Demographic trends in the UK: Impacts of Globalisation on family

What does Globalisation mean?

‘Globalisation’ is the idea that barriers between societies are disappearing and people are becoming increasingly interconnected across national borders.

Impacts of Globalisation on family

-Globalisation has had economic, political and cultural effects on society, but has also influenced the family unit.

-Globalisation has led to an increase in geographical mobility across international borders.

-Shaped different identities in the UK and led to greater family diversity.

Increased geographical mobility

According to Home Office (2012) 43% of people (149,000) emigrating from the UK are British nationals- with the majority of those being between 25-44.

36% of those leaving were classified as 'professional or managerial' occupations.

Changes in employment

Decline of manufacturing industries in the UK due to globalisation has seen a change in employment.

According to ONS the largest sector in the UK in 2018 were retail, health, social care and administrative sectors- demonstrating a feminisation of the workforce.

Changes in family diversity

Greater range of family types in the UK in the era of globalisation.

Increased lone parent households due to economic migration into the UK and overseas students (217,000 in 2018).

Impacts on family

Global modified extended family- with the emergence of cheaper air travel and advances in communications technology.

Emergence of trans localism- people developing ties to more than one geographical area (common in Black and Asian families).

The feminisation of migration

Today, however, almost half of all the global migrants are female. Ehrenreich and Hochschild observe that care work, domestic work and sex work in western countries like the UK and USA is increasingly done by women from poor countries.

This is a result of several trends:

• The expansion of service occupations (which traditionally employ men) in western countries has led to an increasing demand for female labour.

• Western women have joined the labour force and are less willing or able to perform domestic labour.

• The failure of the state to provide adequate childcare.

Migrant identities

For migrants and their descendants, their country of origin may provide an additional or alternative source of identity. For example, migrants may develop hybrid identities made up of two or more different sources. Eade found that second generation Bangladeshi Muslims in Britain created hierarchical identities: they saw themselves as Muslim first, then Bengali, then British.

Transnational identities

According to Eriksen, globalisation has created diverse migration patterns, with back-and-forth movements of people through networks rather than permanent settlement in another country. Migrants develop transnational ‘neither/nor’ identities and loyalties- they are less likely to see themselves as belonging to one culture or country.