The accelerating processes of globalization are mediated by hegemonic practices putting spaces into new order subordinating most vulnerable social segments. This subordination is, moreover, controlled by global capital aimed at perpetual profit at lowest possible cost. To sustain high-profit / low-cost in centers of global wealth and power (particularly in developed countries or Global North), cheaper labor is on high demand. To maintain a continuous flow of cheap labor, global capital shifts labor force into or out of global centers of consumerism in order to meet rising demands. Two major strategies are used: relocating production facilities in Global South or employing migrant in Global North. In so doing, female workers in Global North and South become a valuable labor supply for global capital seeking perpetual profits. To better understand how global capital is manipulating methods of accumulation by dispossession and structural violence for more profits, specific examples are discussed based on a deeper exploration of concepts of gendered globalization, feminization processes and return of serving classes. This paper aims, hence, to highlight provided (illustrated) examples of female workers in order to better explain what all share in common in relation to accumulation by dispossession and structural violence.
If anything, all shown women appear to be in a workspace context. The First (African-American) Woman belongs to a historically underprivileged minority dominated by a broader white culture and hence subject to a structural violence made possible by social and political arrangements. This structural violence is, moreover, rooted in an intentional urbanization design meant to isolate urban residents based on social status, race and/or profession (Wyly). The "clear" contrast between a "caring," black babysitter and a "spoiled," white child attests to a steady rise of commoditization of care. In performing her "job" to "look after" a child, shown woman is representing an example of a serving class made possible by methods of accumulation of wealth by dispossession of, if not physically isolating, urban poor. Thus, by "caring" and "serving" shown (African-American) woman exemplifies a segment of a new, serving class employed to perform jobs "dumped" by more "privileged" classes.
The Second Woman (center) appears to be performing a housekeeping job in a hospitality facility (probably in Cancun, Mexico). Being a woman is an asset for an industry (i.e. hospitality) growing increasingly feminized (Otis). As places and cities are commoditized (for more profits), female workers are hired more as "sex objects". This objectification of women is further intensified by assigning whiter women to more "visible", higher paying jobs and women of darker skin to more demanding, lower paying jobs. Thus, aligned to a global commoditization of places and cities, working women in hospitality industry are increasingly employed as commodities for actual, sexual consumption or symbolic, pleasing contemplation. Interestingly, Second Woman shares a serving function performed by First Woman made possible by commoditization of cheap, female labor in and beyond centers of wealth and power in Global North.
The Third Woman (right) is, as mentioned in lecture notes, a female worker in a maquiladora (a Mexican factory operated by local managers but owned by a multinational manufacturing company). Carmen, as she is called, works under stressful conditions and is subject to all unfair labor conditions a Mexican hand experiences working in a maquiladora: prolonged working hours, low pay, unhealthy work environment and, nor least, no labor rights (Butler and Teagarden). The claim of women's capacity to produce more delicate products and docility is often mentioned by global capital owners as a reason for preferring female to male workers in export-oriented production facilities. Like all Mexican, casual workers, Carmen faces an uncertain future should her facility closes shop. Thus, similar to First and Second Women, Carmen is subject to globalization's negative forces of accumulation by dispossession and structural violence.
Overall, all women share common grounds of: (1) gender (being feminine); (2) underprivileged (being excluded from sharing globalization's benefits by playing roles subservient to more privileged and dominant classes and gender and hence subject to a systemic, structural violence); and (3) dispossessed (being dislocated from native origins of bread winning and performing functions only serving global capital interests.
In conclusion, forces of globalization have made possible a return of older forms of human enslavement and hegemonic practices by setting up new sociopolitical arrangements in favor of global capital. These arrangements are manipulated in order to best exploit female workers as cheap labor in urban spaces usurped by global capital. To resist, malpractices by global capital should be further highlighted by giving current labor force a more feminine, powerful voice in and out of workspace.
Works Cited
Butler, Mark C., and Mary B. Teagarden. "Strategic management of worker health, safety, and environmental issues in Mexico's Maquiladora industry." Human Resource Management 32.4 (2006): 479–503. Wiley Online Library. Web. 17 Mar. 2016.
Otis, Eileen M. "Beyond the Industrial Paradigm: Market-Embedded Labor and the Gender Organization of Global Service Work in China." American Sociological Review 73.1 (2008): 15-36. Sage Journals. Web. 17 Mar. 2016.
Wyly, Elvin K. "Gentrification, Segregation, and Discrimination in the American Urban System." Environment and Planning A 36.7 (2004): 1215-1241. Sage Journals. Web. 17 Mar. 2016.
