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Abstract

Globalization has been extensively debated in a range of contexts, from trade to borders, international relations, and conflict. It appears to be a positive force for women as many scholars contend that it has offered women new opportunities, thus enhancing greater gender equality in many countries where traditional patriarchal structures are firmly entrenched. However, some scholars are more skeptical of the benefits of globalization for women. They note that despite women gaining an increasing share of employment opportunities in a globalized world, the expected redistribution of domestic, household, and childcare responsibilities often did not materialize. They also argue that multinational corporations appear to uphold patriarchal systems, as these entities often view women’s labor as generally cheaper and more expendable than men’s labor. In this paper, the intricacies between globalization, migration, and gender are examined in order to investigate gender inequality and its consequences as well as the ways in which international migration is facilitated by globalization. Our review of relevant scholarship in these areas reveals that globalization has adversely affected women in both the Global North and the Global South, but the consequences to women in the latter are even more profound. The feminization of migration brought about by globalization has resulted in many challenges to women, including disruptions to family life and to the children left behind when mothers migrate to other countries in search of employment. It has also resulted in women’s position in society becoming more vulnerable as there is very little protection afforded to them as migrants, thus exposing them to many dangers such as sexual harassment. The findings above suggest that creating and implementing gender-responsive, equitable, and effective labor migration policies for migrant women should be prioritized and should be the shared responsibility of both countries of origin and countries of destination.

Author Biography

AKM Ahsan Ullah is an Associate Professor at the Geography, Environment and Development Studies programme at the Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences (FASS), Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD). Ullah has worked at the Southeast Asian Research Centre, Hong Kong; IPH, University of Ottawa, McMaster University, Saint Mary’s University, and Dalhousie University, Canada; the American University in Cairo (AUC); City University of Hong Kong, Osnabruck University, Germany, and Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Thailand. His research areas include population migration, human rights, development, globalization and the environment. Dr Ullah has published 15 books, 60 articles in refereed journals and 40 book chapters. Email id: akmahsanullah@gmail.com, ahsan.ullah@ubd.edu.bn

Sharifah Nurul Huda Alkaff is a Senior Assistant Professor and Programme Leader in the English Studies programme at the Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences (FASS) at Universiti Brunei Darussalam. Her research interests include media discourse analysis and investigating issues revolving around Islam, language, gender and the media. She has published many journal articles and book chapters in peer reviewed publications in these areas. She is currently conducting research on the reporting of mental health issues in Muslim societies of Southeast Asia. Email id: sharifah.alkaff@ubd.edu.bn

Shirley Chin Wei Lee is an Assistant Professor in the Geography, Environment and Development Studies programme at the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Universiti Brunei Darussalam. Dr Chin has a PhD in Management from the University of Kent, UK. Her areas of interests include tourism studies, migration, diaspora, tourism and community development, environmental sustainability, and socio-economic sustainability, among others. Dr. Shirley has published widely in these areas. Email id: weilee.chin@ubd.edu.bn

Dr. Diotima Chattoraj is an Adjunct Research Fellow at the Department of Social and Health Sciences in James Cook University, Singapore. She was a former Researcher at the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health at National University of Singapore (NUS). She also served as a Researcher Assistant at the Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences (FASS) in Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD). She completed her PhD at Ruhr University Bochum, Germany in 2016. Her research interests include migration, development, ethnicity, international relations, and boundary-making. Email id: diotima.chattoraj@gmail.com

Jannatul Ferdous is an Associate Professor at the Department of Public Administration, Comilla University, Bangladesh. Dr Ferdous received her Bachelor’s, Masters and MPhil in Public Administration from the University of Dhaka. She has published seven books in addition to numerous refereed journal articles and chapters in books. Her current interests include governance, e-governance, trust, civil service system, gender, public policy, climate change, gender and development. She is currently the Chair of the technical committee of the “Combating Gender-Based Violence” project of UN Women. She is also an Assistant Proctor at Comilla University. Email id: jannat.lata@cou.ac.bd

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