Women as Reserve Army of Labour - Essay Example

Women as Reserve Army of Labour The concept of women as a reserved army of labor is a purely Marxist-feminist ideology (Mason, pp. 29-45). It mainly accounts for women’s lower attachment to the labor market. The employment of women during that time was pro cyclical. This means that they were hired only during labor shortages, and then were fired during economic downturns or in times of surplus of labor. In the 19th century, women were struggling to work, but the society was purely patriarchal. The role of women labor was disposable. It was in times of recession and economic downturns that women were looked upon as reserve army of labor. Marx supported his argument further by saying that the employment opportunities of women have further been under protect from the most awful effects of the crisis by the continued expansion of work during that period (Bruegel, 12-23). The battle for women’s work was different in the 20th century. They fought for the right to work and the right to choose. They even fought for suffrage. In addition, these women in the 20th century were in danger of being complacent. In the 21st century; however, there are no dangers of women being complacent. In the 21st century, the needs of the workers and the managers are purely of that of flexibility, planning, organizing, teamwork, and multitasking- all of which comes naturally to women. Part time comes with flexibility, and majority of the workforce that has been employed in the part time jobs are women (Pamela, 2008). Women play an important role as the reserve army of labor in the 21st century. We live in an age of technology where there are rapid developments every now and then. The emergence of businesses is great during this century. However, along with the spread of businesses comes the risk factor. Women are used as a reserve army of labor so that in times when these small businesses needs a boost, or when they are at risks, so the women are prepared to work for them and save them from falling apart. The advancement in the technology and machinery has led to great amount of redundancy in the economy. During this time, there was lack of expertise and skills due to which a gap was created and there was shortage of labor. This shortage created an upward pressure on wages and hence to the establishment of powerful unions (Weighten, pp. 101-142). In order to fill the gap, companies used women as a source of cheap labor, so that the unions may not cause issues. In times of reserve, women might serve the community in terms of social work. They can act as transcend workers and they can perform great deals of social work within the community (Sociology Index, 2009). In Taiwan, studies showed that in the patriarchal economy, women are used as a tool to reinforce social control. However, critics argue that this ideology of Marxists has been under generalization and that empirical research does not prove women to be a reserved army of labor. They argue that this concept of reserve army of labor of Marx applies to the role of unemployment within the abstract capitalist society (Anthias, pp. 1-11). In the 21st century, there exists no reserve army in particular. Women have been employed and work shoulder to shoulder of that of men. They work as transcend workers that mean they look after both the family and work. ‘The preference theory’, an effort by Catherine Hakim (pp. 123-132) talks about the choices of women regarding their contribution in development of the society. She talks about how the labor market is producing a different scenario of options and opportunities for women. After the contraception revolution, females can now control their fertility, which means that now they can work on equal grounds to that of men. They have an access to all locations, occupations, and professions in the labor market. Women are now more attracted towards the white-collar jobs rather than the blue-collar ones. She further talks “about women being heterogeneous in their preferences and priorities between family and work” (Hakim, pp. 123-132). They are classified as adaptive. In the 21st century, “women instead of family life and children alone, combine work and family, plus drifters and unplanned careers, and thus, the theory advocates that personal preferences can strongly predict employment decisions and fertility of women” (Hakim, pp. 123-132). The globalization of feminism has led to women shifting away their role identities, from that of a relational mother to that of the provider. Businesses mostly employ women because of cheaper wage rates and the return is higher. However, this generates the feminization of labor. As globalization has led to opportunities for women, it has also led to the perpetuation of the stereotypes that suppress women. “Women in the 21st century have joined with the labor movement to revolutionize and reshape the ideologies by protecting the human rights within labor” (Hechavvaria, 2005). Studies have shown that the number of women migrations is increasing at a very high rate. This is mainly due to globalization. Women are migrating from under developed regions to advanced industrial countries mainly with aim of securing viability and security of her family. This is usually done through working for the agricultural sector or by doing domestic work (Ericson, 2011). Now that women no longer confront discrimination in terms of work, and they are presented more in the media and at other facets of life, they shall be respected for their contributions and not suppressed, which the stereotypes are most likely to do. In the 21st century, women are moving into new spheres and looking things from new dimensions. A famous quote says, “Whatever women do they must do twice as well as men to be thought half as good, luckily, this is not difficult” (Mason, 100). This clearly shows that women have the ability to get things done faster than men do, that is through multi tasking, and that it shows that women are more competitive. However, the phenomenon of women winning the positions through sex appeal is not the only reason; multi tasking and competitive nature are other facets as well. Women who play an active role in the media can act as a reserve army of labor in the 21st century as well. The work in media is usually a part time job. Women have broken the stereotypes to treat human beings by sex, which has been done for decades (Hechavvaria, 2005). This has become possible through various movements such that of contraceptive, feminization, equal rights, etc. In particular, women are under utilization in advertising mainly because the consumers are mainly women. This shows that advertising manipulates the female image by persuading the females to buy the product. Today, more women do paid labor than before. The rise in the female workforce is mainly because of the rise of the capitalist development, which has sustained a greater representation of women labor in the workforce. Women now account for 36% of the paid workforce (The Economist, 2006). The participation of women in the export promotion zones have also raised. In the East and South Asia, women have accounted for 80% of the workforce in these export-promoting zones (The Economist, 2006). In the capitalist societies, women know the fact that they are being exploited and are being under represented, but they have to fight. In capitalism, women are a central part of the working class. Women unionists are working in Africa to organize women in the informal sector. In Central America, in order to produce maquilla workers, women workers defy violence and harassment. Women in Philippines have organized strikes. This shows how women have no choice in capitalism, but they still fight for their rights (League for the fifth International, 1998). The only longstanding reason where boys are preferred over girls is that parents are of the view that boys will earn more and support them in future. However, if practically seen, girls perform better in schools and a greater number of girls attend universities, therefore, an investment in a girl is likely to give more produce than in an investment in a boy. The news jobs of the 21st century are more compatible with the girls, because brains account a lot more than brawn. In Britain, a survey (The Economist, 2006) shows that more women are going in the fields of medical than men, and that women are more likely to give a better opinion on investment to their parents. In addition, the survey concludes that women consistently achieve higher returns than men do. The driving force behind growth in the past few decades have been the rise in female employment in the rich world. In this regard, mainly the women have contributed most in the GDP growth in comparison to other contributors, such as technology, etc. Women account for over half of the world output in addition to the value of house and child rearing. It is true that few women make it to the top of the companies and that they are paid less, but over the years, women will have more scope to increase their productivity and hence their incomes. The governments should take responsibility and employ women, since they are amongst the underutilized resource in an economy (The Economist, 2006). Women who do not have children and are single are most likely to remain in the work force for longer than married women with children are. There are greater chances for single women to have career advancements to that of men. It is most likely that married women usually have a discontinuous career path whereas a single woman is most likely to have a continuous career path like that of a man, so n return they get higher paid jobs. Married women discontinue and are more likely to interrupt their careers to concentrate on child rearing or maintaining families. However, now women are having fewer children and are returning to work earlier, so the time in which they are out of the labor force is decreasing (Weighten, pp. 360-380). Hence, this shows how important women are in this century and how have their roles evolved from a reserved army to a liberal labor force. Works Cited Anthias, Floya. "Women and the Reserve Army of Labor: A Critique of Veronica Beechay." Capital and Class. Volume 10, pp. 1-11. Bruegel, Irene. "Women as a Reserve Army of Labor." Feminist Review. Volume 3, Year 1979, pp. 12-23. Ericson, Misty K. More Than Fifty: Women’s Migration and Labor in the 21st Century, 2011. Retrieved on May 01, 2011: http://www.hercircleezine.com/studiohce/more-than-fifty-womens-migration-and-labor-in-the-21st-century/ Hakim, C. "Data for Britain and Spain." Wok lifestyle choices in the 21st Century, 1999. Volume 58, pp. 123-132. Hechavvaria, Diana. "Redefining Social Roles for Women in the 21st Century." Globalization, Feminism, and Labor Movement, 2005. Retrieved on May 01, 2011: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/12724/redefining_social_roles_for_women_in.html League for the fifth International. From Reserve Army to Frontline Troops: Women in the Global Workforce, 1998. Retrieved on May 01, 2011: www.fifthinternational.org/content/reserve-army-frontline-troops-women-global-workforce Mason, Anthony. The Bluffer’s Guide to Men and Women. Oval Projects, 2004. Pamela. The Changing Role of Women in the 21st Century, 2008. Retrieved on May 01, 2011: http://21st-centurynetwork.com/blog/?p=498 Sociology Index. Reserve Army of Labor, 2009. Retrieved on May 01, 2011: http://sociologyindex.com/reserve_army_of_labour.htm The Economist. Women in the workforce: Importance of sex, 2006. Retrieved on May 01, 2011: http://www.economist.com/node/6800723 Weighten, Wayne. Psychology Applied to Modern Life: Adjustment in the 21st Century. Cengage Learning, 2008. Read More