Why do females migrate to work as maids? Essay

In regards to employment, women today can do paid work, but their work is usually menial, badly paid and lacking in status (Krieken et al, 2000). Kate Millet (1970) saw women as a reserve labour force who are made use of when they are needed (for example in war time) but are discarded when not required (Krieken et al,

Due to our ever changing culture and diversity, the United States has become commonly referred to as the “melting pot.” Every day this country is becoming more and more diverse and acceptant of other cultures. This is becoming more and more prominent in the workforce as well. Not only are people from all around the globe able find work in the United States, but women are also becoming more dominant in the workforce. Although there is still a lot of speculation as to whether or not women and men are getting equal treatment and pay, many women today are finding themselves suffering from little to no

Historically, societies across the world confine women to the home—from the cult of domesticity that dominated American thought in the twentieth century to the stifling influence of the traditional economy on women in Africa—females typically submit to their husbands in marriage to conform to social standards. However, regional differences arose, and women developed unique identities in different parts of the world, wielding special influence in some cultures, but remaining imprisoned in the home in others. Fences, by August Wilson, All My

Dating back throughout history woman were often considered to be too soft or docile to work. In the early 1800’s, as well as the 1950’s, it was thought that woman should not only be pure in heart, mind and body, but that they should be submissive to their husbands and not work outside the home, this was known as the Cult of Domesticity (Keister & Southgate, Inequality: a contemporary approach to race, class and gender, 2012, p. 228).

The stereotype of women workers has changed dramatically. They are no longer treated as second class citizens. Immigrant women are the reason for this change in this society especially those who emigrated from Ireland and Italy.

Although immigrant women play a big role in America’s society and economy, they have been constantly mistreated and looked down upon throughout history. Not only do they face the burden of the stratifications that their gender entails but they also struggle to adopt the American culture and norms. America was viewed as the land of opportunities and economic prosperity, a perspective that draws in many immigrant women who were willing to leave their families and possessions to come to this foreign country in hopes of a better life. In America, they faced many challenges as they not only had to work long hours but also took care of their families and do housework as well. They struggled to make a standard living out of low wage jobs and assimilating into America’s society. Today, the treatment of immigrant women has improved greatly as they have stood together and fought for their rights. Immigrant women have built communities and held strikes for better pay and treatment. Although America has made great strides in improving treatment of immigrant women, there is still social injustice. Immigrant women have come a long way from the first time they entered America until now, but their stories are often left untold and omitted from American history.

Women are believed to have greater manual dexterity than men and they are therefore preferred by companies who want to maximize their production. Women who are hired for their supposed superiority to men when it comes to manual dexterity, a trade essential to a maquiladora worker, are ironically paid much less despite their valued trait. It is clear that the degree to which the women are devalued is far greater than the degree to which their ability and production is valued. Women's bodies are being exploited in factories where they are being paid ridiculously low wages based on a cultural belief that men superior to women, that women belong in the household and that men belong in the workplace. They are then paid significantly less partly to reinforce this ideal—to keep men as the leaders of the household--and partly in order to reinforce the stereotypes about the submissive and inferior nature of women.

Elieen Boris in Intimate Labors notes the commercialization of emotion, referencing it as the commodification of intimacy. Boris goes on to state that the commodification of intimacy “… encompasses a range of activities, including bodily and household upkeep, personal and family maintenance, and sexual contact or liaison.” () The emotional care aspect that Asian American women immigrants have distinctively utilized for a job is household upkeep and personal and family maintenance, better known as domestic work. Asian American women have capitalized on domestic work due to the fact that many families have outsourced domestic work. The estimated 11.5 million migrant domestic workers and the 73.4 percent of immigrant women who make up this estimation examples the boom in the field of domestic work. () Additionally, Asian American women immigrants have capitalized on the fact that a varying amount of domestic work employers have stereotypically searched for Asian American woman immigrants. Marije Meerman in her documentary Chain of Love notes this stereotyped based search, crediting it to the fact that certain Asian American women have stereotypes attached to them that employers deem favorable for domestic work. This can be exampled by Rachel Parrenas comment in the documentary, saying, “The Filipino nanny is the Mercedes Benz amongst the international [caregivers]." ()

With the rise of the modern age economic survival has become difficult for families based on a single income. This economic need along with modern attitudes toward gender equality has resulted in women being represented in the workforce in greater numbers. However, until the 1960’s women faced severe discrimination when trying to enter and maintain a position in the workforce. Often qualified women would be passed over for men with less experience and education. Employers were fearful that women were too emotional and were not equipped to handle the stress of the work environment. Also driving the decision to not hire or promote women was the concern over the additional health care expenses and leave time pregnant

Women’s unpaid labor in maintains a systems of oppression in many ways. In Susan M. Shaw and Janet Lee’s Women’s Voices Feminist Visions unpaid labor done by many women is, “undervalued as women’s formal productive paid labor in the workforce is prioritized” (Shaw & Lee, 2015, 471). Shaw and Lee are saying that women work at home is devalued because it is viewed as informal and as work that is done out of love or is natural work. Since the work being done is viewed as natural work, it further reinforces gender stereotypes by stating that women are supposed to do the household work which is deemed more as feminine. This thought process follows patriarchal thinking, where women are expected to do the

There are common beliefs about working women, including that they are expected to have kids and quit their jobs when they do, they are judged more harshly when voicing their opinions, they are expected to have good ‘soft skills’, they are still seen as secondary to their husbands even if they’re the primary breadwinner, they are perceived as naturally weaker than their male coworkers, and they are judged more on their looks than men. Even though most these stereotypes have mostly disappeared over the past few years, they still exist in some places. Today, women in America are becoming more and more powerful in many areas, especially when it comes to the workforce.

The generation now has made it easier to equalize men and women but there is still a substantial amount of places where gender inequality is still happening in the workplace and where females still face discrimination. Women are often discriminated in the workplace and are usually not promoted as quickly as men are and they also receive less pay. History shows that women have not always been defined as property and thought of as second class citizens. But in the 21st century many have seen a drastic change in the so called “traditional” family ways where women are suppose to stay home and take care of the household chores, food, and children and men are suppose to work to support their family and provide financial stability. Many assume that in the workplace women are more vulnerable and less competent than men because women 's instincts are to put their family before work or anything else. Whereas men are the ones who will usually stay the late hours to work. People on both sides of the political spectrum and everywhere in between seem to be fearful of what is to come and more fearful of others than they are often willing to admit.

In 1870, nearly two million women and girls worked outside the home. Domestic work was an important source of income. Some girls even dropped out of school to help make money. One in fifteen American homes employed live-in servants that were mostly immigrants or African American. Working from dawn to dusk, these women cooked, cleaned, washed, ironed, and cared for children. A lot of them supported their own families who lived elsewhere. Most of the women that were working were single because then they did not think that married life and careers for women mixed. Many of the single women workers were between the ages of 16 and 24. Employers thought that they would leave when they got married so they rarely gave them supervisory jobs or advanced training. They also paid women an average of $3 to $5 a week, 30 to 60 percent less than men. Self-supporting women were discouraged from entering the fields that would put them in competition with men. There were many educated young women that wanted or needed work became nurses or teachers where they wouldn?t be competing with men.

In the Season of Migration to the North, Tayeb Saih portrays the heavy issues of sexism and colonialism through the role of women. The book not only informs its readers of the stereotypical gender roles, but it also illustrates the truth behind colonialism as a conquest of a people often enslaving them mentally and leaving them empty. According to this lens, the gender roles of men like Mustafa Sa’eed and Wad Rayyes represent the colonizers who ravish the colonized (personified by the female characters). Salih’s men are primarily sexual beings who see women as theirs to conquer while the women are meant to be subservient to sexual conquest.

During this last century societal views towards women have drastically changed, from being looked at as a homemaker, to a businesswoman, to a mother, and now a working mother. One thing that hasn’t changed through the years is how women are critiqued for what they do and how they do it. If a woman takes care of the house she’s lazy and doesn't use her potential. If a women works in the office more than she’s at home she doesn’t connect with her family enough. The latest judgement women are facing: are working mothers better mothers. Today, women are being put against each other to be viewed as the “better mother” just by looking at their profession.