Women & Sweatshops:
Beyond the Economic Cost of Development
From the $800 Coach purse on display at Macy's department store to the $3.99 sweatshirt you purchased last winter from Target, almost every product found in American stores, whether cheap or expensive, comes at a cost that is more than an economic one. Employment in developing and under-developed countries is seen as a major step toward improvement. Thus, in theory, companies moving factories overseas are providing job potential for literally millions of impoverished and unemployed people. The problem in practice is that the motive and drive to do so is based on profit and these factories have come to be called sweatshops, certainly not a positive term. Companies move production overseas with the intention of saving money and therefore others must in order to be economically competitive. Taking advantage of a lack of a developed system of labor laws, policies, and enforcement in these countries, as well as a weaker economic system, corporations can produce, obtain, and provide products for a very reduced financial cost to people in the “developed” world.
Heralded by many leading poverty experts such as Jeffery Sachs, sweatshops are often credited for empowering women. Allowing them the mobility to leave the villages for economic opportunity with the potential for increased social rights and independence, employment for women is seemingly full of potential. In fact, in poor countries around the world, areas called Export Processing Zones, women make up between 70-90% of the workforce. In comparison with the historical patriarchal role of women exclusively in the home, this is a significant change.
The sad reality of the situation however, is that although women are now employed on such a large scale, their work situations are anything but empowering. Meager pay, unsafe working conditions, discrimination, and a number of incidents of sexual harassment and forced sexual relations are commonplace in sweatshops around the world. In addition, the role of women in the home and in caring for children and the elderly has not seen such dramatic change. Women are now responsible for not only caring for their families but also working to provide financial support.
Working to improve conditions for women in these situations is crucial to sustainable development worldwide. Employment provides a path to empowerment, but unless the worker is valued and treated with respect and equality, it becomes only another form of oppression and enslavement. In my post next week, I will introduce you to an international non-profit organization focused on labor rights for all with a wide-reaching and influential campaign devoted specifically to the struggles of women.
Photo Credit: Terese Agnew, 2005. Portrait of a Textile Worker
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