IWHHR: Week 7A / 7B (Globalization and Women's Work / Sex Work and Sex Trafficking)

During the summer of 2014, I am taking an online course in Global Health from Stanford University taught by Anne Firth Murray entitled, "International Women's Health and Human Rights" (IWHHR). I will be posting my reflective writing assignments from each week's course of study. All writings can be found under the tag IWHHR. Details on the course can be found here.

If you are interested in taking this or another course, you can find a listing of the online courses offered by Stanford here. From economics to cryptography, courses are added each semester.

WEEK 7 THOUGHT QUESTION

Think about this question:

Although the text notes that there are many legitimate fears about the negative impact of globalization on women, it can be argued that there are benefits for women internationally. Describe in three to five thoughtful paragraphs three possible positive impacts of globalization on women.

After reading the text, I started to think that globalization has actually had great detrimental impact on women, which in many cases it has. The advances and money infused in poorer countries sometimes seems to have exacerbated the plight of poorer women. But with the bad, there is always good.

Globalization has opened opened up opportunities for women for paid employment and a way out of very restricted lives, has created new standards for the treatment of women, and has helped women's groups to come together and mobilize. In many countries globalization has helped to increase women's status and opportunities for growth and progression. Women have more job opportunities than they did even 50 years ago. There are also far more NGOs working to help women across the world.

"Although trafficking is in part a consequence of inequities stemming from capitalism and globalization, it is possible that, working together, women and men can employ some of the benefits of globalization -- instantaneous communication, the uninhibited flow of knowledge and ideas, and major upgrades in the technological infrastructure -- to prevent trafficking." (Murray, p. 218)

Change takes times. It's very likely that globalization's effects will impact women adversely before they get better, but I do believe it will get better over time. Change is a slow-moving ship, but it will eventually get there with the help of many people and the pass of time and people who are ingrained in the old ways. Together, as individuals and collectively, we will make a difference.