I knew about the outsourcing of manufactured goods labor to countries in which lower pay rates could prevail, but I did not know about the efforts of South Korean women to reject the societal expectations of femininity, including supporting family as a daughter, marrying respectably, and remaining docile. Instead, they created their own definition of femininity which protected their own welfare and justified the worth of their labor as higher than the cheap wages they were earning. These women “demanded the right to organize, decent working conditions, and a fair wage” (Enloe, 2004, p. 49) and change happened. Nike shut down many South Korean factories during the late 1980s and early 1990s (p. 48), realizing that they could not take advantage of these women any longer. Women in South Korea were demanding better working conditions, but Nike knew it could change the locations of their factories to maintain low production costs by taking advantage of less empowered women in other countries. It was encouraging to read that they were attempting to “buck the system” but, unfortunately, many of these women lost their source of employment because of their protesting efforts.
These South Korean women were not receiving equal privileges to men, but they were viewed as “no longer controllable” by Nike executives, who changed factory locations. I wonder how women in developing countries can work within companies to demand higher wages, actually earn higher wages, yet maintain a good relationship with the company so that the company does not feel threatened by the women’s demands for better conditions. This does not seem possible when companies prioritize profits above human rights.
This video shows that Nike blames the sub-contractors of their factories in developing countries for inhumane conditions, treatment, and wages.
UW cuts ties with Nike over labor concerns
In the “Safe Keepers and Wage Earners” chapter, Anuradha Shyam explains how she is able to live within U. S. society as a successful businesswoman, but still feels obligated to value the traditions of Indian culture and familial responsibilities. I have heard stories like hers many times before, as my closest friend in high school is a first generation Indian-American and experiences a very similar struggle. But it seems that this “in-between” status which often includes compromise is more difficult for many of the South Korean women mentioned in Enloe’s chapters. They must align themselves with the traditional culture or reject the culture.
Amy raises a good point regarding the struggles for South Korean women to either align themselves with their traditional culture of to reject that culture completely. It seems difficult to try to compromise because in doing so they are basically expected to fill two separate roles that cannot easily coexist. For instance, a businesswoman is then expected to raise the children and do the housework, neither of which is an easy task. To me this raises a major issue that is apparent in American society. I see this trend with many of my friend’s mothers and my own mother. Often when women have full time jobs they are still expected to do the housework and have dinner on the table. Many women are still filling their traditional role of housewife even if they are no longer actual housewives.
ReplyDeleteI found the video that Amy posted really interesting. On the one hand it shows how some schools are taking the initiative and demanding that Nike changes how it does business. On the other hand though, Green Bay will not be ending their business with Nike because of the good business and deals that they have with Nike. I think that this shows how people care more about their own profit, than looking closer at what Nike is doing. The coach in the video said that she had heard a little bit about how Nike manufactured their goods, but she didn't really know that much about it. As the person with the contract with Nike, I would think that she would want to know about it. I also thought that it was really interesting how Nike blamed it on their sub-contractors. Nike plays the blame-game, while their customers turn a blind eye.
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