The Mansura Espana factory incorporates all three arguments presented by Glenn, Kessler-Harris and Parrenas into a single exhibit. Located in Egypt and one of many factories in which the textile industry is outsourced, the Mansura Espana factory provides a physical manifestation, exemplifying the international division of reproductive labor. In addition, out of the 1,300 labor force, there are 750 female workers according to the Egyptian Workers and Trade Unions Watch, suggesting that this factory has an element of the sexual reproduction of labor as well as presented by Kessler-Harris. Finally, these are mainly Egyptian women and children being employed which ties in Glenn's argument about the racial division of labor. However, the exhibit of the Mansura Espana factory presents these women as being much more powerful and strong-willed than they appear in any of the essays, Glenn's, Kessler-Harris' or Parrenas'. According to an article written by Anne Alexander and Farah Kaubaissy in January 2008, "Women workers have emerged as rank and file trade union organisers and are playing a leading part in challenging the corrupt government-run trade union federation." These female workers are playing a crucial role in organizing a huge wave of industrial action, acting as a formidable force not presented in the realm of possibility in either the Kessler-Harris, Glenn or Parrenas essay.
2. Nail Salon Industry in the United States
In her essay, Glenn discusses how the "dominant group ideology in all these cases was that women of color...were particularly suited for service" (14). Another interesting exhibit that incorporates both Glenn's idea of the racial division of reproductive labor and Kessler-Harris' idea of the sexual division of reproductive labor is the attraction of Asian Pacific Islander women, specifically Vietnamese immigrant women, to the nail salon industry in the United States. According to an article published by the National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum, Asian Pacific Islander women dominated the nail salon industry, representing over 40% of all nail technicians worldwide. However, in this case instead of the work picking them, instead of being considered "suited for service," these Vietnamese women originally made the choice themselves to work in the nail salon industry. According to the article, Vietnamese immigrant women choose to enter the nail salon industry for three main reasons. The increase in the number of Vietnamese-owned shops and Vietnamese instructors in beauty schools attracts Vietnamese immigrant women to the profession; the training required to become a nail technician is relatively short and inexpensive; finally, the job does not require a higher-English proficiency level.
3. "No Room for Father, Children at Durham Homeless Shelter"
According to the article "No Room for Father, Children at Durham Homeless Shelter," a father and his four children were turned away from Durham's Community Shelter for Hope because there are no places for single fathers and their families. The same question is raised after reading all of the essays, that by Ehrenreich, Kessler-Harris, Glenn and Parrenas. What about single fathers? Where does the exception of the single father fit in respect to the sexual, racial and international divisions of reproductive labor?
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