Globel Women Book Report

1689 Words7 Pages
Global Woman: Nannies, Maids, and Sex Workers in the New Economy is a book of essays edited by Barbara Ehrenreich and Arlie Russell Hochschild. The essays are concerned with the experiences of women from poor countries who seek employment in rich countries in order to provide an income for their families. The women are usually exploited and forced to do menial domestic labor or to work as prostitutes. The basic purpose of the essays is to expose the problem and to get more people involved in improving conditions for underprivileged women around the world. One of the themes of Global Woman is the inequalities that exist between the world’s developed and developing nations. Many women in developing nations migrate to developed nations because they are “pushed” by the poverty and abuses that they experience at home (Ehrenreich & Hochschild, 2002, pp 10-11). At the same time, they are “pulled” by the hopes of finding better opportunities for themselves in a developed nation. However, these opportunities are mostly limited to jobs as nannies, maids or sex workers. In the introduction to Global Woman, Ehrenreich & Hochschild (2002) refer to this trend as “the globalization of traditional female services” (p. 5). Some of the women, particularly the sex workers, are forced to live in a state of slavery. Others are tricked into becoming prostitutes, without understanding what they are really getting into. Some women choose to migrate to a developed nation so they can work as a nanny or maid. This appears to be a better option than slavery or sex work; however, the domestic workers also face hardships such as language barriers, exploitation, low wages, the abuse of their employers, and the ongoing fear of being sent back to their home nation. The essays in the book refer to specific topics, such as the problem of women being forced to leave their own children
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