The Identifying the Trouble of Female Mexican Laborers - Essay Example

Males are inherently physically stronger than females, while females bring with them patience and care for the crops they handle. As I see it, the only reason why females are preferred for contractual labor is that they are considered to be more tolerant to hardships and subsequently less likely to surge against the current system.

Despite the obvious benefits of employing both male and female laborers for agricultural work, the global North, in contrast to that of the South, tends to favor the males. Aside from the possible reasons indicated in the study of Preibisch and Grez, one possible reason is that females are, by history, put in harder types of labor than males are. The differences in the economic status of Canada and Mexico may explain why the preferences for agricultural laborers are different. In Mexico, wherein agriculture is the largest and most financially active economic sector and thus has the most labor-intensive jobs available. In high-income countries such as Canada, for example, the agriculture sector enjoys technological advancements, such as tractors and milling machines, that make work in the fields easier. Thus the most labor-intensive and, subsequently the jobs that the native Canadians prefer not to take, are those in the caregiving and domestic help sectors. Consequently, the jobs in these sectors are those that are made available to the migrant workers. Since females are historical, domesticated, unless their help is needed in generating income, as is the case in low-income countries such as Mexico, they are the ones put in the caregiving and domestic help sectors, while the males get the jobs in the agricultural sector.

As indicated in Preibisch and Grez's article as well as in the items above, the gender-based selection of laborers both in the global North and South is rooted in the historical discrimination in both parts of the world. In my opinion, it is not enough that a global restructuring of the economy is done to prevent such occurrences from happening. A more comprehensive approach to battling gender discrimination must be performed in both countries, more so in the poorer global South, through the media and its other sectors. However, this demands a more dramatic change that affects even the deepest trenches of its culture and history. Notions such as self-pity and weaker sex should be abolished by empowering women in media, religion, and possibly politics. As expected, this will ignite heated debates and discussions, but in such fora will this change be considered, even noticed. The current problem lies in who and where to start this movement. Something tells this writer that it shouldn’t be in the agricultural or economic sector, but rather in an all-encompassing sector such as religion. Read More