High-tech companies won a spectacular victory in the final days of the 105th Congress. They convinced the nation’s legislators to amend the Immigration and Naturalization Act to increase the number of H-1B (worker) visas. During the next three fiscal years, over 300,000 foreign high-tech workers will be able to enter the United States using these visas.

While the high-tech industry’s campaign to increase foreign workers was in high gear, a number of feminists spoke out against the proposed legislation. These feminists appeared on a recent edition of PBS’s To The Contrary. Their concern was American female workers. They claimed that the high-tech employers wanted pliable foreign workers who won’t talk back. That is, workers who will be so grateful for entry to the United States and the job that they will work extremely long hours with low pay. The feminists, however, offered no concrete evidence to support their position.

Significantly, Ms. Magazine, the grandmother of the feminist publications, did not run articles inveighing against the increase in H-1B workers. Nor did the National Organization of Women take a position on the proposed legislation. While a number of individuals testified against the proposed legislation at the Congressional hearing, no one predicted any special detriment to female workers.

The feminists’ anti-legislation arguments overlooked the views of two segments of the American female population—women who own small businesses and those who run large ones. Surely, the feminists are aware of the revolution that has taken place in American business in the last dozen years. The number of businesses owned by women increased 78 per cent between 1987 and 1996. These businesses provide jobs for 25 per cent of workers at American companies.

Linda Alepin, former CEO of Pebblesoft Learning, Inc. and now a consultant to the high-tech industry, says business owners "…need the best talent they can find. If you believe that smaller entrepreneurial companies are the future of the United States, it’s critical that business have access to foreign workers."

Many women, who are CEOs of large high-tech companies, are in favor of an increase in H-1B workers. The CEO of Autodesk, Inc. is an example. That company, run by Carol Bartz, worked with lobbying groups to encourage passage of this legislation.

Those who invest in women-owned high-tech businesses also think an increase in H-1B visas is a good thing. Frank Greene, General Partner of New Vista Capital, says: "Foreign workers aren’t displacing American workers, so I favor the legislation." He points out that many companies are going offshore to fill the recognized need for high-tech workers.

Similarly, Patricia M. Carey, writing in Working Woman magazine, urges American business owners to look outside the United States for high-tech workers. "Can’t find enough people to do high-tech jobs? Maybe you’re looking in the wrong country." And "Spurred by the severe shortage of information technology workers in the U.S., smaller companies are also discovering the benefits of overseas units, joint ventures, and foreign-owned ‘software factories’…This dearth of manpower has made offshore programming irresistible."

Clearly, not all women are opposed to the use of foreign workers by U.S. companies. Feminists who presume to speak to the concerns of American women would do well to find out what those concerns truly are.

—Jane Wiegand

Attorney & PRI Senior Fellow,

International Relations and Trade