Globalization and Migration: The Great Gender Equalizer?

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.

Headnote

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.

Keywords: Globalization, Migration, Gender, Inequality

Introduction: Globalization and Gender

The debates about the interplay of globalization, economic growth, and poverty center on a gendered dimension in structural shifts. Globalization as a phenomenon has been examined by scholars in a range of contexts (Ullah & Ho, 2020; Ritzer, 2011), for example, trade, borders, international relations, migration, and warfare. Theoretically, globalization is seen as a force that has decentralized power traditionally held by men and granted more power to women (Roth, 2006). The traditional gendered division of labor has become more deeply rooted through the broadening of new areas and modes of work brought about by globalization (Erickson, 2010). However, other scholars hold opposing views on the effects of globalization on women. Ullah and colleagues (2020b), Turnipseed (1986), and Standing (1989) agree that globalization has provided women with new opportunities; thus, feminization of employment is promoted and encouraged by globalization of production and flexible forms of employment. Globalization and economic processes have had a profound impact on the lives of men and women of all ages, nationalities, social classes, and ethnicities (Ullah & Ho, 2020; Ullah, 2016). However, there are counterarguments that globalization reproduces gender stereotypes and creates barriers instead of dismantling them (Ullah, 2016; Chepkemei et al., 2013). While migration and globalization research extensively discusses gains and losses as a result of globalization, most studies focus on the influence of jobs on women's wellbeing, notably in the manufacturing sector.

The pro-globalists advocate that globalization promotes gender equality by generating employment opportunities in the export processing sector (Black & Brainerd, 2004), thus enabling women to escape the subordination of the traditional patriarchal system (Ullah, 2004). The relocation of firms and investors has resulted in increased professional mobility for women. Employers do not discriminate against women because of globalization (Black & Brainerd, 2004), as discrimination is costly in a fiercely competitive environment. When a country specializes in female-intensive services, gender inequality should be avoided because it reduces the country's ability to compete on a global scale (World Bank, 2011). However, Saunders (2004) and Moghadam (1999) note that despite women being successful in gaining an increasing share of employment opportunities, a redistribution of domestic, household, and childcare responsibilities did not materialize. Moghadam (1999) iterates that feminist theorists such as Friedan (1998) and Smith (1977) have been particularly critical of the structural adjustments of markets and their objectives to support women's labor because when compared to men, women's labor is generally cheaper and more expendable. This supports the notion that multinational corporations appear to uphold patriarchal systems. Standing (1989) argues that when these corporations shift their production sites to low-wage economies, more jobs are generated, implying that this relocation may trigger migration.

This paper seeks to examine the intricate connections between globalization, migration, and gender-elements that are often interlinked and perceived as complex constructs due to the dynamic nature of their relationship (see Figure 1). In this paper, we focus on gender inequality, its consequences, and how migration brought about by globalization further perpetuates the exploitation of women. This paper also includes discussion of the international development of capitalism, which is followed by an investigation of its effects on the feminization of the workforce and how international capitalism affects the female workforce in many contexts.

Globalization affects men and women differently. It harms women more than men because of the heightened risk of poverty for the former. Numerous research projects have established the fact that globalization has promoted gender inequality. Firstly, both men and women play different roles in the productive and reproductive sectors. Women's lower labor market position, involvement in the care economy, and the reproductive tasks associated with their gender role are harmed by an unequal division of labor. These factors limit women's access to resources and make them more vulnerable to poverty, which Moghadam (1999) refers to as a phenomenon known as the "feminization of poverty."

Any attempts to liberalize markets have different consequences for men and women. As the segregation of the labor market is often based on gender, any trade expansion has a gendered effect. There are differences in the economic resources, social duties, and bodily experiences of men and women, and thus trade policies impact them differently. Secondly, the nature of global governance seems to ignore this gendered reality. Critics frequently accuse global governance of being gender biased because it maintains pre-existing imbalances in its policies (David, 1996). Third, structural transformations brought about by globalization have made the reproductive/care industry more crucial than it has ever been for economic growth. To mitigate the negative social consequences of the current economic crisis, recommendations for improvement to the care economy must be implemented. Low wages also harm the competitiveness of the productive economy. As a result, many lower-middle income countries actually attribute their economic progress to wage discrimination based on gender (Seguino, 2000).

Changes in women's positions and wellbeing around the world can also have a considerable impact on achieving human development goals because they already face genderbased discrimination (Pearson, 2000). This paper aims to offer an overview of current knowledge on the complex relationship between gender inequalities, on the one hand, and the economic liberalization policies that underpin globalization processes, on the other. To provide a thorough analysis of these issues, we investigate how globalization has impacted gender roles as a whole. Globalization has prompted a "global care chain" (Nguyen et al., 2017), which brings about the increased migration of domestic workers, most of whom are women. Taking this into account, Basu and Chattoraj (2022) argue that female domestic workers contribute significantly to sociocultural, political, and economic spheres through remittances and entrepreneurial activities.

Scholars (Cortes, 2015; Herrera, 2012; and Kusakabe, 2010) examine the impact of economic globalization and migration on women's employment. Most of them take the form of advocacy-oriented pieces. In this paper, we review studies that specifically connect the concept of globalization with the literature on the causal factors associated with gender and migration. Although the literature on this topic in Asian societies needs further development, we have reviewed more than a hundred papers from journals, edited books, technical reports, and working papers on gender-focused globalization. In addition, research from the Internet provided secondary data from an array of online reports, documents, and newspaper articles.

Underlying Conceptual Issues

Economic globalization and capital integration are hot topics in academic circles. Professionals such as gender-focused economists and social scientists have attempted to address the issue of globalization. Despite economic forces being a significant factor in its development, globalization is regarded as a complex phenomenon with political and cultural dimensions. Through new information and communication technologies, as well as free trade and finance-friendly legislative policies, globalization has increased economic interconnections through trade, money flows, and global production (Ullah & Ho, 2020).

Globalization can take on two distinct meanings where the fundamental definition of globalization includes technological improvements, trade and financial liberalization, and the internationalization of production via multinational corporations (MNCs) along with regional integration. Stabilization and structural adjustment plans, the state's withdrawal from the economic process of governance "marketization," are also included in the broader term (Taylor, 2000; Blackmore, 2000). Globalization and the neo-liberal economic paradigm are frequently referred to as global capitalism by proponents of this broader concept. As a political and intellectual enterprise, neo-liberalism provides the theoretical foundation for globalization, which focuses on concepts beyond simply trade and financial liberalization (Peterson, 1996). Ritzer (2011, p.23) refers to "globalization as a set of processes involving the growth in migration and information in the global age and the growing multi-directional flows of people, objects, places, and information." Moghadam (1999, p.370) sees globalization as a "complex economic, political, cultural and geographic process in which the mobility of capital and people have taken on an increasingly global or transnational form." Gender, on the other hand, "denotes a hierarchical division between women and men embedded in both social institutions and practices" (Jackson & Scott, 2002, p.13).

The most optimistic models, such as trade theory, anticipate that women's wages will increase as emerging countries make use of their comparative labor cost advantage to generate demand for their services. However, long-standing discrimination against women in the job market impairs resource allocation efficiency (Black & Brainerd, 1999). In contrast, less optimistic approaches contend that the relative income of unskilled women's labor will not grow as a result of increased demand because of an infinite supply of inexpensive women's labor enabled by capital mobility and because the accompanying downward pressure on women's salaries negates any beneficial effects (Ghosh, 2002). According to Joekes (1999), this line distinguishes low-income countries with newly emerging export activities from middle-income countries with more developed sectors.

Although gender is embedded within society and culture, this does not mean that there are all-encompassing characteristics that are seen as masculine or feminine (Figure 1). Hence, migration is viewed as very much a gendered phenomenon (O'Neil et al., 2016), as it is shaped by gender norms and expectations, power relations, and unequal rights (see Figure 3). For example, women migrants make a substantive contribution to Asia's labor market due to the rising intra- and inter-Asian women's migration since the 1990s.

Globalization has prompted replacement migration-which refers to the international migration needed to offset declines in the size of the population, the declines in the population of working age people, and the overall aging of a population-and implies that the demand for domestic helpers has increased. There are an estimated 75.6 million domestic laborers worldwide, with 76.2% being women, meaning that men make up only about a quarter of all domestic workers (Basu & Chattoraj, 2022). When it comes to seeking jobs in the domestic sector, women have an advantage over men. The Asia Pacific region remains the world's largest employer of domestic workers (ILO, 2021). China employs 22 million domestic workers, followed by India (4.8 million), the Philippines (2 million), Bangladesh (1.5 million), and Indonesia (1.2 million). Their monthly income is 56% lower than that of other workers, and they are more likely to work in extremely vulnerable conditions. Labor and social security policy deficiencies contribute to the informality of domestic work (ILO, 2021).

Collected data demonstrate gender inequality in terms of employment opportunities. Globally, the average age of women in the labor force is decreasing (ILO, 2019a). In 2019, less than half of all women (47.7%) were in the labor force, a decrease from 50.9% in 1990 (Catalyst, 2020). This is due to structural barriers and cultural constraints, according to the ILO (2019b). Despite an increase in the number of women pursuing higher education, there is still a gender gap in employment. There is also a gender disparity in unpaid caregiving responsibilities. Only 41 million (1.5%) men provide full-time unpaid care globally, compared to 606 million (21.7%) women. And globally, women hold less than one-third (29%) of senior positions (Catalyst, 2020). Furthermore, the global wage disparity between men and women is widening, since women earn 16% less in average hourly wages and 22% less in median monthly salaries, with significant variations across countries (Global Wage Report, 2018-19). All these factors call into question the pro-globalist argument that globalization benefits women in general.

Cheng (1999) also notes shifts in employment opportunities away from traditionally male-dominated heavy industries and towards traditionally female domains, such as services, hospitality, entertainment, light manufacturing, and so on. This is because population aging and women's entry into the professional labor force create demand in women-dominated employment sectors that native-born workers are hesitant to fill (Ehrenreich et al., 2004). These shifts have resulted in highly feminized and ethnically segregated occupational niches (Hofmann & Buckley, 2013). The changes in demand for domestic work sectors are driving women's migration.

Women's migration is frowned upon in traditional societies. It is also portrayed as women "abandoning" their responsibilities as wives and/or mothers (Keough, 2006). Restrictive patriarchal gender norms, often reinforced by legal barriers to their freedom, discourage women migrants of some sending countries from arriving in the destination countries (Oishi, 2005). Women's migration is tolerated, if not welcomed, in some contexts. Social attitudes, on the other hand, are gradually changing and play a role in determining the acceptability of women's migration.

Hugo (2005) claims that women from lower-middle income countries reinforce class and social constructions of race by working in the service and entertainment industries. According to Hofmann and Buckley (2013), women's social status and human capital are important factors in facilitating the social acceptance of their migration. Education and skills provide the capital required for self-sufficiency in migration, resulting in more women migrants. Women's autonomy and decision-making power within households drive their migration in a variety of contexts (Oishi, 2005). Women's ability to migrate is influenced by gender norms, but migration changes norms and values in sending communities. When women migrate, their male counterparts' identities are jeopardized because they are on the verge of losing their role as the primary breadwinner (Asis et al., 2004).

Women's experiences in male-dominated occupations are equally well-documented (Harris & Guiffre, 2010). According to Acker (1990), Levin (2001), and Pierce (1995), women in various professions try to fit in by presenting socially as men and hiding their gender through appearance, interactions, and work performance. Women in non-traditional jobs earn respect by emphasizing their equality (Roth, 2006). In this classic gender integration technique, women must disguise their femininity in male-dominated companies (Britton, 2003; Zimmer, 1987). Thus, the feminization of migration becomes a self-reinforcing process; once migration resumes, gender norms in the society of origin become more equitable, leading more women to migrate.

Feminist approaches to globalization seek to provide frameworks for understanding the gender injustices associated with globalization. Although gender oppression takes different forms in various social, cultural, and geographical locations, women in every society face systemic drawbacks (Jaggar, 2001). Sexism, stereotypes, and prejudice have hindered women throughout history. As one simple example of discrimination with far-reaching impacts, Chepkemei et al. (2013) observe that women have been traditionally deprived of voting rights under the pretext that they were incapable of forming opinions on politics.

The Feminization of Migration

The concept of feminization of migration originated from Asia, in particular from Southeast Asia (henceforth SEA) primarily because the number of female migrants in this region outnumber male migrants (Ullah et al., 2019). Feminization refers to a shift in gender and sex roles when incorporating women in professions that men once dominated. Some would argue that the feminization of the workforce liberates women by allowing them to be financially independent. However, Beneria et al. (2012) observe that the growing number of women migrants represents profound changes in family structure and gender roles in the international division of labor. The disruptive effects of commerce impact men and women differently. Scholars have raised concerns about the long-term viability of formal employment, the impact of displacement on women's traditional work and livelihoods, and job losses during economic downturns. Job losses due to gender segregation in the labor market are becoming increasingly risky, as finding a new one is notoriously difficult (Fontana et al. 1998). The feminization of unemployment is a global economic phenomenon that is closely related to the feminization of labor, and it is exacerbated by women's precarious financial position (Moghadam, 1999). Globalization-related economic, social, and demographic changes have increased the pool of potential female labor migrants (see Figure 2). Several lower-middle income countries have implemented economic reforms in the last three decades that have resulted in male unemployment and pushed women into the labor force by contributing to reductions in welfare services, placing additional burdens on women to "replace" these services, either with additional domestic labor or through wage work (Sassen, 2000).

Though women's capacity to migrate has historically been hampered by traditional gender roles, they are now increasingly able to move freely, which is a hallmark of globalization. Asian women are the fastest-growing segment of international migrants (Wilson, 1999). In the Caribbean, many women are motivated to relocate for both practical and emotional reasons. Unfortunately, undocumented migrant women are subjected to a variety of assaults. Women's migration, tourism, and the global sex trade are all intertwined, and the global sex industry is a direct result of this. In terms of revenue, the sexual exploitation of women is second only to transnational drug and weapon trafficking. According to Hughes (2000), new technology, global tourism, and globalized crime have enabled the sex industry to exploit, sell, and transport women and children to male consumers.

Care workers are a significant source of international migration from developing and transitional countries to advanced countries. Women work as nurses, midwives, live-in caregivers for the sick and elderly, nannies, and housekeepers, while men work in construction, manufacturing, and agriculture. The most skilled migrant workers are in the healthcare industry. Their skills are sought after in many middle- and higher-income countries. More than half of the U.K. Nursing and Midwifery Council's new registrants in 2003 were international nurses while 40% of medical personnel in Queensland, Australia were trained abroad. Meanwhile, 57% and 53% of registered nursing positions remained vacant in Ghana and Malawi, respectively, in 2002 (Maybud & Wiskow, 2007).

Certain aspects of globalization have had a significant impact on people's ability to travel around the world. When it comes to information dissemination, technological and communication advancements are to blame for the shift in public perception. Travel has made it easier for many people to learn about the social and economic problems of other countries. As a result of structural changes, people were forced to flee their countries in search of better living and working conditions during the neoliberal period. Trade agreements, like the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), have also accelerated structural changes, such as the large-scale exodus of rural Mexican workers.

Income disparities between low- and high-income areas have widened in many Global South countries in recent years, providing yet another impetus for international migration. In 1970, there was a reported 23-to-1 income disparity between the richest and poorest quarters of GDP countries. By 2010, the financial incentive for people to leave their home countries had increased to a 29-to-1 ratio (Cingano, 2014). Individuals, families, and organizations all benefit greatly from international networks in terms of information and assistance in making migration decisions. When non-profit organizations and commercial networks aim to increase the mobility of workers at various levels, they both fall into this category.

International migration has been commodified and feminized in tandem with the globalization of the labor force. Because of the wealth and development disparities between states of the Global South and North, globalization has encouraged cross-regional migration. There are several examples of this, including migration from Latin America, Asia, and Eastern Europe. Finally, the 2008 global economic crisis, rooted in excesses of financial globalization and other neoliberal policies, continues to impact many high-income countries. These policies have resulted in massive unemployment, which has had an impact on international migration. As a result of the economic crisis, migrants are returning home, and immigration is decreasing. This broader context is required to comprehend the rise of international migration, particularly among women, since the turn of the century. Globalization has made it easier for people to capitalize on the differences and opportunities that exist between countries, resulting in greater desires and opportunities to improve their lives.

Migrants and their families face uncertainty as a result of the short-term nature of their contracts. As Kusakabe's (2010) case study of Burmese women factory workers in Thailand demonstrates, migrant women may face both the issues of working under insecure economic and legal conditions and the responsibility of caring for their own children. The increasing feminization of migration has brought with it some challenges, such as negative effects on children and adults left behind, the need to manage remittances in households, difficulties in sharing resources, and the struggle to reunite families (Ullah, 2010). Salazar (2001), which is one of the first studies to investigate the impact of parental migration on their children in the Philippines, states that the effects may differ depending on which parent has migrated. According to Herrera (2012), Ecuadorian families who have migrated to Spain use transnational strategies to cope with the global economic crisis and unemployment.

Are women treated equally due to globalization? According to the pro-globalists, globalization offers employment opportunities for women, thus allowing them to be independent and self-sufficient (Figure 3). However, what is not addressed is why the distribution of labor in the workforce is still gendered.

Globalization-driven migration has resulted in a segment of the population being left behind (Ullah, 2017). These family members who remain behind are those who are financially and emotionally dependent on the migrants but who do not accompany them (Ullah, 2017:04). Globally, low-, semi-, and unskilled workers migrate for a set period of time, usually two or three years (Ullah, 2015). Migrating alone allows them to save money from their disposable income. Furthermore, their basic salary and/or the terms of their job contracts frequently prohibit them from bringing their spouses and children with them (Ullah, 2011; Dushanbe, 2014), while they are expected to shoulder additional responsibilities.

These issues also link to replacement migration, which intersects with the feminization of migration. In a global care chain (GCC), women deliver their labor to the employer while utilizing another woman's care labor-paid or unpaid-i.e., replacement migration (Ullah, 2015). GCC is a global network of personal relationships based on the paid or unpaid work of caring (Ritzer, 2011), and women's labor is central to this. According to Ehrenreich et al. (2004), this means that domestic worker migration is part of a GCC. When a woman takes on a professional job, she becomes unable to fulfill household and family responsibilities. For example, if a mother relocates to another country to work as a nanny or maid, another woman in her home country will care for her family as a nanny or maid (Figure 4). This means that women reinforce the gender division of labor or employment by delegating care work to another woman. This leads to an increase in the migration of domestic workers. Instead of delegating her household chores to family members, she delegates them to another woman, who is usually a migrant herself (Ullah, 2015).

Southeast Asia: An Exemplar

Globalization has penetrated borders all over the world, influencing and changing the current tenets of international relations. A highly integrated and interdependent global economy promotes free capital flow and free trade, as well as the ability to tap into neighboring countries for foreign labor markets (Figure 4). Economic liberalization in the SEA region is not gender-neutral, as men and women are affected differently. It is unusual for trade policy to be decided based on gender considerations because most SEA governments only consult a select group of leaders when making trade policy decisions. Though economic liberalization is intended to boost competitiveness and improve society's overall quality of life, poor women in both lower- and middle-income SEA countries lack the necessary skills, technology, and other resources to reap the benefits of trade liberalization (Chandra et al., 2010).

According to Baruah (2019), SEA and the Asia Pacific region employ nearly 10 million domestic workers. Domestic workers account for nearly 20% of all migrant workers in SEA, with the vast majority (83%) being women. Increased population aging and replacement migration have resulted in a significant influx of domestic workers from the Philippines, Indonesia, and Thailand (Ullah et al., 2019). Separation from a migrant parent (which creates transnational households) leads left-behind children to expect their migrant parents to rejoin the family (Cortes, 2015). In many communities, a family migration culture encourages children to seek employment abroad (Graham & Jordan, 2011). It is estimated that 2-3% of Indonesian and Thai children have one or both parents working in another country. Examples abound elsewhere, such as in Ecuador, where approximately 36% of migrant mothers and 40% of migrant fathers abandon their children (UNDP, 2009). In the Philippines, the majority of the population desires to work abroad, with approximately 19 million Filipinos working abroad, 55.8% of whom are women (Philippine Statistics Authority, 2019).

Gender relations in the SEA and other lower-middle income countries are said to have unequal power, resulting in a significant disparity in income, favoring men (Margawati, 2007). Men and women maintain different class positions as a result of gendered economic opportunities. Women are more likely to be poor, malnourished, uneducated, and overworked than men. As a result, Seguino (2006) contends that gender should be considered an important macroeconomic variable because gender relations have a definite impact on economic advancement.

SEA trade policy-makers frequently assume that the relationship between trade, inequality, and poverty is gender agnostic, although they occasionally acknowledge the importance of gender in the distribution of household resources or the operation of labor markets. Exchange rate policies, trade and finance, job creation, fiscal policies, growth, and price stability are frequently viewed as gender-neutral, resulting in the exclusion of gender considerations from trade policy formulation in the region. As a result, gender is frequently overlooked, both theoretically and practically, perpetuating gender biases in most economies.

According to Chandra, Lontoh, and Margawati (2010), the success of the export-led strategy in SEA in the 1980s was demonstrated by the income disparity between men and women workers. With a greater emphasis on the export-led industrialization strategy in SEA to adopt flexible prices, women face less bargaining power than their male counterparts. As a result, Westley and Mason (1998) contend that the 1990s implementation of a free-trade strategy exacerbated the financial difficulties of women in SEA.

It is undeniable that international manufacturing production networks have resulted in a significant increase in women's employment in SEA and beyond. Women constitute a sizable proportion of the labor-intensive female sector, such as the garment industry. However, as the trend of relocating production and factories from newly industrialized economies to SEA and China continues, women's position in society becomes more precarious. This disparity occurs because the increase in the women's workforce has a subsequent trade-off with their welfare; poor working conditions for women jeopardize the quality of their lives and their households (Francisco & Durano, 2008; Margawati, 2007). In his study on Cambodia, Khus (2007) discovers that sexual harassment from the male counterparts of female workers is widespread and that their pay is frequently reduced without justification. Similar findings have been reported by Antonopoulous and Floro (2005) as occurring in Indonesia and Thailand.

Globalization's impact on lower-middle-income economies has created a supply of women and children to be trafficked, in addition to easy movement for sex traffickers to trade. According to Calandruccio (2005), in this case, globalization acts as a catalyst, expanding the sex industry on a global scale through lax controls and checks where traffickers easily move victims across borders. The tourism and entertainment industries have provided enormous opportunities for development, particularly in terms of foreign exchange earnings and inter- sectoral growth, as globalization and travel have become easier. However, this may create opportunities for women's exploitation, human trafficking, and gender segregation to flourish. According to Williams (2002), the liberalization of tourism industries endangers women's wellbeing, primarily because sex tourism has become a part of many SEA countries' tourism activities.

Discussion and Conclusion

One of the primary drivers of the growing gender divide is women's inability to compete equally with men in the global economy. The labor market has been divided along racial and gender lines since the industrial revolution, and, as a result, women and men continue to face significant discrimination in society and the workplace. Women's labor-paid and unpaid-in the informal sector and at home, in manufacturing, and in public and private services is critical to global accumulation in market economies, new trade regimes, and competitive export industries. While global capitalism provides opportunities for women, they are hired under the assumption that women are only qualified for low-wage jobs. As a result, women are harmed and exploited at a disproportionately higher rate.

Despite slow shifts in policymakers' and people's perceptions that gender is not a barrier to choosing a profession, the long-held belief that some jobs are gender-specific has made career paths difficult for many. Nursing, for example, is based on the belief that women care for others as a result of their maternal emotions and experiences (Turnipseed, 1986). However, some new trends have emerged that challenge this long-held belief. For example, while male priests have long dominated the profession, women priests officiating marriages and, more recently, festivals such as Durga Puja are emerging as a new trend in India.

In recent years, the feminization of migration has resulted in mothers abandoning young children. Children who are left behind are cared for by fathers, relatives, neighbors, and others. For example, approximately 60 million children in China are believed to be raised without the presence of parents due to parental migration (Ullah & Haque, 2020). In addition, left-behind wives often have to manage their husbands' remittances. This could be seen as a positive enhancement of their decision-making capacities or as a negative additional burden. In the meantime, mothers who migrate face anxiety about their children, who may be at risk of delinquency. In patriarchal societies, social conventions regarding women as mothers shape their children's expectations about who should nurture them, exacerbating their sense of loss when their mother migrates. These children may be at a higher risk of poor mental health as a result of their separation from their primary caregiver.

Migrants often begin their careers in historically male-dominated professions such as agriculture and construction before shifting to traditionally female-dominated professions, such as domestic service and other forms of caregiving as well as the garment, hotel, and restaurant industries. The question that needs to be answered for those who are left behind is how migration affects their family life. To develop alternative approaches and advocacy programs to support their rights, the shifting economic backdrop and new restrictive laws on mobility and rights must be better understood.

Gender and migration scholarship emerged in response to existing gaps in the field of migration studies. The traditional stereotype of migration as a male-dominated enterprise is the most significant. Second, most academics accepted what is known as a reductionist viewpoint, which held that women were nothing more than men's property. Also, the gender identity and sexual orientation of a person influence every aspect of migration. The gender of the migrant influences why, where, and with whom they migrate.

Globalization and the proliferation of information and communication technologies (ICTs) have increased women's access to economic opportunities and, in some cases, have led to higher wages for women compared to men. Increased trade, travel, and cross-border communication have all contributed to a dramatic economic shift over the last three decades. These shifts have had an impact on markets and institutions all over the world. We contend that the costs of gender inequality are higher in today's globalized economy because it makes it more difficult for countries to compete in the global market, particularly if they focus on producing goods and services that heavily rely on women's labor.

In relation to these challenges, it is imperative that all countries ratify antidiscrimination treaties to reduce the gender gap. We believe that changing gender roles brought about by globalization help in the advancement of gender equality. Governments must facilitate expanded access to information to assist countries in learning about social mores in other countries and to encourage the development of more equitable views. Ultimately, government intervention is imperative to eliminate the disparities in wealth, power, and economic opportunities between men and women.

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