“Nannies, Maids and Sex Workers in the New Economy” by Barbara Ehrenreich and Arlie Russell Rothschild bring attention to the unfortunate side effects of greater equality for women in the western world. The fact that western women have renounced housework and childcare in favor of paid jobs has triggered an ever-increasing demand for other women who will take over those roles. These women are often poor migrants from Third World countries who have faced a difficult dilemma: abandon their own children back home to take care of another mother’s children and provide her own family with greater monetary resources or remain in their home countries in abject poverty. Not all of these women are exploited; many nannies and maids are paid fair wages in a timely manner. But the fact that this trend even exists and that women are forced to make such a heart-wrenching choice highlights the ever-widening global wealth gap. Western countries like the US and UK have long used imperialism to obtain physical resources like gold and oil from other countries; the migration of women from those same countries is just an extension of this historical trend. The women who do not obtain work as nannies or maids often work as prostitutes. Many of these women were forcibly trafficked to the western nations in which they work. They also respond to a demand created by greater gender equality: wealthy, powerful men’s desire for women who they perceive as docile and exotic.

The second article, “Race at Work,” describes an experiment done to test hiring discrimination. White, Hispanic and Black men with nearly identical resumes, presentation styles and resumes were sent out to interviews. White men always got the most callbacks, despite the fact that their non-white counterparts who applied were equally qualified. This article evokes my anthropology class from last semester. It discussed the crack-dealing scene in East Harlem towards the end of the 20th century. Pretty much all the dealers were people of color. Many of them were able to obtain “respectable” office jobs despite the obstacles they faced en route to getting those jobs. However, they said the condescension they faced from white workers and racially insensitive environments caused them to seek out other employment. Crack-dealing, although destructive to communities and people, proved to be more financially and personally viable than working in offices.