Argument Against Rubi Garyfalakis on Sweatshops

This paper refutes Rubi Garyfalakis' claim that sweatshops can be places of positive experiences for women, highlighting the denial of freedom, long working hours, and low salaries.

Running head: ARGUMENT AGAINST RUBI GARYFALAKIS ON SWETSHOPS
Argument againsy Rubi Garyfalakis on Swetshops:
Student’s Name
Institution

ARGUMENT AGAINST RUBI GARYFALAKIS ON SWEATSHOPS 1
Argument against Rubi Garyfalakis on Swetshops:
COMM171 Research Essay Outline Name: _______________
Introduction (possible ideas)
When discussing sweatshops, the main concern that arises is that sweatshops are associated with
poor working conditions, long working hours, exploitation of workers, and low salaries that
cannot support women (Powell, 2014). Rubi, however, argues that sweatshops can be places of
positive experiences on women. This paper refutes Rubi’s claim because women working in
sweatshops are denied their freedom, forced to work for long hours, and paid mean salaries.
Thesis Statement
Sweatshops cannot provide positive experiences for women because women working in
sweatshops are denied their freedom, forced to work for long hours under poor sanitary
conditions, and paid mean salaries to maximize the wealth of the employer.
Body
Main supporting point 1.
Sweatshops suppress the rights and freedom of women
Examples/Details/Explanations:
a) Women are forced to take forced family planning pills to avoid taking maternity leave when
they get pregnant
b) The travelling documents and passports of women are confiscated to prevent them from
escaping
c) Women are denied opportunities to extend their careers
Main supporting point 2.
Women are forced to work for long hours in order to maximize the wealth of their employers

ARGUMENT AGAINST RUBI GARYFALAKIS ON SWEATSHOPS 2
Examples/Details/Explanations:
a) Sweatshop owners view women as tools and hardly consider their human rights
b) Sweatshops have poor working environment that affect health of women
c) Women working in sweatshops re not provided with medical cover for their health
Main supporting point 3.
Sweatshops focus on maximizing wealth, so they pay women mean wages
a) Sweatshops seek to reduce the cost of operation by paying women mean wages
b) The mean wages that women earn cannot alleviate poverty and suffering
c) Exploitation on wages make it impossible for women to save enough and quit these harsh
environments
Conclusion
Sweatshops cannot be places of positive experience for women. Women are exploited
and paid mean salaries because the owners of the firms want to maximize profits.
List 1 outside source that you have used
Powell, B. (2014). Meet the old sweatshops same as the new. The Independent Review, 19, (1),
109–122. Retrieved from http://www.independent.org/pdf/tir/tir_19_01_08_powell.pdf

ARGUMENT AGAINST RUBI GARYFALAKIS ON SWEATSHOPS 3
Introduction
When discussing sweatshops, the main concern that arises is that sweatshops are
associated with poor working conditions, long working hours, exploitation of workers, and low
salaries that cannot alleviate suffering workers. The primary objective of these harsh conditions
is to reduce the cost of production so that the final consumer of the product pays less while the
parent company maximizes its profits (Powell, 2014). Rubi, however, argues that sweatshops can
be places of positive experiences on women. This paper refutes Rubi’s claim because women
working in sweatshops are denied their freedom, forced to work for long hours, and paid mean
salaries to maximize the wealth of the employer.
Body
Sweatshops suppress the rights and freedom of women. According to Heath and Mobarak
(2015), women working in sweatshops in Bangladesh did not leave the country because their
passports were confiscated. Any attempt to report exploitation to relevant authorities attracted
harsh consequences. Hedayat (2015) further explains that sweatshops cannot be places of
positive experience because they perpetuate the exploitation of women and their mistreatment.
Kabeer (2004) discusses how sweatshops in Asian countries exposed women to forceful family
planning pills with the goal of preventing them from seeking maternity leaves. Due to intensive
and continuous work in sweatshops, it is impossible for women to advance their careers and
fulfill their ambitions.
Women are forced to work for long hours in order to maximize the wealth of their
employers. The problem with sweatshops is that they cannot balance their commercial interests
with the moral responsibility they have towards their employees. Mershin (2016) explains that
sweatshops view workers as tools of maximizing wealth. Poor sanitation and long working hours

ARGUMENT AGAINST RUBI GARYFALAKIS ON SWEATSHOPS 4
deteriorates women’s health even as they struggle to meet the commercial targets of their
employers. Even though Rubi (n.d.) explains that sweatshops could attract positive experience
for women, it is evident that no woman could be comfortable working in such tough
environments. Their employers do not provide them with health benefits because the commercial
goal is to maximize profits.
Sweatshops focus on maximizing wealth, so they pay women mean wages. While it is
true that sweatshops provide employment to thousands of women as argued in Rubi (n.d.), one
cannot ignore the fact that the commercial interests of sweatshops conflicts with the rights of
workers. The commercial goal is to reduce the cost of production, maximize profits, and gain a
significant market share by selling cheap products (Basak, 2017). On the other hand, women
workers want to work so that they can get financial freedom. The employer does not consider
workers’ rights because of his selfish interests in business. As a result, sweatshops are similar to
slavery because employees cannot quit once they have started working.
Conclusion
Sweatshops cannot provide positive experiences for women because women working in
sweatshops are denied their freedom, forced to work for long hours under poor sanitary
conditions, and paid mean salaries to maximize the wealth of the employer. Women deserve
respect for their moral rights when working in sweatshops. Rubi’s claim is flawed and does not
warrant practical application to status of women working in sweatshops.

ARGUMENT AGAINST RUBI GARYFALAKIS ON SWEATSHOPS 5
References
Başak Can (2017) The gendered workplaces of women garment workers in
Istanbul. Reproductive Health Matters, 25(1), 47-55, DOI:
10.1080/09688080.2017.1378064. Retrieved from
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/09688080.2017.1378064
Heath, R. & Mobarak, M. (2015). Manufacturing growth and the lives of Bangladeshi women.
Journal of Development Economics 115, 1–15. Retrieved from
http://faculty.som.yale.edu/mushfiqmobarak/papers/garments.pdf
Hedayat, N. (2015). Developing nations dependent on sweatshop wages. Fair Observer.
Retrieved from https://www.fairobserver.com/region/central_south_asia/developing-
nations-dependent-on-sweatshop-wages-88609/
Kabeer, N. (2004). Globalizaion, labor standards, and women’s rights: Dilemma of collective
(in) action in an interdependent world. Feminist Economist, 10(1), 3-35. Retrieved from
http://www.lse.ac.uk/gender/assets/documents/research/choice-constraints-and-the-
gender-dynamics-of-lab/Globalization-labour-standard-and-womens-rights.pdf
Mershin, V. (2016). Asian American garment workers: Low wages, excessive hours, and
crippling injuries. Economic Justice. Retrieved from
http://www.law.unc.edu/documents/poverty/publications/garmentworkers.pdf
Powell, B. (2014). Meet the old sweatshops same as the new. The Independent Review, 19, (1),
109–122. Retrieved from http://www.independent.org/pdf/tir/tir_19_01_08_powell.pdf
Robertson, R., Di, H., Brown, D., & Dehejia, R. (2016). Working conditions, work outcomes,
and policy

ARGUMENT AGAINST RUBI GARYFALAKIS ON SWEATSHOPS 6
in Asian developing countries. Asian Development Bank. Retrieved from
https://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/publication/198551/ewp-497.pdf
Rubi, G. (n.d.). No Sweat.