Working Women

Anuradha Shym's article "Safe Keepers and Wage Earners" discusses the experience of South Asian working women in the United States. She was lucky because her family did not believe in the normal traditional views of women just working in the household. They believed that she should be educated ad that she should be able to provide for herself. Her parents were her biggest advocates and supported her independent decisions. When in college she did research on South Asian immigrants and gender roles. The cultural in Inida continues to Westernize but traditions are still upheld and immigrants are "continueously prescribed to gender roles and to uphold cutural continuity and family honor" (176). She read further into the issues including violence against women in immigrant communities. These women had poor English skills, lacked visas and became dependent for their spouses for money, they were therefore trapped in the abusive realtionships. She helped these women with resume writing, job interviewing and financial management which inturn helped these women become independent and escape their abusive relationships. Even second-generation immigrant women have to assimilate into American society and be considered both a wife and a mother. Men traditionally will always be the bread-winners and women are burdened with the household duties. When Anuradha got married she had no idea how to cook and was trying to balance her work with her home life. Women are still looked at as objects and these women also have to worry about trafficking and forced prostitution. Anuradha still wonders: "Can I have it all?" (182).

Cynthia Enloe's book "The Curious Feminist" talks about two different chapters on working women in countries with minimum wage that are mostly less then $1.00. "The Globetrotting Sneaker" discusses sneaker companies and the women who work in the factories making them. Most Asian women are told that working for the sneaker companies for the U.S. iis a "sign that their country is progressing" (44). Korean women take up the Confucian philosophies and therefore by her willingness to work hard for her family measures her mortality. They suffer daily hummiliations, low wages, hard and long hours and are sexually assulted. She deals because it is her family duty and brings her fmaily respect. I don't think that women should be submmitted to this treatment because it does not seem to gain them respect just further allows the treatment to them. But this is a western view and we can not bring our views into another countries cultures no matter what we think. It is not our place. The Nike phrase "Just Do IT" empowered women and therefore factories shut down in response. Women aslos could not talk bad about the complanies they worked for no matter how bad they disagreed with them because they would be fired or treatment would be worse.

Chapter 4 "Daughters and Generals in the Politics of the Globalized Sneaker" talks about the compettition among the different companies. one-third of all sneaker companies come from China. The cheap labor that women have to endure is just among one of the problems. They also deal with teribble wages and treatment. Why do they endure this? Because they are looking to be considered a "good housewife" and to bring honor to thier family. They go to work in the factories and then send some money home to their family and set some aside for the money they have to bring into their wedding. It is called daughter patriotism. They need to be considered good daughters so they will make good wives.