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Female 'Birds of Passage' a Decade Later: Gender and Immigration in the European Union
Abstract
"First, this article critically assesses the dominant accounts of the sequence of labor migration and family reunification and argues that it is time to reclaim the heterogeneity of women's past migratory experiences in our understanding of European patterns of post-war immigration. Second, it examines family migration, covering diverse forms of family reunification and formation which, although the dominant form of legal immigration into Europe since the 1970s, has received relatively little attention. Third, it explores the implications of the diversification of contemporary female migration in the European Union and argues for the necessity of taking account of the reality of changing patterns of employment, households and social structures to advance our understanding of European immigration."
... While the literature on migration was focused exclusively on men, migrant women were typically referred to as 'trailing wives' or 'tied movers' (Mincer 1978;Cooke 2001). However, the centrality of men in the migration scholarship has been called into question by feminist scholars of migration who have sought to correct the 'male bias' by portraying women as active migrants (Castles and Miller 2009;Morokvasic 1983), and by acknowledging the centrality of gender in the migration process (Hondagneu-Sotelo 1992;Kofman 1999;Pessar and Mahler 2003). ...
... Therefore, migrant life courses are linked to the changing economic, social, and cultural structures of society (Findlay et al. 2015;Morokvasic 2014;Gardner 2009). Examining the interplay between structures and agency is essential for understanding the migratory process and its effects on the life courses of migrants (Kofman 1999). ...
... In our analysis, the application of the life course approach sheds light on the complex and dynamic interplay between structures and agency over the life course of each of these migrants (Kofman 1999). The biographical narratives showed that migration has played an important role in reshaping intra-household gender and power relations among these migrants by providing new opportunities for the women to improve their lives (Boeschoten 2015). ...
Traditional gender roles are redefined during the migration process as some women gain more economic independence and can challenge the power hierarchies within the domestic sphere. Drawing on 36 biographical interviews with Albanian migrants in Greece, the analysis highlights the importance of gender, work, and agency in the migration process. By taking on the main breadwinner role, in response to high levels of male unemployment, Albanian women in Greece have challenged the traditional gender roles and division of labour within the domestic domain. Thus, women’s empowerment has come at the cost of having to bear the double burden of working both within and outside of the household. The notion of ‘reflexive agency’ provides us with an in-depth understanding of the complex ways Albanian women are negotiating change, and of the power dynamics that have emerged as a result of shifts in gender role configurations.
... Migration patterns not only shape the demographics of urban centers, but also influence power dynamics and social norms, which in turn intersect with issues of gender violence and discrimination (Crenshaw 1991). For migrant women, the challenges of navigating unfamiliar environments and labor markets often intersect with experiences of harassment and exploitation, further exacerbating existing inequalities (Kofman 2004). Furthermore, the digital landscape of #MeToo activism introduces new dimensions to migration discourse, providing a platform for migrants to share their stories, advocate for their rights and mobilize for collective action (Harvey and Jeffers 2018). ...
... However, it is essential to recognize that these dynamics are further compounded for migrant women who often navigate intersecting layers of discrimination and vulnerability. Migration can exacerbate power imbalances within workplaces, as migrant women may face additional barriers such as language barriers, lack of familiarity with local laws and regulations and dependence on employers for sponsorship or residency status (Kofman 2004). Moreover, cultural differences and stereotypes about migrant women can perpetuate environments conducive to harassment, where their marginalized status makes them less likely to report or challenge inappropriate behavior (Chin 2018). ...
... Podobno je Kofman (1999) ugotavljala za feministično gibanje na evropski ravni. Zdi pa se, da je temeljna težava v tem, da so feministke iz t. i. dominantnih skupin migrantke v glavnem obravnavale kot »učenke«, ki bi jih bilo treba izobraziti v smeri emancipacije, kot jo razumemo v t. i. zahodnem svetu. ...
... V besedilu govorim predvsem o ženskah, čeprav nekateri (na primerKofman 1999; Kofman idr. 2000) ugotavljajo, da je poročna migracija vedno bolj tudi moški pojav. ...
... Further evidence of what constitutes the prevailing identity in this context is Kofman's (1999) argument that men are generally more likely to have more secure immigration statuses than women because they often have more financial resources, due to them carrying out traditional forms of paid work. This is known as the male labour bias. ...
... The reason for arguing that more vulnerable women are likely to have sought protection under the NEFM category than men is because derivative rights are mainly reserved to non-EU nationals who provide care as family members who move to live with qualifying British citizens. Carers are more often women, both formally in the labour market and informally in the family home, and the male labour bias means that it is men who are the qualifying EU or British citizens that NEFMs rely on when seeking to secure their rights (Kofman, 1999). The high prevalence of single motherhood (versus single fatherhood) and victims and survivors of VAWGboth gender specific vulnerabilitieswould also be a reason why the NEFM category would have more women. ...
The EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) is a transitory immigration regime rolled out by the Home Office as part of the measures for the UK withdrawing from the EU. More can be said about whether the EUSS can truly be hailed an overall “success”, as per official Government messaging, several years after its initial introduction. This paper evaluates this by considering two case studies of vulnerable immigrant women required to apply to the Scheme to successfully remain in the UK after the transition period: those at risk of or facing violence against women and girls (VAWG), and non-EU family members (NEFMs) of EU citizens. Using the theories of intersectionality and vulnerability, the paper outlines how gender and immigration status intersect to make women more vulnerable by virtue of the legal framework of the EUSS and its criteria, arguing that it entrenches intersectional oppression faced uniquely by these women.
... The following decade moved the focus from women to gender relations and expanded our knowledge of how gender is a constituting factor in migration processes, influencing each stage of the migration journey (Grasmuck and Pessar, 1991;Hondagneu-Sotelo, 1994;Zinn et al., 1997;Kofman, 1999Kofman, , 2000Willis and Yeoh, 2000). Some of this work focused on developing countries (Chant, 1992;Radcliffe, 1993) and included research on internal migration (Gugler, 1997;Chant, 1998;Lawson, 1998); how migration is related to modernity (Mills, 1997); and sexuality (Constable, 1997). ...
... Feminism is inherently interested in promoting gender equity and achieving an equitable society where women and men enjoy not only the same opportunities but also equal status and worth. In migration, feminism helped shape an understanding of migration in which gender and migration are understood as constituting each other, that is representing a dialectical relationship in which gender relations influence migration and are in turn influenced by migration (Hondagneu-Sotelo, 1994;Kofman, 1999;Willis and Yeoh, 2000;Pessar, 2005;Curran et al., 2006;Mahler and Pessar, 2006;Piper, 2006;Silvey, 2006). Moreover, by following the critiques of the Black women's movement, postcolonial critics and those who have historically been misrepresented by feminist knowledge and scholarship (Mohanty, 1986;Radcliffe, 2006b;, it is clearly important to acknowledge the multiple forms of feminist organising (McEwan, 2001), as well as the multiple axes of disadvantage, which destabilise gender as the most important basis of unequal power relations. ...
Development and social change is a broad optic from which to view human
history. While contested in many ways, it is an inescapable problematic to
evaluate the prospects for humanity. We now live in an era which can
provide for the well-being of all. The forces of production are at the very
peak of possibilities and they are only constrained by relations of produc�tion which prevent a consistent move towards greater equality for all and
a continuous deepening of democracy. Social progress is only possible if
these constraints are addressed and the unprecedented concentration of
wealth and power since around 1990 is reversed. The second crisis loom�ing is that of the environment, where climate change and the depletion of
national resources lead to enrichment of a fear in the short term at the cost
of the longer-term sustainability of humanity as a whole.
... En contextos de migración internacional, las mujeres mexicanas han tenido un papel importante, no solo como acompañantes de viaje, sino también como personas migrantes laborales. En estos procesos migratorios, la heterogeneidad de las experiencias del retorno al país de origen de las mujeres son centrales en el análisis, así como las formas de reunificación familiar, los patrones de empleo y las estructuras sociales que tejen en torno a la migración (Kofman, 1999). ...
El artículo analiza la inserción laboral de mujeres migrantes que retornan de Estados Unidos a México, utilizando datos del Censo de Población y Vivienda 2020 del INEGI. Se aplicó un modelo logístico binomial para determinar la probabilidad de ser persona trabajadora por cuenta propia en comparación con ser persona empleada, el modelo incluye controles asociados a las características sociodemográficas de las personas, rasgos particulares de los hogares y elementos contextuales. Destaca dentro de los principales resultados que: las mujeres retornadas tienen mayor inclinación al autoempleo, enfrentando desafíos financieros y de segregación ocupacional; las condiciones del hogar y la región de residencia influyen en la inserción laboral, reflejando desigualdades en la distribución del trabajo no remunerado; la educación emerge como un factor clave para mejorar las condiciones laborales de las retornadas en algunas regiones.
... When examining the interaction between structures and agency, it is crucial to understand the migration process and its effects on the lives of migrants. Focusing on how migrants exercise agency helps to understand the past and present of the diaspora and to make predictions about its future (Kofman, 1999). ...
... The findings of related studies demonstrate that many immigrants enter entrepreneurial activity after an unfavourable experience or event in the labour market, where market barriers such as low wages, ethnic, gender or racial discrimination and corruption are prevalent (Démurger and Xu, 2011). For immigrant women, self-employment may be the only possible way to escape from unemployment or inactivity (Kofman, 1999). ...
This study examines the relationship between female entrepreneurship, immigrant entrepreneurship, and the entrepreneurial context. The primary objective is to investigate the extent to which the host country's entrepreneurial context accounts for differences in the start-up rates of immigrant entrepreneurs. The lack of research on immigrant entrepreneurship makes it challenging to capture changes in this phenomenon. A quantitative approach using Global Entrepreneurship Monitor data was adopted to determine the relationship between women's/men's entrepreneurship parity ratios and the degree of immigrant entrepreneurship in different countries. Linear regression (OLS) models showed that differences in female/male entrepreneurship indicators (fear of failure and early-stage entrepreneurship activity) significantly impacted the proportion of immigrant entrepreneurs in different countries. The findings suggest that immigrant women can considerably increase the proportion of new businesses in countries where women are more entrepreneurial. However, these new firms are more likely to be driven by necessity as opposed to opportunity.
... Women are increasingly recognized for their role in initiating, maintaining and participating in migration flows. Women are now understood to be proactive participants in all types of migration flows and discourse has moved from the original acknowledgment of women's role as independent actors (Morokvasic 1984;Kofman 1999) to the wide acknowledgment of the feminization of migration (Castles and Miller 2003). The proportion of women in international migration has not changed dramatically in the last half century, growing from 46.6% in 1960 to 48.4% in 2017 (Zlotnik 2003) but the significance of their migration has been increasingly acknowledged and the subject of academic study. ...
The title of this book, Women, Migration and Asylum in Turkey: Developing Gender-Sensitivity in Migration Research, Policy and Practice, reflects our aim to recognize women migrants as independent actors and to foreground their presence in migrant flows in Turkey. In seeking to move knowledge of women’s migration to Turkey forward, the chapters in this volume consider the experience of different groups of women migrants through research using feminist approaches and gender-sensitive methods. Our hope is that the perspectives presented here will contribute to understandings of the experience of women migrating to Turkey for a multitude of reasons including for work, for experience, to seek a new life or to escape danger, conflict and persecution. Contributions show how acknowledging the significance of a gender-informed approach to migration research is essential to understand migration dynamics in Turkey as elsewhere. Studies presented in these chapters show women as active agents in migration yet often forced to struggle against stereotypes and patriarchal institutional structures that limit their opportunities and impede their goals and aspirations. We have aimed to show how gender and gendered assumptions about women, their lives and capabilities have shaped their experience of migration in Turkey. We believe the chapters of this book have implications for academics and practitioners working in and interested in Turkey. These implications reach far beyond Turkey’s borders to other countries where women migrants find themselves held back, discriminated against and limited in their options because of their gender and because of how their gender is constructed and perceived by policy makers, service providers, the public in general and indeed by their own families and communities.
... Las críticas apuntaron al sesgo androcéntrico de los estudios en tanto la definición de migración como fundamentalmente económica, esto llevó a entender la experiencia migratoria como masculina (Morokvaśic, 1984). La división sexual de las tareas productivas en manos de los hombres y reproductivas en manos de las mujeres invisibilizó el lugar que ellas ocupaban en las migraciones (Gregorio Gil, 1998;Kofman, 1999;Morokvaśic, 1984). De ahí en adelante, la producción de género en los estudios migratorios ha sido prolífica, abordando distintos aspectos desde una mirada restitutiva de las mujeres en las migraciones hasta la aplicación de enfoques críticos. ...
Se propone una revisión de los enfoques y las nociones teóricas provenientes de los estudios migratoriosen torno a los negocios internacionales y el emprendimiento de empresarios migrantes;se identifican sus postulados, lineamientos y se problematiza su alcance. La metodología consistió enuna revisión bibliográfica de dichos cuerpos de producción enestudiosrealizados en Europa y Estados Unidos. Se concluye que, en amboscasos,el centro de referenciaes el migrante devenido en empresario, adiferencia delos estudios migratorios que priorizan el análisis de los procesos que llevan a su conversión.Los negocios internacionales se valen de esa producción para centrarse en el despliegue global del empresario migrante. Mientras que,desde el emprendimiento,el migrante tiende a ser tipificado máscomo empresario y por ello se estudia con mayor interés su actividad productivadesde una dimensión internacional.
... First, most adult migrants are first-generation and therefore greatly influenced by the culture of their country of origin. In the literature on migration, country of origin is considered a proxy for cultural background (Ishizawa & Stevens, 2011;Kofman, 1999;Vitali & Arpino, 2015), and the Italian literature underscores how culture affects demographic behaviours, specifically family reunification and the path of family formation (Barbiano di Belgiojoso & Terzera, 2018; Terzera & Barbiano di Belgiojoso, 2019). ...
As migrants settle in their destination country, for those who reunited the family or after childbirth childcare becomes a priority. Most studies on migrants’ childcare arrangements have focused on parental use of formal childcare rather than on different informal childcare solutions by analysing only families with preschool-age children. Italy poses an interesting case study because its welfare system is characterised by a familistic model of care, based on solidarity between generations. In familistic countries, migrants’ childcare solutions are more constrained. In this study, we analysed differences in informal childcare needs and arrangements for children younger than 14 between Italians and migrants from different countries of origin. We merged two surveys conducted by the Italian National Statistics Institute in 2011–2012: ‘Social Condition and Integration of Foreign Citizens’, a sample of households with at least one migrant with foreign citizenship, and ‘Multiscopo—Aspects of Daily Life’, a sample of households in Italy. We found that household composition and parents’ employment status play an important role in shaping informal childcare arrangements. Overall, migrants are less likely to use informal childcare, especially grandparents, than Italians but when they do, they rely more on other relatives and non-relatives than Italians. Moreover, differences emerge across migrant subgroups. This study is the first in Italy to contribute to an understanding of the role of migrant status in determining parents’ childcare arrangements for children up to 13 years.
... Skilled migrants are in a better position than unskilled migrants to renew employment contracts, bring family members with them, settle in the country and eventually acquire citizenship. However, in areas such as education, health and social services, where skilled migrant women work, casual and temporary forms of work are becoming widespread through private employment agencies that have become prominent due to marketization (Kofman 1999, p.289, Kofman et al. 2000). ...
Invisibles in Labour Migration: Migrant Women Workers
Starting from the second half of the 20th century up to now the labour migration towards Western European countries has passed three historical phases. The periodization of these phases is based on how capitalism, as a production and accumulation regime, expands and contracts –in other words, how the labor force demanded by capitalism evolves in times of crises– and its impact on the demand for female migrant labor. Migrant women workers have long been neglected in research as they have been principally considered as reunifying family members. However, in the first phase which spans from the end of the Second World War until mid1970s, migrant women workers were to be found at factory production lines in Western European countries. The second phase is characterized by the halting of workforce recruitment and legal migration options due to the economic crisis in the 1970s, where migrants start to arrive in Europe irregularly and their labor becomes precarious. This period also coincided with a rise in need of care work within households, due to the socio-demographic transformation in Western countries, and migrant women to perform these domestic and care works. Abundant research can be found on the precarious nature of domestic workers. The third phase is best described by the brain drain post-2000. The female face of the brain drain is similarly neglected in the research. Old and new hierarchies within the labor market are shaped by the mutual interaction of class, gender, and ethnicity in the receiving countries. So in this chapter the multidimensional situation of migrant women will be discussed with an attempt to highlight the causes for their invisibility as workers.
... Since 2015, however, flights in support of asylum seekers and refugees concerned (Taylor, 2021 (Punja, 2016). The core aims of the group have not changed considerably since its early inception; challenging unjust and discriminatory legislation, policy and practices, and supporting the victims of said legislation, policy and practices through legal advice (JCWI, n.d.; Kofman, 1999;Cashmore & McLaughlin, 1991;Hayter, 2014;Fekete, 2016 (Samayeen et al., 2020;Mohdin et al., 2020;BBC News, 2020). Notably, this wave led to the toppling of several statues of famous colonial-era individuals in a bid to oppose ongoing colonialist practices in the UK, leading to the establishment of a Commission for Diversity in the Public Realm and a review into the 'appropriateness of local monuments and statues on public land and council property' (Dray, 2021). ...
In recent years, the rise of right-wing populism and post-truth politics has created a dangerous cocktail, enabling ‘immigration’ and ‘anti-racism’ to be framed within dominant political and media coverage in such a way that it stigmatises and marginalises foreign nationals migrating to the United Kingdom, replicating social injustice. Several activist groups within the broader anti-racist movement are engaging in contemporary forms of video activism alongside protest action to resist and challenge these frames and framing processes.
This thesis makes the necessary four-way theoretical and methodological links between hegemony, qualitative frame analysis, video activism and knowledge production to explore the ways in which dominant framings of immigration are resisted by the broader anti-racist movement. Using a broad framework combining film theory/studies and cinematography, the analysis of the visual strategies employed by eight activist groups within this movement within video activist footage disseminated on YouTube and Facebook provides unique insights into the groups themselves, and the various stylistic, shot, angling, sound and editing strategies employed that open up opportunities for framing. A further qualitative, and discursive, frame analysis explores the various frames that are used by the groups through video activism itself; persecution, hardship, heroism, empowerment, incompetence and anti-racism; producing different new knowledges surrounding organisational knowledges of the movement (including collective identity), social injustice in general, dominant hegemonic narratives, and, most importantly, the struggles of migrants and refugees.
In doing so, it makes significant contribution to knowledge by proposing three unique typologies to demonstrate how the contemporary hegemonic post-truth narratives surrounding immigration can be, and are being, resisted in order to reinforce social justice.
... Bu mekanizmalar aracılığıyla kadınların gündelik yaşamdaki birincil rollerinin eş ve anne olarak tanımlandığı ifade edilmektedir (Sparre, 2008 (Kofman, 1999;Zlotnik, 1995; Göktuna Yaylacı ve Çarpar, 2019) Bu farklılıkların temelinde kadın-erkek arasındaki aile içi iş bölümü ve buna paralel olarak gelenekler ve görenekler tarafından tanımlanan toplumsal kadın-erkek rolleri yatmaktadır. Kadınların göçe ilişkin yaşantıları genellikle eş, anne ya da evlenmek üzere olan genç kız olarak aile içindeki konumlarıyla, dolayısıyla da toplumsal cinsiyet rejimiyle yakından ilişkilidir. ...
... An even more compelling intervention in migration theory came from feminist migration scholars, who sought to capture the multilayered complexity of migration while giving more explicit attention to the intimate workings of power relations-and especially gender relations-across societal contexts. While accepting the neo-Marxist critique of global capitalism, feminist scholars argued that structuralist approaches (like more conventional approaches) had failed to account for the highly differential impacts of migration on men and women and had largely ignored the workings of gender ideologies across geographical scales, from individual migrant bodies to the global economy (Fernández-Kelly, 1983;Lawson, 1998Lawson, , 2000Kofman, 1999;Kofman et al., 2000). Feminist scholars today continue to emphasize that capitalism operates through, rather than above, intersecting hierarchies of gender, sexuality, race, class and nationality. ...
... The findings of related studies demonstrate that many immigrants enter entrepreneurial activity after an unfavourable experience or event in the labour market, where market barriers such as low wages, ethnic, gender or racial discrimination and corruption are prevalent (Démurger and Xu, 2011). For immigrant women, self-employment may be the only possible way to escape from unemployment or inactivity (Kofman, 1999). ...
This study examines the relationship between female entrepreneurship, immigrant entrepreneurship, and the entrepreneurial context. The primary objective is to investigate the extent to which the host country's entrepreneurial context accounts for differences in the start-up rates of immigrant entrepreneurs. The lack of research on immigrant entrepreneurship makes it challenging to capture changes in this phenomenon. A quantitative approach using Global Entrepreneurship Monitor data was adopted to determine the relationship between women's/men's entrepreneurship parity ratios and the degree of immigrant entrepreneurship in different countries. Linear regression (OLS) models showed that differences in female/male entrepreneurship indicators (fear of failure and early-stage entrepreneurship activity) significantly impacted the proportion of immigrant entrepreneurs in different countries. The findings suggest that immigrant women can considerably increase the proportion of new businesses in countries where women are more entrepreneurial. However, these new firms are more likely to be driven by necessity as opposed to opportunity.
... II.7 Les théories de la motivation Les premières théories de la motivation se sont heurtées à la réalité des enquêtes de terrain. II.8 L'approche par le genre La perception et l'analyse des courants migratoires ont longtemps été abordés sous l'angle de la masculinité, le concept du genre n'étant qu'à peine introduit dans les réflexions académiques (Gabaccia, 1995, Kofman, 1999, Willis et Yeoh, 2000. Cet oubli est dû en partie en raison du focus fait alors sur les facteurs économiques, sociaux, culturels et le tout intégré dans une perception plus globale (organisation sociale, pays d'origine et d'arrivée, processus historiques, passés et contemporains) (Kofman E. , 2004). ...
La recherche s’inscrit dans une démarche scientifique et sociologique visant à révéler le facteur principal poussant un ressortissant ouest-africain à quitter son pays et à analyser ses interactions avec d’autres déterminants migratoires. Un examen dans le temps et dans l’espace des mouvements de population, volontaires ou forcés, de la sous-région montre que la mobilité ouest-africaine est en profonde mutation et qu’elle impacte largement les pays extra-régionaux et notamment les Etats de l’Union européenne.Une présentation des théories migratoires démontre que l’analyse des flux ne peut s’effectuer que dans un cadre multidisciplinaire et transversal. Une enquête de terrain forte de 18 entretiens, sa confrontation avec d’autres données et son examen permettent de révéler que le facteur prédominant déclenchant le processus migratoire porte sur une raison économique. Partant de ce facteur, une analyse minutieuse de son interaction avec les autres facteurs établis lors de l’enquête souligne que le « milieu » influe sur le facteur principal déclenchant la migration. Un examen détaillé des principaux déterminants autorise ensuite la modélisation, sous forme d’un graphe d’influence, du processus décisionnel propre à la migration ouest-africaine. Cette action met en évidence l’importance de trois dynamiques sous-jacentes portant sur les sources d’information, la précarité économique et les relations entre l’Etat et les filières d’immigration clandestine, dont l’Etat représente le point commun unique faisant de celui-ci un pivot dans le processus décisionnel.
... As such, accompanying partners contribute to the success of their mobile partners by organising the life of the entire household after the relocation. The discussion on accompanying partners has brought out the criticism on the concept of "trailing spouse" and demonstrated the active role that accompanying partners take in migration decisions, relocation, and integration processes (Kofman 1999;Eby 2001;Ackers 2004;Ryan and Sales 2013;Ryan and Mulholand 2014;Kofman and Raghuram 2015). While most of the projects examined female partners, more recent research on male accompanying partners in mobile households has shown similar results (cf. ...
Academic mobility can be seen as a normalization of professional life. However, despite high numbers of coupled academics in migration flows, examination of their relocation strategies is still scarce. Using data from 35 interviews with coupled German academics in the UK and some of their partners, this paper examines relocation strategies adopted to deal with academic mobility. Analysis of the data showcases four relocation strategies among coupled academics, namely moving together immediately, moving short time apart, relocating after both partners secured employment, and engaging in a long-distance relationship. By highlighting the variation in relocation strategies, the paper extends the existing framework of moving together versus long-distance relationships) and suggests that sub-categories are a necessary lens through which to understand relocation decisions. In addition to its theoretical contribution, the data might be of particular use for academic hiring committees as well as mobile coupled academics.
... A good number of papers re-read episodes of labour migration history through the lenses of gender to shed light into the specific experience and contribution of female labourers. This is a crucial contribution to the study of labour migration history where voices and experiences of female labour workers in their own right remain under-researched, suggesting that migration history has only hesitantly embraced the gender turn which has reshaped labour history in recent decades (Becchio, 2020;Betti, 2016;Dimand et al., 1995;Donato et al., 2006;Gabaccia, 2016;Goldin, 1983;Kofman, 1999;Madden & Dimand, 2019). ...
While the search for (better) employment and the uneven distribution of wealth are among the principal triggers of migration worldwide, migration is often discussed as a humanitarian emergency, a social and a security problem, but rarely as a labour issue. This paper aims to foster debate on the interconnectedness of migration and labour history. Re-reading migration and labour history by exploring their interconnectedness is crucial to overcoming Eurocentric and nation-state centric approaches to labour and migration history. This paper discusses the findings of papers presented at two events organised by the ELHN Working Group Labour Migration History in 2021. The first part suggests new lines of inquiry which critically reassess Western-centric understandings and experiences of labour migration during the Cold War. The second part argues in favour of cross-disciplinary study of relations between migration, workers, and the state firmly contextualised as part of global processes of change.
... As evidenced by migration studies carried out in the early 1970s, the emphasis was usually on male refugees, while women were studied as passive companions; and, the experiences of the migrating men were the focal point rather than those of migrating women (Pessar and Mahler 2003: 814;Lutz 2010Lutz : 1648Kofman et al. 2000). At this point, studies laying stress on the invisibility of women's migration in international migration studies and focusing on women's migration experience were brought to the agenda (Kofman 1999). Those studies gathered speed in the 1970s and early 1980s. ...
In recent years, there have been a large number of refugees around the world who immigrated due to wars and conflicts in their own regions and political pressure. Turkey has the largest registered refugee population in the world because of the war in Syria as Turkey has 911 km of border with Syria. Migration may lead to changes in power and gender relations in the host community and family. As a result of these, the rate of gender-based violence, child marriages, child labor has increased. In this chapter, our aim is to reveal the link between migration studies and gender perspective through a historical view. In addition to that rights, needs, and problems of refugee women and LGBTI+ are being analyzed with a gender perspective. Lastly, services provided to refugees in Turkey are presented critically in terms of gender-sensitivity, feminist social policies, and feminist social work. Unless the needs of refugee women and LGBTI+ individuals are addressed in a rights-based approach, it will not be possible to eliminate oppressive and discriminatory social policies and social work.
... If material is not included in the chapter's Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. While the repetitive rhetoric of 'discovering' women as active agents in mobility decisions, plans and the execution of such, might have had a major contribution in filling an important lacuna in migration studies literature several decades ago now Kofman, 1999), there are a number of analytical problems with continuing claims that seem to either conflate 'gender' with women or tend to nearly essentialise the 'feminization of migration' in reflecting discursive stereotypes. In the latter case, gendered migration research requires taking on board the historicity and local embeddedness of particular case studies which should clearly frame sociopolitical and development strategies when conducting studies to understand women migrants and female migration (Cornwall et al., 2008;Dannecker & Sieveking, 2009;. ...
Chapter 10.1007/978-3-030-91971-9_3 examined the gendered nature of a migrant division of labour. In this chapter we turn to family migration, traditionally associated with women as dependents and followers of men. The term is used to categorise the international movement of people who migrate due to new or established family ties. People moving for family reasons constitute the largest group of migrants entering OECD countries, ahead of labour and humanitarian migration (OECD, 2019). To move for family reasons may encompass an array of different kinds of migration trajectories, from the adoption of a foreign child to family members accompanying migrant workers or refugees, as well as people forming new family units with host country residents or family reunification (when family members reunite with those who migrated previously).
... If material is not included in the chapter's Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. While the repetitive rhetoric of 'discovering' women as active agents in mobility decisions, plans and the execution of such, might have had a major contribution in filling an important lacuna in migration studies literature several decades ago now Kofman, 1999), there are a number of analytical problems with continuing claims that seem to either conflate 'gender' with women or tend to nearly essentialise the 'feminization of migration' in reflecting discursive stereotypes. In the latter case, gendered migration research requires taking on board the historicity and local embeddedness of particular case studies which should clearly frame sociopolitical and development strategies when conducting studies to understand women migrants and female migration (Cornwall et al., 2008;Dannecker & Sieveking, 2009;. ...
While the repetitive rhetoric of ‘discovering’ women as active agents in mobility decisions, plans and the execution of such, might have had a major contribution in filling an important lacuna in migration studies literature several decades ago now (Morokvasic, 1984; Kofman, 1999), there are a number of analytical problems with continuing claims that seem to either conflate ‘gender’ with women or tend to nearly essentialise the ‘feminization of migration’ in reflecting discursive stereotypes. In the latter case, gendered migration research requires taking on board the historicity and local embeddedness of particular case studies which should clearly frame socio-political and development strategies when conducting studies to understand women migrants and female migration (Cornwall et al., 2008; Dannecker & Sieveking, 2009; Amelina & Lutz, 2019). This perspective becomes clear in the following sections and in the box included in this chapter where we include exemplifications from case studies and our own research findings.
... If material is not included in the chapter's Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. While the repetitive rhetoric of 'discovering' women as active agents in mobility decisions, plans and the execution of such, might have had a major contribution in filling an important lacuna in migration studies literature several decades ago now Kofman, 1999), there are a number of analytical problems with continuing claims that seem to either conflate 'gender' with women or tend to nearly essentialise the 'feminization of migration' in reflecting discursive stereotypes. In the latter case, gendered migration research requires taking on board the historicity and local embeddedness of particular case studies which should clearly frame sociopolitical and development strategies when conducting studies to understand women migrants and female migration (Cornwall et al., 2008;Dannecker & Sieveking, 2009;. ...
By the end of 2019, 79.5 million people of concern (refugees and internally displaced) around the world had been forced from their home countries. It represents over three times the number of people of concern compared to the figure at the beginning of the twenty-first century. The major development since the peak in asylum applications in 2015 in Europe has been the large-scale emigration of Venezuelans, who as of 2019 are now among the top three nationalities in Europe, especially in Spain. On the other hand, Covid-19 has led to a significant reduction in applicants in 2020, especially among Colombians and Venezuelans arriving by air (EASO, 2021).
... If material is not included in the chapter's Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. While the repetitive rhetoric of 'discovering' women as active agents in mobility decisions, plans and the execution of such, might have had a major contribution in filling an important lacuna in migration studies literature several decades ago now Kofman, 1999), there are a number of analytical problems with continuing claims that seem to either conflate 'gender' with women or tend to nearly essentialise the 'feminization of migration' in reflecting discursive stereotypes. In the latter case, gendered migration research requires taking on board the historicity and local embeddedness of particular case studies which should clearly frame sociopolitical and development strategies when conducting studies to understand women migrants and female migration (Cornwall et al., 2008;Dannecker & Sieveking, 2009;. ...
... If material is not included in the chapter's Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. While the repetitive rhetoric of 'discovering' women as active agents in mobility decisions, plans and the execution of such, might have had a major contribution in filling an important lacuna in migration studies literature several decades ago now Kofman, 1999), there are a number of analytical problems with continuing claims that seem to either conflate 'gender' with women or tend to nearly essentialise the 'feminization of migration' in reflecting discursive stereotypes. In the latter case, gendered migration research requires taking on board the historicity and local embeddedness of particular case studies which should clearly frame sociopolitical and development strategies when conducting studies to understand women migrants and female migration (Cornwall et al., 2008;Dannecker & Sieveking, 2009;. ...
As we saw in Chap. 10.1007/978-3-030-91971-9_1 , the gendered transfer of labour globally and within Europe has been the focus of attention and the core of the discourse concerning the feminization of migration. Whilst gendered labour migrations are not new, their composition, extent, and how we analyse them, theoretically and methodologically, have evolved. As data show, migrants and especially females, are heavily concentrated within certain sectors producing not just a migrant division of labour (Wills et al., 2010) but a gendered migrant division of labour. Some sectors such as household services (domestic work and care) or social reproductive labour are not only predominantly female but, especially in Southern Europe, overwhelmingly filled by migrant women. Although this type of work has attracted much attention in studies of female labour migration, other sectors, both lesser skilled and more skilled, have also relied heavily on female migrant labour but have been much less studied. Mirjana Morokvasic (2011) questioned the basis of our preoccupation about migrant women as subaltern and victims, exclusively filling low skilled sectors. Thus domestic and care workers have become the emblematic figures of globalised migrations in stark contrast to the easily mobile male IT worker (Kofman, 2013). This is not to deny that domestic and care work globally employ more migrant women than any other sector, and that demand has not grown in response to the inadequacies of public provision across different welfare regimes, leading to the search for cheap solutions to fulfil reproductive needs by using migrant workers, including men. However it does raise issues around our lack of attention to other low skilled sectors such as hospitality and contract and commercial cleaning in hospitals, offices and public spaces, which also employ large numbers of migrants. Skilled labour, especially in welfare sectors, such as education, health and social work is also sourced globally to make good shortfalls in professional reproductive labour (Kofman & Raghuram, 2015). Thus at all skill levels migrant women are employed disproportionately in diverse sectors of social reproduction in sustaining the wellbeing of the household and of society more generally.
... If material is not included in the chapter's Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. While the repetitive rhetoric of 'discovering' women as active agents in mobility decisions, plans and the execution of such, might have had a major contribution in filling an important lacuna in migration studies literature several decades ago now Kofman, 1999), there are a number of analytical problems with continuing claims that seem to either conflate 'gender' with women or tend to nearly essentialise the 'feminization of migration' in reflecting discursive stereotypes. In the latter case, gendered migration research requires taking on board the historicity and local embeddedness of particular case studies which should clearly frame sociopolitical and development strategies when conducting studies to understand women migrants and female migration (Cornwall et al., 2008;Dannecker & Sieveking, 2009;. ...
In this chapter we turn to issues of how migrants participate in society and especially their gendered aspects. Why is gender important in this regard? It is a consideration that is usually absent from both theoretical and policy discussions of what is commonly termed integration or the basis on which migrants are incorporated into a society, a term widely used across different societies but with different meanings (Rytter, 2019). Whilst integration policies might seem to be neutral, they may in effect target women and men differently and have different outcomes for them. Such policies may also apply primarily to certain categories of migrants, although the categories and nationalities change over time. As we shall see, concerns over what constitutes problematic integration vary, such as: lack of knowledge of the language of the country, non-participation in the labour market and traditional cultural and social practices transferred from societies of origin. These have generated demands to impose integration measures and contracts as conditionalities of immigration and, if applicable, to the different stages in the pathway to citizenship.
... If material is not included in the chapter's Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. While the repetitive rhetoric of 'discovering' women as active agents in mobility decisions, plans and the execution of such, might have had a major contribution in filling an important lacuna in migration studies literature several decades ago now Kofman, 1999), there are a number of analytical problems with continuing claims that seem to either conflate 'gender' with women or tend to nearly essentialise the 'feminization of migration' in reflecting discursive stereotypes. In the latter case, gendered migration research requires taking on board the historicity and local embeddedness of particular case studies which should clearly frame sociopolitical and development strategies when conducting studies to understand women migrants and female migration (Cornwall et al., 2008;Dannecker & Sieveking, 2009;. ...
At the end of a short journey, we can attest to the flourishing production of knowledge on gender and migration that has built up over the past 30 years in particular. Though we have on the whole referred to works in English, there is an extensive literature in other major languages, such as French, German, Italian and Spanish which have emerged from different social science traditions, in recognition of the significance of gendered migrations and feminist movements. English has come to dominate writing in this field (Kofman, 2020), ironically in large part through the European funding of comparative research as well as transatlantic exchanges (Levy et al., 2020). The past 20 years have been a rapid period of intellectual exchange in this field through networks and disciplinary associations, such as the International and European Sociological Associations or IMISCOE which supported a cluster on Gender, Generation and Age (2004–2009). The IMISCOE Migration Research Hub ( https://www.migrationresearch.com/ ) demonstrates the extensive production on gender issues and their connections with other theories and fields of migration. The economic and social transformations brought about by globalisation and transnationalism, and how its unequal outcomes and identities need to be understood through an intersectional lens (Amelina & Lutz, 2019), have heavily shaped studies of gender and migration (see Chap. 10.1007/978-3-030-91971-9_2 ). Indeed intersectionality has been suggested by some as the major contribution of contemporary feminism to the social sciences, and, has certainly been a theoretical insight that has travelled widely and rapidly from the Anglo world to Europe (Davis, 2020; Lutz, 2014) since it was defined by Kimberlé Crenshaw (1989). We should, however, also remember that it had antecedents in the writing of anti-racist feminists on racist ideology and sex by the French sociologist Claude Guillaumin (1995), on the trinity of gender, race and class in the UK (Anthias & Yuval-Davis, 1992; Parmar, 1982) and by scholars in Australia (Bottomley et al., 1991) and Canada (Stasiulis & Yuval-Davis, 1995).
... If material is not included in the chapter's Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. While the repetitive rhetoric of 'discovering' women as active agents in mobility decisions, plans and the execution of such, might have had a major contribution in filling an important lacuna in migration studies literature several decades ago now Kofman, 1999), there are a number of analytical problems with continuing claims that seem to either conflate 'gender' with women or tend to nearly essentialise the 'feminization of migration' in reflecting discursive stereotypes. In the latter case, gendered migration research requires taking on board the historicity and local embeddedness of particular case studies which should clearly frame sociopolitical and development strategies when conducting studies to understand women migrants and female migration (Cornwall et al., 2008;Dannecker & Sieveking, 2009;. ...
Why has it been important to incorporate gender relations into our understanding of migration processes and to engender migration research? The need to do so does not only stem from the fact that women globally make up just under half of international migrants. Gender is one of the key forms of differentiation within societies which interacts with other social divisions such as age, class, ethnicity, nationality, race, disability and sexual orientation. The drivers of migration impact on women and men differently. Women and men circulate distinctively, whether it be between rural and urban areas, intra-regionally or globally. Labour markets are often highly segregated and the possibility of women and men crossing borders may also be restricted or opened up through gendered discourses, practices, and regulations governing the right to move and under what conditions. Migration may in turn change gender relations within households and in the community and impact on gendered and sexual identities.
Purpose
This article provides a narrative review of recent research on entrepreneurship and self-employment among immigrant women in Canada. The aim was to identify the state-of-the-art, current trends and findings in existing literature to suggest future research avenues.
Design/methodology/approach
Focusing on the Canadian context, a thorough search was conducted across four academic databases (EBSCO, ProQuest, Web of Science, and Cairn) for both peer-reviewed articles and grey literature. Fourteen papers and one report, published between 2010 and 2024, were selected and analyzed using a narrative approach.
Findings
The review identified the primary challenges faced by immigrant women entrepreneurs and self-employed workers in Canada according to recent research. Most of the existing literature comprises qualitative studies utilizing in-depth interviews, primarily focusing on specific ethnic groups. Research aimed at developing coordinated policy for support services constitutes a minority of the studies and are mostly situated in Quebec, highlighting a significant research gap for future investigation.
Originality/value
This paper consolidates the existing theoretical and empirical approaches to female immigrant entrepreneurship research within the Canadian context. The review sets the stage to suggest new avenues for further research, particularly to inform intersectoral planning and action to support immigrant women in entrepreneurial pursuits from an intersectionality standpoint.
The Czech Republic is in the process of transforming its social system which is not capable of managing adequate care of its old citizens. In the last years we have witnessed an increase in the number of mediating agencies that import mainly Ukranian migrants for the purpose of engaging them in care work focusing on elderly people. The paper presents results of pilot ethnograpic research and focuses on commodification of care work for elderly people and the vulnerable character of domestic care work provided by Ukrainian female migrants in the Czech Republic. I argue that this specific “product” – the Ukrainian female caregiver – is based on the intersections of gender, ethnicity and migration.
This conclusion offers a feminist critique of migration studies, unveiling the complexities and nuances of female migration experiences while challenging prevailing narratives and policies. The author offers a critical discussion centred on the concept of the “feminisation of migration,” a term often used in Migration Studies, albeit with misinterpretations. The author advocates for a shift towards the notion of the “feminisation of the gaze” to shed fresh light on the phenomenon of female migration, emphasising a feminist perspective. This approach highlights the intricate relationship between migration and emancipation, moving beyond the simplistic portrayal of migrant women as either victims or heroines. The concept of “autonomy in tension” is introduced to capture the ambivalence of migrant women’s positions.
Recognising the complexity of femininity, the chapter underscores the importance of an intersectional perspective, acknowledging the diversity among migrant women in terms of legal status, race, age, and class. Furthermore, the book challenges the assumption that issues related to female migration are solely rooted in gender or kinship relations. It demonstrates how women’s agency is not just threatened by patriarchal structures but also by EU migration policies that perpetuate vulnerability and undermine their autonomy.
The previous chapter highlights that transformative approaches to gender, migration, and development are critical to addressing the complex and interrelated challenges facing individuals and communities worldwide. Such systems recognise the inherent power dynamics and inequalities that shape gender relations and migration processes and strive to challenge and transform them. By placing gender at the centre of migration and development discourse, transformative approaches aim to dismantle discriminatory norms, practices, and policies that perpetuate gender-based violence, marginalisation, and exclusion. These approaches emphasise the importance of recognising the diverse experiences and needs of women, men, and gender minorities in migration contexts and working towards gender equality, social justice, and inclusive development outcomes. Through inclusive and participatory processes, transformative approaches seek to empower individuals, promote agency, and create opportunities for transformative change at the individual, community, and systemic levels. By addressing the intersecting dimensions of gender, migration, and development, transformative approaches can potentially promote more inclusive and equitable societies in which the rights and well-being of all people are respected and protected.
This paper analyzes the shift in career strategies among Japanese women due to the globalization of Japan's economy since the 1980s. It highlights how economic changes led to a gender‐based division of labor, propelling women to seek opportunities abroad. The research draws on interviews with 81 women who moved to financial centers in East Asia, mainly in Hong Kong and Shanghai, examining their experiences in the workforce, the impact of human resource agencies in their migration, and the challenges and opportunities they encountered. The study reveals a complex landscape where Japanese women navigate gendered expectations and discrimination both in Japan and abroad in pursuit of career advancement. The conclusion emphasizes three points. First, women found opportunities abroad to do what they wanted, even if it was not what they initially expected before leaving Japan. Second, although supportive and subordinate to male managers, their work was indispensable to the management of Japanese companies abroad. Their contribution has long been underestimated but needs to be considered. Third, the experience abroad gave them direct interaction with various clients and colleagues and a view of rapid societal change in Hong Kong and China, contributing to choosing their diverse career trajectories and life plans.
This book was inspired by a panel titled “Gender and Migration in Turkey” at a conference in Turkish migration (TMC) in Athens, Greece, in 2017. As participants on the panel, we realized that although there are studies of migration which apply a gender perspective and include women, these studies were fragmented. The panelists met during the conference and the idea of an edited book on women and gendered migration in Turkey took shape. Since then we have come together to discuss the project in Istanbul in May 2018 in a workshop, supported by Friedrich-Ebert Stiftung (FES) Turkey. This volume is the outcome of our collaboration. Our aim in working together on this project was to collect the work of Turkish experts on women’s migration and to attempt to show the breadth of research available. In doing this we not only showcase the work of writers with long experience of the field—stretching back well before the influx of Syrian refugees—but also introduce the literature on women’s migration written in Turkish and therefore less accessible to an international audience.
Bir üretim ve birikim rejimi olarak kapitalizmin ihtiyaç duyduğu işgücünün temininde göçmen işçilerin önemli yeri vardır. Rejimdeki değişiklikler göçmen işgücüne ihtiyacın boyutlarını ve niteliğini belirler. Bu değişikliklere bakılırken emeğin toplumsal cinsiyeti önemli bir analiz noktası sunar ve göçmen kadın emeğinin göçmen erkek emeğiyle benzeşen ve farklılaşan yönlerini görmek bakımından yarar sağlar. Bu makale İkinci Dünya Savaşını izleyen dönemi tarihsel bir perspektiften Avrupa ekseninde üç ana başlık altında ele alarak, önce Fordist üretim rejiminin fabrika ve madenlerinde, sonra 1970'lerdeki ekonomik krizi izleyen neoliberal küreselleşme sürecinde gözlenen yeniden üretim krizinde ve günümüzün bilişsel kapitalizminde göçmen işgücünü toplumsal cinsiyet perspektifinden tartışmaktadır. Kapsamlı bir literatür incelemesine dayanan bu çalışma, İkinci Dünya Savaşını izleyen ilk dönemde Batı Avrupa ülkelerinde imalat sanayiinde, madencilikte, hizmetlerde ve tarımda ihtiyaç duyulan vasıfsız işgücünün cinsiyet dağılımını ele almakta ve erkeklerin göçü olarak algılanan bu dönemde göçmen kadın işçilerin varlığına ışık tutmaktadır. 1973 ekonomik krizinin ardından gelen kapitalizmin neoliberal yeniden yapılanma dönemi aynı zamanda sosyoekonomik ve demografik değişikliklere bağlı olarak yeniden üretim krizinin yaşandığı dönemdir. Yeniden üretim krizini, bir diğer deyişle bakım açığını aşmak için göçmen kadınların ev ve bakım işlerinde istihdam edilmesi, göçmen kadın işgücüne talebi artırmıştır. Son dönemde bilişsel kapitalizmin ihtiyaçlarına uygun olarak yüksek vasıflı işgücünün göçü ön plana çıkmaktadır. Gelişmiş ülkeler özellikle bilişim ve iletişim ile sağlık sektörlerinde vasıflı işgücünün göçünü teşvik etmekte, eğitim düzeyi yüksek kadınlar da kendi ülkelerindeki eşitsiz koşullara tepkileri ölçüsünde göç sürecine katılmaktadır.
Bir üretim ve birikim rejimi olarak kapitalizmin ihtiyaç duyduğu işgücünün temininde göçmen işçilerin önemli yeri vardır. Rejimdeki değişiklikler göçmen işgücüne ihtiyacın boyutlarını ve niteliğini belirler. Bu değişikliklere bakılırken emeğin toplumsal cinsiyeti önemli bir analiz noktası sunar ve göçmen kadın emeğinin göçmen erkek emeğiyle benzeşen ve farklılaşan yönlerini görmek bakımından yarar sağlar. Bu makale İkinci Dünya Savaşını izleyen dönemi tarihsel bir perspektiften Avrupa ekseninde üç ana başlık altında ele alarak, önce Fordist üretim rejiminin fabrika ve madenlerinde, sonra 1970’lerdeki ekonomik krizi izleyen neoliberal küreselleşme sürecinde gözlenen yeniden üretim krizinde ve günümüzün bilişsel kapitalizminde göçmen işgücünü toplumsal cinsiyet perspektifinden tartışmaktadır. Kapsamlı bir literatür incelemesine dayanan bu çalışma, İkinci Dünya Savaşını izleyen ilk dönemde Batı Avrupa ülkelerinde imalat sanayiinde, madencilikte, hizmetlerde ve tarımda ihtiyaç duyulan vasıfsız işgücünün cinsiyet dağılımını ele almakta ve erkeklerin göçü olarak algılanan bu dönemde göçmen kadın işçilerin varlığına ışık tutmaktadır. 1973 ekonomik krizinin ardından gelen kapitalizmin neoliberal yeniden yapılanma dönemi aynı zamanda sosyoekonomik ve demografik değişikliklere bağlı olarak yeniden üretim krizinin yaşandığı dönemdir. Yeniden üretim krizini, bir diğer deyişle bakım açığını aşmak için göçmen kadınların ev ve bakım işlerinde istihdam edilmesi, göçmen kadın işgücüne talebi artırmıştır. Son dönemde bilişsel kapitalizmin ihtiyaçlarına uygun olarak yüksek vasıflı işgücünün göçü ön plana çıkmaktadır. Gelişmiş ülkeler özellikle bilişim ve iletişim ile sağlık sektörlerinde vasıflı işgücünün göçünü teşvik etmekte, eğitim düzeyi yüksek kadınlar da kendi ülkelerindeki eşitsiz koşullara tepkileri ölçüsünde göç sürecine katılmaktadır.
As a starting point regarding the economic effects of migration beyond cities, existing theoretical approaches as well as previous empirical results are presented and discussed within this chapter. Within the first subchapter, the basic concepts on the determinants of international migration are focused upon. Secondly, we present the economic theories on the impact of migration in the destination country. Finally, the main empirical results are shown and discussed, giving an overview of the state of the art.
International labour migration processes of the last decades saw increasing numbers of solo female migrants employed primarily in the domestic care sector of developed countries. Many of these women were mothers who left their children in the sending countries and thus gave rise to a controversial phenomenon of transnational motherhood. The present thesis is based on the first empirical study of intergenerational narratives of mothers, Georgian labour migrants to Italy, and
their children, left behind in Georgia, who shared their experiences of separation and transnational motherhood.
Considering the complexity of international migration, a single discipline cannot explain it thoroughly. Four theoretical insights are employed in the present thesis to understand experiences of transnational motherhood: sociology of international migration, sociology of the family, gender studies and sociology of emotions. The following approaches are of particular importance: an analytic perspective of transnational migration and theories of self-selection of international labour
migrants with close ties with their communities of origin; different migration experiences of males and females, and recent trends of feminization of labour migration; traditional and “alternative” ideologies of motherhood and changing motherhood practices in transnational families, that are of
central interest to the present research project. When studying transnational motherhood, it is impossible to avoid very close attention to emotional aspects accompanying transnational family life, which, so far, have been largely overlooked by migration scholars.
The very fact of mothers’ international labour migration is a challenge to the traditional, deeply rooted ideology of motherhood. Often unconsciously, migrant mothers adhere to “alternative”, “rational”, future-oriented model(s) of parenting prioritizing “long-term projects of care” (Leifsen & Tymczuk, 2012), although they often continue to live their experiences considering traditional understandings of motherhood. This is the first of a series of “dualities” that accompany experiences of transnational motherhood. The traditional ideology of motherhood appears to be
unequipped to “frame” transnational motherhood as, within its framework, mothers’ choice to leave their children is reprehensible, yet transnational mothers’ physical absence is not an equivalent of “leaving” their children.
Informants’ narratives strongly suggest that long periods of physical separation did not jeopardize bonds between mothers and children in transnational families. While informants’ selection bias is probable, the mother-child bond was not “broken” and the very essence of motherhood remained intact. Thanks to constant communication and involvement in joint family projects mothers and children were present in each other’s lives and cared about each other’s feelings; in many families,
certain “distant affective” motherhood practices were created. Some children noted that during their mothers’ emigration – and, to a certain extent, thanks to it – they grew closer to their mothers as, paradoxically, they were managing to communicate more, and had more quality communication.
Thus, while physically absent, migrant mothers maintained a strong presence in their families both mentally and emotionally (not to speak economically). Many forms of mothers’ and children’s online co-presence were documented during the interviews. Its importance notwithstanding, interviews also prove that the Internet cannot be considered a solution to the problem of family separation. It may reduce the pain caused by separation, but cannot be a complete substitute for
mothers’ physical absence from their families.
Two profound and, at the same time, highly mismatched sentiments strongly featured in interviews with migrant mothers. On the one hand, mothers were consciously sacrificing their years in emigration, to the extent that, often, their lifestyle was, de-facto, self-denial filled almost exclusively with hard work. At the same time, they reported strong feelings of guilt, repeating over and over again that they hoped their children would eventually forgive them for this separation. In
fact, mothers felt guilty for full devotion to their children who, in their turn, saw no guilt in mothers’ actions – on the contrary, were grateful to them. This paradox seems impossible to understand and explain rationally as it appears to be based chiefly on migrant mothers’ emotional reactions.
Separation was experienced painfully by both mothers and children. However, when informants’ feelings were contrasted with a rationalization of separation as a consequence of a calculated choice made for the good of the family, mothers’ emigration appeared to be the right decision despite the pain it caused. All but one interviewed mothers said they would not change their migration decision if they could go back in time. Moreover, they almost univocally reported readiness to “keep going on”, and continue working in emigration to help their children (and, often, newly arrived grandchildren) until they were physically able to do so, because, as they put it, “motherhood never ends”.
Atualmente, vivem no Japão 1.556.113 estrangeiros registrados nas prefeituras, cerca de 1,23% da população total japonesa. A maior parte deles vive nas grandes metrópoles como Tóquio, Osaka, Aichi, onde se concentram os grandes centros industriais, de serviços e de consumo. Se incluirmos os overstayers (indocumentados) a essa população estrangeira, teríamos que acrescentar aproximadamente 300 mil pessoas, de acordo com o levantamento realizado por Yamawaki (1995, p.24). Os últimos dados publicados pela Japan Immigration Association (2000) revelam que a maior comunidade estrangeira no Japão atualmente é a coreana com 40.9% da população estrangeira total, seguida da chinesa (18.9% ) e a brasileira (14.4%). Fazendo um levantamento de quantas são as mulheres, os dados apontam para 51.9% do total de estrangeiros que estão legalmente no Japão. Analisando detalhadamente os números de mulheres nas três maiores comunidades, temos os seguintes dados (vide Tabela 1). Nos últimos anos, a população feminina asiática tem sido a mais numerosa de todas. Em 1999, as mulheres coreanas e chinesas contabilizam mais de 50% da sua população total, e as mulheres filipinas chegavam a totalizar 85% da população de filipinos no Japão. Podemos verificar uma tendência parecida na população brasileira. [...]
Migration has come to feature in our daily conversations and holds a crucial place in countries’ political agendas because of the increased number of people moving to seek a better and more secure livelihood internally and internationally. These increased movements not only affect the migrants themselves; those who do not join immigrants are affected as relatives and/or friends, which brought about transnationalism as central to migration studies. Despite criticism of transnationalism, as a theoretical tool, it deepens our understanding of people’s lived experiences in both home and host countries. It deepens our understanding of how migrants’ experiences are related not only to ‘here’ (the host country); but also to ‘there’ (the home country). In this regard, this chapter aims to explore the impact of migration on families’ lives, particularly parenthood, through the lens of transnationalism.KeywordsTransnationalismTransnational familiesTransnational fatherhoodTransnational motherhoodEmotionsCareTransnational parenthood
Despite the growing scholarship on Romanian migration after the fall of state socialism in 1989, Romanian women’s migration to France remains largely unexplored. Studies have tended to focus on economic, rural, and low-skilled women’s migration to destinations with gendered labour demands. Based on ethnographic research, this article examines urban, student, and educated women’s migration, by exploring their aspirations and desires to migrate and their everyday experiences in France. Overall, France has attracted a diverse group of Romanians whose migration cannot be explained by push and pull factors alone. Student and educated women of different ages, social statuses, and skill levels invoked migration desires shaped by both personal and political reasons. This article examines women’s drivers of migration and shows that parents, fellow citizens, and social class play decisive roles in their decisions to migrate, enable their departures, and facilitate their arrivals in France. However, social class, including its associated symbolic capital, becomes less prominent in shaping women’s everyday lives in France, where their nationality and its related negative stereotypes can expose women to discrimination and exclusion.
The problem of discrimination and unequal treatment of women from culturally diverse backgrounds affects countries such as the Netherlands. The centuries of tolerance and openness to an “alien” seem to be ending. This is evidenced by numerous reports and scientifi c studies, statements from specialists, and experts on the issues of immigrant integration. Increasingly, feeling marginalised and deprived of development opportunities, immigrant or refugee women come to the fore. Some of them (those remaining in isolation) are represented by aid organisations, i.e. foundations, associations, volunteer groups, and the municipalities themselves. This article covers the existing issue of the increasing number of refugees and immigrants in the Netherlands, especially refugee and immigrant women towards whom, according to specialists, integration policy should be redefi ned.
This paper aims to show that the COVID-19 pandemic has amplified existing barriers to healthcare in England for ethnic minority and migrant women. These barriers include those embedded within the institution, stemming from community perceptions and relating to socio-economic factors. Though barriers to accessing healthcare have existed long before the pandemic, more attention must be devoted now because of the inequalities that COVID-19 has laid bare in England for ethnic minority and migrant women. By adopting an intersectional lens, this paper uncovers what has previously been hidden by ‘intersectional invisibility’, now exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Whilst the pandemic has seen an increase in focus on inequalities related to race, gender and immigration status, this paper adds to the literature by specifically considering the intersection of race and gender, and immigration status and gender, in the context of inequalities relating to healthcare. We argue that ethnic minority and migrant women experience inequalities in healthcare related to access uniquely because of their intersectional identities and the context of a public health crisis.
Wie können irreguläre Migranten und Migrantinnen ihre Interessen vertreten, obgleich ihre Einreise und ihr Aufenthalt als unerwünscht gelten? Die Studie zeichnet die Spuren von Protest, Organisierung und Lobbying in der EU nach. Dabei wird der Blick an die Grenzen Europas wie auch auf das lobbypolitische Zentrum Brüssel gelenkt. Die Studie zeigt auf, inwiefern sich auf europäischer Ebene überraschende und unkonventionelle Ansatzpunkte ergeben - nicht zuletzt durch geschlechterpolitische Allianzen und eigensinnige Praxen der Migrierenden. Das Buch trägt zur sozialwissenschaftlichen Diskussion um »schwache Interessen« und zum gesellschaftlichen Diskurs um »illegale« Migration bei.
Gender plays a central role in the decision to migrate and the composition of the migration flows. Emigration is the process experienced differently by women and men. The experience of immigration profoundly impacts on the public and private lives of women – their participation in the labour force, their religiousness, their marital roles and satisfaction, and their autonomy and self-esteem. One of the possible effects of migration is the emancipation of women. There is a direct connection between emancipation and integration. In contrast to integrated western societies emancipated immigrant women, immigrants from traditional cultures are not interested in the integration. They risk not only the loss of cultural identity, but also their own identity.
Dünyada artan iç savaşlar, sosyoekonomik dalgalanmalar, tabii afetler etkisiyle meydana gelen kıtlık, uluslararası göç dalgasının tetikleyici unsurları arasında yer almaktadır. Ekonomi, dünya genelinde uluslararası göçten hem en çok etkilenen hem de etkileyen alanlardan biridir. Göçmen ve mültecilerin ayrıldıkları ve ulaştıkları ülkelerin, sosyal ve ekonomik motivasyonlarında meydana gelen değişimler Sanayi Devriminden bu yana izlenebilir durumdadır. Mülteci entegrasyonun ev sahibi ülke ekonomisine getirdiği etkilerin neler olduğu, kısa ve uzun dönemde nasıl farklılaştırabileceği, ülke ekonomilerine bir yük olmaktan ziyade katkı sunar hale getirilebilmesi, Türkiye ekonomisi örneklemesi, göç yönetimi ve politika önerileri ile sunulacaktır. Uluslararası göçün ev sahibi ülke üzerinde sosyolojik ve ekonomik etkiler bırakması, dünyada en fazla mülteciye ev sahipliği yapan Türkiye için de önem arz etmektedir. Yapılan çalışmalar ve deneyimler incelendiğinde genel olarak ev sahibi ülkenin stratejik politikalar ortaya koyması gerektiği, göçün oluşturduğu maliyetlerin ev sahibi ülkenin sosyal yaşamla beraber ekonomisini de orta ve uzun dönemde etkilediği görülmektedir.
This chapter studies the complex psychosocial processes of familial and community interconnecting in the now blurry area between diasporic and transnational social fields, diasporic and transnational subjectivities. Through two early twenty-first century texts, Monica Ali’s Brick Lane (2003) and Jhumpa Lahiri’s The Namesake (2003), it explores the relationship between global capitalism and the proliferation of labour migrations towards the end of the twentieth century. Combining theoretical insights and new directions in the fields of migration studies and mobilities studies, it studies family mobilities in transnational and diasporic contexts with a special focus on three issues: the power frameworks which structure mobility and immobility, the role played by culture in the perception and practice of mobility, and the convergence of mobility and the emotional management of relationships.
Examines the underlying assumptions that companies make about the role of women in international management. Based on numerous studies, explodes some of the traditional myths about women expatriates: that they do not want to be international managers and that foreign prejudice against women renders them ineffective. However, another myth – that companies hesitate to send women abroad – is found to be true. Competitive advantage in transnationals can only come from a combination of an increased representation of women and a recognition of differences as complementary. Recommendations are given to companies and to future women expatriates.
"This paper provides a critical review of existing studies about how migration alters women's position in the course of social change....First, the conceptual and methodological issues that bear on the assessment of changing gender relations are distilled from the existing literature. Second, for heuristic purposes we delineate three alternative outcomes for migrant women using the distribution-redistribution analytical framework....Finally, we provide a selective review of case studies illustrating alternative outcomes for migrant women in Africa and Latin America." (SUMMARY IN FRE)
"This article applies the theory of structuration to international labor migration using case study material from the Philippines. It first provides a brief review of the functional and structural approaches to understanding labor migration and the theoretical impasse that has been created between them. It then reviews several attempts to resolve this impasse, including systems and networks approaches; these solutions are rejected on theoretical and empirical grounds. We suggest that migrant institutions may be a more appropriate mid-level concept than households or social networks to articulate various levels of analysis. We develop this concept in the context of the structuration theory of Anthony Giddens and attempt to apply this to the Philippines, concluding that this framework is eminently suited for further research on international labor migration."
"This article challenges the conventional wisdom that, since the circa 1974 discontinuation of policies encouraging temporary labor migration, female migration has significantly outnumbered male migration. Drawing on data from Belgium, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States, the article shows that the proportion of women in gross immigration is lower when the flows originate in developing rather than in developed countries. Women outnumber men only in terms of net migration. Each receiving country has its own variations on these generalizations, with the chief variables being the receiving countries' admission policies and the stage in migration history of the expatriate population."
PIP
The author explores the problem of family reunification in the context of international migration. The focus is on international and national legislation, policies, and provisions concerning family reunification. The need for international cooperation to resolve the problems arising from international migration and the desire to reunite families is noted. (SUMMARY IN FRE AND SPA).
The growing literature on the implications for immigrants and black and ethnic minority populations of the Single European Market and measures to control entry into the Community through the Trevi (1976) and Schengen (1986, 1990) agreements has tended to pay relatively little attention to the specific position of women. The position of immigrant women is bound up both with the opening/closure of the European Community and the construction of national identity. In this research we focus on four aspects of such women's lives: cultural practices, labour market, legal status, and access to welfare with particular reference to Britain, France, and Germany.
This is a literature review of eight books concerning the sociology of migration. Issues addressed include the relationship of migration to economic factors and systems and to political factors. Consideration is also given to the differences between migrants and refugees. (ANNOTATION)
This is the first of what is hoped will be a regular series of articles in New Community addressed to contemporary patterns and trends in international migration. The aim will be to provide a largely factual update on the situation in major world regions, or on specific systematic issues.This report focuses on Europe, principally Western Europe. After a brief comment on data problems, it presents the latest available statistics on trends in stocks and flows of international migrants, including asylum seekers. It suggests that officially recorded movements are now slowing.
The globalization of production and services has accelerated the demand for expatriate workers. Using the household as the basic social unit, we examine the effects of participating in this global labour market for men and for women. In the international labour market women are often excluded or marginalised and their household work may go unrecognised and unrewarded. Organisational attempts to make relocations acceptable may be inadequate or subject to recessionary pressures. We draw on interviews carried out with 30 dual-career households working in the Greater Nottingham area to explore the labour market experiences of a subset —of expatriate managers and professionals and their partners—the differential effects on their careers and the decision-making process involved in their relocations.
The article analyses the scale and geographical complexity of migration between East and West in Europe, and explores why it has recently risen so high on the political agenda. It reviews briefly the political context that has guided migration in eastern Europe during the twentieth century, and the thinking behind the current ‘Fortress’ concept in the European Community now shaping its migration regime. The changing patterns of migration in eastern Europe and the former USSR, including the roles of ethnicity and the economy in stimulating movement, are then discussed. Finally, the article reviews attempts to predict the scale of economic migration from the former USSR, concluding that levels of movement are likely to be less than has been suggested.
There is increasing evidence that Spain, like some of its neighbours in the south‐west of Europe, is becoming a country of immigration. Barcelona, the capital of the federal region of Catalonia, has received a large number of internal migrants throughout the twentieth century, and this has occasioned some cultural conflict. The current foreign immigration brings with it the issue of newcomers’ legal status. Increasing undocumented migration has become a barrier to the successful socio‐economic integration of migrants, and has contributed to the formation of a dual labour market. There have been some attempts to reduce this problem, among them the implementation of a Spanish quota system in 1993. This was particularly successful in regularising migrant women working as domestic servants in Barcelona. Peruvian women hence enjoy a number of legal advantages because of the nature of the economic activity they perform, and also because of the preferential administrative treatment they receive as a result of the 1985 ‘foreigner's law’, which reflects the common history of Spain and its colonies. This quota system, combined with structural factors in the country of origin and the existence of firm personal networks among female kin members, means that recent Peruvian migration flows to Spain are increasingly dominated by women. The gender composition of the Peruvian migrant community in Spain is likely to become more balanced in future through family reunion.
This article focuses on the experiences of a group of migrant women from Turkey, now living in the Netherlands or Germany. These are women involved in working with and for their compatriots in various sectors of social work. The term mediator refers to their professional task of mediating between the migrant community on the one hand and the indigenous society's institutions on the other. Their ethnicity turns out to be crucial for their professional tasks and their experiences are institutionally functionalised for the integration of their compatriots.A hallmark of their work is the translation of their compatriots’ behaviour and attitudes for the indigenous population and vice versa. The mediators can only succeed if they are able to analyse and reflect upon the host society as well as on the Turkish community; they can be seen as experts in the field of race and ethnic relations. This is why I have approached them as experts of a multi‐ethnic society. This article examined in detail the dilemmas they face and their chances of having a positive impact upon the Turkish communities’ marginal position. The article concludes by outlining theoretical issues of ethnicity, class and gender, which arise in connection with the case‐study.
In this article three contexts are explored in which the discourse of fraternity obscures the specific position of women for anti‐racists: in the 1960s around the development of anti‐racist education; the 1970s and 1980s ‘new wave’ of women's and anti‐racist movements, and most recently in terms of attitudes towards Muslim women, particularly the ‘headscarf affair’ and the reception of women fleeing fundamentalist violence in Algeria. Before looking at these cases, consideration is given to how the idea of ‘fraternity’ might reinforce the marginalisation of women in France and how this fits into feminist and anti‐racist theoretical concerns about the narrowness of the way in which supposedly universalist ideas like equality and liberty have been defined.
This article raises some of the problems contained within the notion of international feminism. It asks whether claims of international or global (or simply European) sisterhood do not hide an inability to deal with women's relation to specific national cultural contexts, and it discusses woman as exile, nomad, and migrant both literally and metaphorically.
While Italy has had much experience of both internal and external migration, an increasing number of migrants have recently settled in Italy. There has been a general tendency for women's involvement in migration to be overlooked, and emphasis placed on male migration. This article will thus look specifically at the experience of black women migrants in Italy. This article will demonstrate that gender has been a significant factor in women's experience of the migratory process within the Italian context, but that their race and status as migrants are also factors that contribute to their overall position in Italian society. I will argue that the different response to the presence of female migrants when compared to male migrants is due to a number of factors but that the short- and long-term consequences of this differential treatment have both positive and negative implications.
"Germany's new gastarbeiter policy is evaluated in the context of a long tradition of labour recruitment, particularly the last period of active recruitment abroad (1955-1973). The policy's characteristic features (of permission to stay being dependent on a work permit; this being limited to a certain period and linked to the requirements of a specific employer) [imply] that the gastarbeiter regime is a low cost means of increasing flexibility in cases of regional and/or sectoral bottlenecks in the employment system as well as a way of ¿exporting' problems.... The mounting employment crisis in Germany has prompted the German government repeatedly to take advantage of provisions to restrict the conventions on labour movement."
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The author reports on a meeting that was sponsored by the U.N. Population Council and the University of Pisa and held in March 1990 in San Minato, Italy, on international migration policies and female migrant status. The conference dealt with such topics as the impact of female status on migration selectivity, the effect of acculturation on the roles and status of migrant women, the status of female migrants as compared to that of native women, and returning female migrants.
Family, friendship, and community networks underlie much of the recent migration to industrial nations. Current interest in these networks accompany the development of a migration system perspective and the growing awareness of the macro and micro determinants of migration. This article presents an overview of research findings on the determinants and consequences of personal networks. In addition, it calls for greater specification of the role of networks in migration research and for the inclusion of women in future research.
"This article seeks to show that the migration process for highly skilled workers in contemporary Europe is part of the structuring of European business. It focuses on the employer's perspective and role in articulating movement, using data from various official sources as well as survey evidence from the United Kingdom. It suggests that the increasing importance of this form of mobility is related to the process of internationalization by large employers and that the particular form of movement is dependent on the evolution of corporate business."
PIP
This paper examines the effects of international migration on internal family structure, as well as the adaptation and integration of families into receiving countries. The importance of the role and function of the family in migration research can be examined from 3 angles: theoretical, methodological, and empirical (that is, the societal relevance of family in migration). A renewed theoretical perspective views the family in the sending country instead of the individual as the focus of attention, and reveals that 1) migration patterns are not exclusively among the poor or unemployed; 2) migration is not always for the benefit of the immigrant; and 3) migration should be studied as a process, not as a result. Recent studies show that 1) family or kinship migration is increasingly important and that families help new migrants adapt to the receiving country, both emotionally and financially; 2) family and kinship ties tend to become consolidated in the receiving country; and 3) the family helps migrants cope with stress caused by the migration experience. Studies on families' preservation of culture and adaptation of culture and behavior have gone from 1) descriptive to analytical and, 2) focusing on the receiving society to focusing on the strategies used by immigrants (from value-conformity to an individualistic-situation approach). Migration also causes changes in family organization and functioning, which should be studied as an internal process inside the family and as complex group. Within the family are 3 sets of substructures which change during the process of adaptation and/or assimilation to/into the receiving society: 1) the husband-wife relationship, 2) the parent-child relationship, and 3) the relationship among siblings.
PIP
Immigration patterns in the US in the last 50 years have defied the conventional wisdom that most international migrants are young, working-age males. Since 1930 more than 1/2 of all immgrants to the US have been women, and 2/3 have been women or children. Data show that the persistently large number of marriages of foreign-born or native-born US residents to alien women, coupled with increasing government regulation of immigration and a strong policy bias against the seperation of spouces and children, has resulted in the preponederance of women and children in immigration since 1930. The shift in the sex and age distribution of immgrants in the US in 1930 can also be attributed to the effectiveness of the 1924 quota laws in drastically reducing the enormous influx of immigrants from southern and eastern Europe, when the remaing flow was dominated by wives and children. Traditional sex role behavior has played a significant role in determining both the level and patterns of immigration to the US--while large inflows of economically motivated males induced 2nd flows of women and children before 1930, the 1940s saw the flow of foreign-born wives and children of US servicemen in the wake of Korean and Vietnam wars. An analysis of the Immigration and Naturalization Service data tapes for the 3.6 million fiscal 1972-79 arriving immigrants shows that almost 1/4 are children under 15. Except in this age group, females outnumber males in all other age groups. While immigrants are predictably younger than the US born population regardless of sex, immigrant women are more likely to be married than men, and both are more likely to be married than their US born peers. Immigrant women are substantially less likely to report labor market experience than immigrant men. Unlike US workers, immigrants tend to cluster at the top or bottom of the occupational scale, regardless of sex. Immigrant women are also clustered in the sterotypical female dominated occupations.
An editorial overview of a special double issue of this journal devoted to Women in migration, each article of which is abstracted separately. The extent of and studies of women's migration are reviewed, with particular emphasis on the integration of independent long-distance migrants into the labour force of advanced capitalist countries, and the gains and losses to women that arise are assessed. -W.T.S.Gould Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Paris, France.