especially of their right to equal compensation with their male counterparts; at a next level, other violations of the women’s rights in the workplace in Third World countries can be related with the right of women to fair promotion, provision of benefits recognized by the law in female workers (like in case of pregnancy) but also the chance for professional development (through the provision of relevant training) at an equal level with the male workers. These issues are more likely to be identified in firms where women hold management roles – a small percentage though. Lack of fair rewarding of female workers remains the main problem for women in industrial sites in Third World countries; for this reason the specific problem will be particularly analyzed in the sections that follow. 3. Support offered to women in the workplace in Third World countries As noticed above, women have a crucial role in the development of the performance of firms operating in Third World countries; however, inequalities for women in the workplace in the above countries – as in developed ones – still exist. The study of Lee (1993) revealed that firms in South Korea – reference is made specifically to the firms operating in the country’s textile industry – have not developed the necessary mechanisms in order to protect the rights of female workers. Moreover, it is proved that the use of a series of practices like ‘the gender segregation in jobs and authority relations in the factory … interact with gender and produce different outcomes for men and women workers in spinning and weaving and clothing industries’ (Lee, 1993, 507). In other words, firms in South Korea not only they have avoided to take the necessary measures in order to protect their female workers’ rights but they have developed practices that support the violation of these rights; these measures are being justified using the different rate of production among male and female workers. Women in Third World countries are not offered the necessary support neither from the state nor from the firms’ management team. The specific behaviour against women in these countries has been explained in the literature using the concepts of gender differentiation and males’ superiority developed in the past. In this context, Belen et al. (1990) supports that ‘the power relationships that were established during the colonial era between Europe and its territories, and between women and men, have not varied significantly and are still recreated through contemporary mechanisms’ (Belen et al., 1990, 299). The above assumption is used by the specific researchers in order to explain the inequalities that are currently observed against women in the Third World countries. However, it could be stated that social, cultural and scientific developments around the world since the above described period could have prevented the continuation of violation of women’s rights in states around the world. 4. Fairness of rewarding/ compensation of female employees in Third World countries The increase of the percentage of women working in firms of the Third World countries is also highlighted in the study of Kasvio (1985). In the specific study it is noticed that ‘one of the most important trends of development in todays industry is the increasing internationalization of production; this process of internationalization has been exceptionally strong in the traditionally women- dominated textile, clothing and electronics industries’ (Kasvio, 1985, 275). The problem of lack of highly skilled women in the industrial sites of these countries is mentioned in the above study; however, no measures are proposed for the improvement of the position of women in the workplace; only assumptions are made that the specific problem has to be addressed the soonest possible as it will be extremely intensive in the near future – when the demands of the global market will be increased. The above study reflects the views of the supporters of existing HR strategies of firms operating in Third World; in accordance with these views, the lack of skills of female workers is the main reason for their low compensation/ rewarding of women working in firms that operate in Third World countries. The above assumption is also supported by the study of Valderrama (2007) in which it was revealed that the majority of female workers in the flower industry of Colombia belong to the lower class of the society. On the other hand, it is made clear that those women that are well educated ‘work in management, participate in the growers’ associations and oversee the exploitative conditions and health risks that flower production creates for their racialized lower class ‘sisters’’ (Valderrama, 2007, 71). In other words, the phenomenon of low compensation of the majority of women working in the industrial sites of the Third World countries can be justified by referring to their education. Women that are educated in accordance with the Western standards are likely to work in the higher levels of the organizational hierarchy and are appropriately compensated – as the above studies reveal. A different approach of the problem is used by Lee (2007). In accordance with the specific researcher ‘the problem of global womens poverty should be understood in the contexts of an unequal distribution of goods and services across the globe and between men and women’ (Lee, 2007, 193). In accordance with this study, that leads to similar assumptions with the studies presented above, women around the world are offered different social/ financial support, a fact that leads further to the availability of different educational chances (if any). Even under these terms, the development of inequalities for women in the workplace both in developed and in developing countries cannot be justified since in this way the violation of a series of rights for both men and women could follow – always using the expansion of globalization and the effects of different rates of social development around the world in order to justify the promotion of violations against existing and legally recognized rights. On the other hand, like in developing countries, the specific problem – lack of skills – could be resolved through the provision of the necessary training. On the other hand, because in some cases the specific policy would be extremely costly for the firm, such an option is not preferred; rather workers from developed countries – scheme of expatriates – are used in order to control the various activities of firms in Third World countries; expatriates are usually hired in managerial positions and help to close the gap developed in these firms because of the lack of appropriately skilled workers (both males and females). However, under these terms any thought for increase of the compensation/ rewarding of existing workers (males and especially females) is avoided. Women are then likely to be used as cheap workforce while the application of the firm’s strategic plans is promoted and monitored by appropriately trained staff being rewarded well above the common level – referring to the compensation of managers in firms in developed countries. 5. Conclusion The increase of participation of women in the workplace in Third World countries was not followed by the improvement of their rewarding or the increase of measures taken for their rights – as it has been proved through the studies presented and analyzed above. Women has a crucial role in the development of industrial activities in Third World countries; however their role is under-estimated and no measures – at least no effective ones – are promoted by governments in Third World countries regarding the protection of rights of women in the workplace (a similar behaviour to that developed in the case of the rights of children in Third World countries). In most of the studies presented above, the phenomenon of the development of inequalities against women in the workplace in Third World countries has been explained by referring to the different social/ educational background of women in the specific countries – a common fact in all countries around the world for both male and female workers. However, in this way the responsibilities of governments and firms in Third World countries for the violation of women’s rights in the workplace are almost eliminated. For this reason, the approaches used for the justification of these inequalities should be carefully considered – if the actors for the development of violations against the women’s rights in the Third World countries are to be identified. Regarding specifically the role of globalization in the deterioration of the position of women in Third World countries it could be argued that the specific role is not directly identifiable; Indeed, it is supported by Lie et al. (2005) that ‘analyzing globalization as a process, focusing on different actors within a global economy’ (Lie et al., 2005, 7). In this context, different assumptions could be made regarding the role of globalization in the development of specific conditions (positive or negative) for women around the world. It seems that globalization has changed the procedures of work offer and availability around the world – decrease of hourly compensation/ increase of the use of IT systems instead of humans in many parts of the production line and so on. It is in the specific context that globalization has affected the position of women in Third World countries. References Belen, E., Bose, C. (1990) Women and Development in Third World Contexts. Gender & Society, Vol. 4, No. 3, 299-320 Collins, J. Mapping a Global Labor Market - Gender and Skill in the Globalizing Garment Industry. Gender & Society, Vol. 16, No. 6, 921-940 Kasvio, A. (1985) The Internationalization of Production and the Changing Position of Women Workers in the Textile, Clothing, and Electronics Industries. Acta Sociologica, Vol. 28, No. 3, 275-281 Lee, M. (2007) On the Relationship Between International Telecommunications Development and Global Womens poverty. International Communication Gazette, Vol. 69, No. 2, 193-213 Lee, O. (1993) Gender-differentiated employment practices in the south korean textile industry. Gender & Society, Vol. 7, No. 4, 507-528 Lie, M., Lund, R. (2005) From NIDL to Globalization - Studying Women Workers in an Increasingly Globalized Economy. Gender, Technology and Development, Vol. 9, No. 1, 7-30 Nanda, M. (2000) Post-Fordist Technology and the Changing Patterns of Womens Employment in the Third World. Gender, Technology and Development, Vol. 4, No. 1, 25-59 Schein, V. (1999) Poor Women and Work in the Third World: A Research Agenda for Organisational Psychologists. 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