Through the article and class notes for this course, I leaned how change has brought people from the developed nations into the neighborhoods of the less developed world with dire consequences. I gained an insight into how a disadvantaged family structure increased inequality and discrimination.
Those from the less developed countries in trying to survive have resorted to migration, sacrificing on their culture and their families. They have been forced to accept inequality as their lot and to take what is given to them. This paper covers my experience with the issue of globalization through class notes and lectures, and how its effect on equality, culture, families, education, gender, race and migration.
Globalization is a transformation of the world where movement of capital, organizations, ideas, and people is increased globally. Through the class articles that I read during the course, I have learned that globalization brings about better distribution of world resources and hence better living conditions but it also brings about inequality and poverty for the less developed countries.
Globalization leads to high migration of workers from country to country. I read that some migrated from developed countries to less developed countries that happen to be tourist destinations. There they are able to compete successfully with the natives. Other migrants prefer to migrate from less developed countries to more developed countries. In those countries, they are able to find menial jobs and to send money back home.
Inequality may refer to economic or social inequality. Economic inequality is experienced when gender, race or origins play a role in worker compensation or choice of employees. It was interesting to learn that women face the problem of inequality as they are denied certain opportunities that are traditionally expected to be taken by men.
Due to increased migrant labor, employers can pay however much they please as the workers have no say. One of the articles gave a good example of the tourism sector in Costa Rica where employers are not required to pay benefits to migrant workers.
I read that they are also not highly concerned with employment paperwork and illegal employees can work there without being discovered. Colored workers also face inequality because they are not given the same jobs as their white colleagues.
As migration becomes more common, cultures collide. Migrant workers have no choice but to get used to new cultures and to shed their own in order to fit in and to keep their jobs. They have to gladly do unpleasant jobs that would not be acceptable to them in their culture.
In some cultures, older children are expected to take care of their siblings. In such cultures, these children opt to go to bigger cities where they can make more and send home a lot of money. Some cultures expect men to take care of their families and when they can’t do this in their countries, they move to find jobs elsewhere.
With increasing globalization, families are being severely affected. For example, after reading the class articles on globalization, I learned how parents are being forced to leave their children behind and crossing borders to earn a living.
As much as they send money back home, many feel that their absence negatively affects their children’s upbringing. Calling rates are high and this makes it difficult to keep in touch. The parents become emotionally absent from their child’s life.
Education is viewed as important for those who are trying to earn a living. With the collapse of industrial plants where many used to do manual labor, education has become a way out.
Those who wish to get an education face limitations like transport to their places of learning, obligations to their families and learning disabilities. Education is also considered to be a tool used by women to boost their self esteem and to become better role models for their children.
The culture of the man being the provider for the family is coming to an end as economic times are requiring women to be in the workforce. Tough economic times mean that there are less social welfare programs and some industries that provided income have gone down.
There are some professions that seem to be gender specific. This trend is brought about by culture and traditions. I read with interest how job openings that favor women are becoming more common in developing countries. The job of caring for the elderly or the sick is being done mostly by female foreigners. Gender is also a factor in the human trafficking business. Demand for females makes them more vulnerable than males.
Through my reading, I also discovered how race has always been a sensitive issue in countries with multiracial peoples. The minority races have been fighting for years to get the same treatment, the same careers and same education opportunities as the majority races. Moreover, I learned that discrimination in the third world tourism industry is much more common than in other industries.
Attending the various lectures and reading through the articles provided, I am now aware that the tourism industry now seeks workers who can communicate with the tourists and give them the service that they are accustomed to. This has led to the increase of discrimination against the local workers as foreigners hire foreigners for the top jobs.
The same case has been observed in the healthcare industry. There are more dark colored caregivers being hired for these jobs. This has been attributed to the fact that these jobs are more strenuous and therefore not desirable to the natives.
As travel becomes easier, there is an increase in migration as individuals and families look for greener pastures. Some of the most developed countries like America has toughened their laws on immigration and made it more difficult for migrant workers to settle in America.
In less developed countries, the laws are not as well enforced. Those who manage to settle in developed countries lose some of the connection they had with their loved ones. To keep this connection and emotions alive, they send back money that they work hard for.
Migration in some cases lead to trafficking as some people find themselves in unfamiliar territories. I have also discovered that human trafficking is sometimes a consequence of poverty as some adults sell their children in the hope that they will have better chances of a good life elsewhere.
These children are then used in child labor to produce goods at low prices. Other traffickers promise young adults good employment opportunities and sell them into modern day slavery. They are separated from their family and friends and have no way of going back home.
Reading through these articles, I came to the realization that families are a source of strength for many. As such, the family should be protected at all costs. Legal measures should be taken against trafficking of children, division of families due to poverty and oppression of the poor by the rich. As inequality is not being well tackled by developing tourism destinations, the locals can start up their own businesses as some have done.
They can offer the authentic feel that foreigners cannot offer other foreigners. Globalization has brought many good changes. Migrant workers can now provide for their families, more people are going back to school and there is increased gender equality. For progress to take place, people should always embrace the good and shun the bad.