Global Woman: Nannies, Maids, and Sex Workers in the New Economy

Women are moving around the globe as never before. But for every female executive racking up frequent flier miles, there are multitudes of women whose journeys go unnoticed. Each year, millions leave third world countries to work in the homes, nurseries, and brothels of the first world. This broad-scale transfer of labor results in an odd displacement, in which the female energy that flows to wealthy countries is subtracted from poor ones-easing a 'care deficit' in rich countries, while creating one back home. Confronting a range of topics from the fate of Vietnamese mail-order brides to the importation of Mexican nannies in Los Angeles, Global Woman offers an original look at a world increasingly shaped by mass migration and economic exchange. Collected and with an Introduction by bestselling social critics Barbara Ehrenreich and Arlie Russell Hochschild, this groundbreaking anthology reveals a new era in which the main resource extracted from developing nations is no longer gold or silver, but love.

A must read for everyone of every nationality, gender, background, and financial position. Essential to understanding modern women across the globe. An engaging read that you won't want to put down.

This books focus is on journalistic and scholarly articles about a woman's role in globalization.

If you're writing a paper on topics such as globalization, factory life or migrant workers, this book could give you another viewpoint to use. In fact, it's just a good source in general.

-Matt

Global Woman presents a nice mix of essays that all discuss issues of the global movement of women, particularly from the Third World to First World. In attempts to gain an income for their families, these women face many struggles. From leaving their families in their native countries to submitting to harsh rules by their employers, these women are always under some constant force or pressure. Globalization has been a topic of much study for the last twenty plus years and many books have focused on the politics and economic effects. More and more studies are now demonstrating the human element and how the global movement of people is one result of globalization, one that has many different affects on other aspects of society. Furthermore, these issues of globalization are not isolated to one segment of the population, we as a whole can benefit from certain global processes, but these same practices can also detriment others as well. If we can begin to understand how issues of globalization affect us and out culture, politics, economies, and society, we can begin to offer solutions.

Each essay, whether recounting the tale of a nanny, maid, or sex worker, paints and intimate picture of the daily lives of these women, their struggles, their successes, and the reasons they continue such work. Most importantly, these narratives aren't solely written in third person, but on the contrary, the authors allow the reader to hear first hand from the women: the nannies who care for children while their own are thousands of miles away; the maids who work under tight restrictions to both their professional and personal lives; and the sex workers who may or may not be exploiting themselves or who may or may not be trafficked. In each account, the women have various reasons for getting into a certain line of work and each job presents positives and negatives. Another important point is that these women are not always treated well and they are not always treated bad, they don't always get to exercise free will and they are not always restrained. The women portrayed are both able to make their own decisions yet are products of the decisions others have made.

Unlike the reviewer who claims the author is extremely feminist and that "all women subject to these conditions are victims of globalization and capitalization," I would argue that these essays illustrate that globalization brings with it many interesting side effects, one in particular the movement of women away from their homes and to other countries where they are tied to a certain work structure. Are these situations ideal? No, of course not, but the point isn't to lecture about the ills of globalization, but just to demonstrate some other aspects of the phenomenon.

I agree somewhat with the reviewer that says no solutions are offered to deal with the problems explored. To an extent there aren't many options presented. On the other side, this book seems to be presenting the issues so that others may find solutions and it never pretends that these essays and authors have all the answers. As the editors note in the introduction, "we hope to make the invisible visible again," (pg.12), to present the issues that immigrant women face and figure out how to "improve the lives and opportunities of migrant women engaged in legal occupations...and prevent trafficking and enslavement" (pg. 13).

While I agree with the review about "the topics are clearly delineated between domestic workers, cheap labor and the sex trade" and that the book is "excellent for libraries, research and the well-read individual," I disagree on the careful, fact-filled study. While there are tons of facts and figures, I'm not clear on where they all come from. I see some in the endnotes, but in many places, figures are provided without citation. Additionally, as one review stated, "there are some gaps here, such as the lack of first-person narratives and the views of Eastern European women working in Western Europe," but as the same person states, "no anthology can be all-inclusive." Indeed, this volume seems more dedicated to issues involving women from the Global South who migrant to northern countries and the editors and authors make no secret of that fact.

Overall, so far, I think Global Women is a decent overview of the issues surrounding globalization and the global movement of women. I think that often, some of the every day, mundane issues are overlooked with a focus on the broader themes. The best part of the book is the narratives of the women themselves, they talk about their situations, their emotions, and it is plain to see how much of a sacrifice they make. Lastly, I think that this collection of essays is a great start for anyone who either wants to know a little about this topic or those who plan to devote their time to future studies of globalization.

Not a good read. The author(s) come across as extremely feminist and claim that all women subject to these conditions are victims of globalization and capitalization. I don't buy their theories nor do I find this book very objective in the message they SHOULD be conveying.

Global Woman: Nannies, Maids, and Sex Workers in the New Economy, edited by Barbara Ehrenreich and Arlie Russell Hochschild, Metropolitan Books, Holt & Co, 2002.

Most of us are well aware of the patterns of illegal immigration which bring numerous undocumented workers to the US and other developed countries from less developed countries. Those who work in agriculture, lawn care, and low paying jobs like janitors are well known. This book takes a detailed look at female migrant workers. These include maids, nannies, nurses, those who care for the young and elderly and extends to those kidnaped or sold into the sex slave trade and those who seek marriageable partners in developed countries to obtain visas. A single mother can earn enough in a developed country as a nurse, a nanny or as a prostitute to leave her children behind in the care of a relative and pay for their education and daycare. This process gives her children access to a better education that can lift them out of poverty.

This book is a collection of essays authored with assistance of researchers from numerous third world countries. The sociological aspect is consistent with Ehrenreich's usual works--always rich with social commentary. This time she functions as editor and provides one chapter from her earlier experience at Merry Maids as told in Nickeled and Dimed. Hochschild is professor of sociology at Berkeley.

The major migratory pathways for women are described generally as from south to north. In the US, African American women accounted for 60% of domestics in the 1940s. They have now been replaced by Latinas mostly from Mexico and Central America. In Europe migrants come from Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. In the oil rich Mideast, many come from Bangladesh, Indonesia, the Phillippines, and Sri Lanka. In France, they now come from Morocco, Tunisia, and Algeria; in Italy, from Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Cape Verde. Generally, migrants have replaced those who once came from poor rural areas of their own countries.

Several chapters on nannies and their problems are especially informative. The hours are long, overtime is seldom paid, time off it minimal, workers are sometimes farmed out to other families, or required to travel with the family on "holiday." The children often become attached to the nanny as part of the family, but this can result in jealousy on the part of birth mothers. Many nannies leave abruptly after an argument.

Various aspects of the sex trade are explored. In the Dominican Republic, married women may voluntarily go to the larger town of Sosua to work as prostitutes in the sex tourist industry. This good money is used to pay the family bills, but husbands sometimes spend the funds on alcoholism and gambling when the wife is away. Some prostitutes hope for a marriage proposal from German tourists. In Thailand, in the less prosperous mountain districts, daughters once were sold into sex slavery when the economic survival of the family required it. Now, rapid industrialization and rising standard of living have created major growth in sex tourism. Industrial workers have more money to spend on prostitutes. Mountain Thais now are more willing to sell their daughters to fund the purchase of electronics and other consumer goods.

In Viet Nam, the war killed many males and a disproportionate number of males were able to migrate to the US after the war. This has resulted in an over abundance of females. Educated females become un-marriageable. Arranged marriages with US citizens is one solution to this problem.

This book provides perspective on another aspect of the woman's rights movement in developing countries. Apparently several previous books have issued, but this subject has received little attention in the overall scheme of immigration policy. I saw no discussion of how these problems should be addressed. Presumably better laws are needed as well as a willingness to enforce existing laws in the case of the sex slavery and sex tourism. Different solutions seem appropriate in the case of licensed nurses who are aided in getting visas to fill a real shortage. The presence of undocumented migrants working as nannies and domestics is yet another problem. Perhaps different solutions are needed for each group. Mixing all of them in a single volume confuses the issues. The book lacks the impact it could have had.

This book is nicely done and thought provoking, but the absence of proposed solutions is a major omission. A collection of charts provide details of the female migrations. Notes. Bibliography. Index.