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Migration and Women’s Empowerment
Abstract
There is general consensus among the international population community that the commitment achieved at the International Conference on Population and Development (Cairo, 1994) to womens empowerment, along with the related goals of improving womens reproductive health and securing their reproductive rights, represented a paradigm shift in the discourse about population and development, even though there are differences in view whether this is a positive change or not. But while the rhetoric about womens empowerment is pervasive, the concept remains ill-defined, and its relationship to demographic processes has not been well articulated, either theoretically or empirically. This book brings together leading researchers and policy advocates to explore whether the concept of womens empowerment is indeed useful for an understanding of key demographic processes. Its contributors identify new directions for demographic research from the analysis of available data that measure womens empowerment, and point to the implications for population-related policies. Demographic research has focused relatively little to date on gender, let alone the question of power. Yet critiques of available data argue that traditional womens-status indicators, such as education and employment, are often not sensitive enough to capture the nuances of gender power relations and the ways in which they govern womens and mens reproductive behaviour. This book moves forward to the complex task of conceptualizing, measuring, and analysing womens empowerment. In laying this groundwork, it provides critically important insights into the causes and consequences of population change, including migration. The book combines conceptual and empirical research with policy directions and considers the relevance of economic, social, and cultural contexts for the health and well-being of women, adolescents, and children. The countries under study are of both the North and the South. This book represents state-of-the-art knowledge on the two-way linkages between womens empowerment and demographic processes.
... In fact, the same countries that have opened up to trade in recent years have also had large-scale migration of labour from rural to urban areas. Countries in southeast and east Asia, notably, have had patterns of female-dominated migration and increased participation of women in the labour force since the 1970s (Dixon-Mueller and Germain, 2000;Hugo, 2000). ...
... Not all migration, however, is empowering. Hugo (2000) points out that migration is only empowering if it is not clandestine, if it is rural to urban, if women work outside the home and in formal jobs, and if they migrate permanently rather than temporarily. ...
... The process of migration can put women at greater risk of sexual activity (UN, 1999;Hugo, 2000).When women migrate in search of employment, they are subject to the same risks of sexual activity as women who enter paid employment for the first time, except that migrant women do not have the protection of their homes and are perhaps more vulnerable. Migrant men seeking sex also put themselves and their sexual partners at risk of HIV/AIDS. ...
Caren Grown explores the linkages between trade liberalization and the provision of and access to sexual and reproductive health services. Development (2005) 48, 28–42. doi:10.1057/palgrave.development.1100198
... This adjustment process depends upon several factors such as their relationship with migrants, the length of stay of the migrants overseas and socio-economic context in which they live. Male migration have a direct impact on the demographic characteristics such as the age, sex and household structures of the sending communities [15]. According to the results of background characteristics of study sample compared between migrant and non-migrant, mean age of non-migrants' wives and husband is significantly older than that of migrant sample. ...
... Previous literature indicates that the impact of migration on women decision-making process may vary depending upon the social category and family size to which they belong to [15]. ...
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to understand the effects of the husband’s migration on wives’ decision-making autonomy.
Design/methodology/approach
The study setting is Magway Region of central Myanmar where poverty has driven adult males to migrate overseas. The study hypothesizes that the absence of husbands due to international migration leads to changes in the roles and decision-making power of left-behind wives. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in 22 villages of Pakkoku district, Magway Region, using the multi-stage random sampling method. The study sample included 205 migrant’s wives and 196 non-migrant’s wives.
Findings
The international migration of husbands has a strong and positive impact on left-behind wives’ autonomy independent of individual characteristics and household social and economic status. In addition, the findings show that the number of children and household wealth are positively associated with women’s autonomy, whereas household size shows a negative association.
Research limitations/implications
It is possible that there will be unmeasured selection factors such as unsuccessful migration as it might influence both husbands’ migration status and women’s autonomy. Cross-sectional data also invite a question about the causal relationship. For example, it might be possible that women with high autonomy may be more likely to encourage their husband to work abroad. So, the relationship might be the other way around. A further longitudinal study is also needed to describe detail explanation about the causal influence of left-behind women’s autonomy.
Originality/value
Successful international migration has a impact not only on women’s autonomy but also on household economic status in central rural Myanmar.
... The first focuses on who migrates and does not migrate; the second focuses on the ways in which migrants assimilate in the destination communities. Neither of these two, pay adequate attention to gender (Hugo 2000;Pedraza 1991). ...
... The issue of whether migration empowers women is fraught with even greater challenges since it adds an additional layer of segmentationthat of gender (Hugo 2000). Boyd and Grieco (2003) emphasise the importance of understanding gender-specific migration experiences. ...
India has seen a rise in the proportion of internal migrants between 1983 and 2007-08. Much of this increase is attributed to female marriage migrants. However, there is limited literature analysing the well-being of female marriage migrants in India. This paper seeks to examine whether women’s autonomy in the public sphere is a function of: (a) the geographical community where the woman resides, or (b) imagined communities (the mindset of the communities to which the woman’s family belongs), using multilevel mixed-effects logistic and ordered logistic regression. Analysing data from the India Human Development Survey (IHDS), 2012, for more than 34,000 ever-married women aged 15–49 years, the study finds that the communities in the mind (norms about marriage migration in the caste/sub-caste to which the woman’s family belongs) are more important than the physical communities to which the women have migrated, in relation to certain aspects of women’s physical autonomy and autonomy to participate in civic activities. In contrast, a woman’s economic autonomy is a function of both ‘imagined’ and ‘physical’ communities. Thus, the opportunities available to women who migrate for marriage are shaped by both geographical communities, and more importantly, by the norms in her community about marriage migration.
... Según Hugo (2000), en la base del proceso de empoderamiento hay un movimiento o proyecto migratorio, las características de las mujeres que emigran y el tipo de contexto. La incidencia de la migración de uno o más miembros de la familia influye sobre las funciones familiares: la ausencia, sea de manera permanente o temporal, influirá en la estructura familiar, tanto en las áreas de destino como en las de origen (Hugo, 2000). ...
... Según Hugo (2000), en la base del proceso de empoderamiento hay un movimiento o proyecto migratorio, las características de las mujeres que emigran y el tipo de contexto. La incidencia de la migración de uno o más miembros de la familia influye sobre las funciones familiares: la ausencia, sea de manera permanente o temporal, influirá en la estructura familiar, tanto en las áreas de destino como en las de origen (Hugo, 2000). ...
El trabajo analiza el proceso de empoderamiento de jóvenes mujeres dominicanas con alto capital humano emigradas a España. La hipótesis principal en la que se fundamenta el trabajo es que la variable migratoria puede ser considerada como clave del proceso de empoderamiento y, a la vez, como elemento de ruptura con la cultura “machista”. A partir de la teoría de Rowlands (1997) han sido analizados los elementos que permiten los cambios hacia el empoderamiento. Según el autor, el proceso se desarrolla a través de tres dimensiones: individual, colectiva y de las relaciones cercanas. Para cada una hay elementos positivos y negativos que afectan el proceso.
El trabajo se desarrolló mediante entrevistas con 18 jóvenes dominicanas que viven en España. Las informaciones se obtuvieron a través del uso de la entrevista semiestructurada y de un cuestionario sociodemográfico.
Los resultados muestran que nos enfrentamos con una ola migratoria que es diferente a la anterior: una mezcla entre jóvenes con capital humano alto, otras en condiciones económicamente desfavorables y madres solteras con hijos. Sí, es verdad que hay diferencias internas entre las mujeres, pero es cierto que a través de la migración estas consiguen crear proyectos de vida, empoderarse y romper con los esquemas tradicionales.
... The relationship between rural-urban migration and women's empowerment is more complex. Under certain circumstances, migration can be empowering for women, and can be a way for women to escape social control or gender discrimination [1,56]. In northern Ghana, the act of migrating itself represents a challenge to indigenous ideological constraints on women's mobility [57,58]. ...
... However, the extent to which the liberating potential of rural-urban migration for women themselves is tempered by multiple factors and may be realized in certain dimensions but not in others. In his discussion of the conditions under which migration can be empowering for women, Hugo [56] argues that migration is more likely to empower women if it moves them from rural to urban locations, engages them in employment outside the home in formal sector occupations, and takes place within the legal framework for an extended period. Two of these conditions-formality and legality, not only of employment, but also of housing-pose significant challenges for the realization of the empowerment potential of rural-urban migration for women in developing countries. ...
Women who migrate within national borders in Africa have been largely ignored in contemporary conversations about migration. This is partly due to the fact that internal migration, and in particular, rural-urban migration, has been viewed in a negative light in development theory and praxis. This leads to the perception that women who migrate within national borders are worse-offthan they would have been otherwise and to a policy stance that seeks to discourage their migration. Drawing on field research in Ghana, I argue that while rural-urban migration gives women access to an independent source of income, the emancipatory potential of migration for women is limited by the official stance towards rural-urban migration and informality. Nevertheless, the decision by women to migrate represents an attempt to improve their life outcomes as well as those of their families, in the face of severely constrained options for doing so. Sustainable Development Goal 5 (SDG5)-promoting gender equality and women's empowerment-requires a different approach to women's internal migration. Rather than seeking to constrain women's mobility, policy and program interventions should be geared towards expanding women's freedom to choose whether or not to migrate-by expanding the options available to women who stay at home as well as improving migration outcomes for those who migrate.
... Le présent chapitre s'inscrit dans les sillons complexes exigeant une articulation plus concrète entre les expériences et les contextes de vie, à la fois locaux et globaux, et les impératifs reliés aux programmes de prévention et de gestion des politiques et programmes de gestion de la tuberculose (Demers, Boulle, Warren et autres, 2010;Jackson 2002;Vaca, Peralta, Gresely et autres, 2005). Un des principes est incontournable : les programmes visant la santé des femmes et des hommes -dans le cas présent, la gestion de la tuberculose -dans un pays comme l'Inde doivent être directement ancrés dans les principes de l'anthropologie de la santé, une des sciences humaines dont les traditions de recherche portent à la fois sur le biologique, le psychologique et le culturel (Boileau, Vissandjée, Nguyen et autres, 2008;Hugo 2000;Khan et Awan, 2011;Vissandjée, Van Der Plaat, Alexander et autres, 2011). La prise en compte de telles simultanéités permettra des analyses de relations qui s'établissent entre la maladie, les systèmes de prestations de soins, les normes et valeurs culturelles, sans oublier l'univers et les conditions de vie des personnes vivant ces expériences de santé (Bierman, Ahmad et Mawani, 2009;Hankivsky et Christoffersen, 2008;Vissandjée, Hyman, Janczur et autres, 2012;Vissandjée et Hyman, 2011). ...
... La prise en compte des trajectoires selon une perspective de genre, si elle est nécessaire, tout comme la Déclaration des droits de l'homme, se doit d'être renforcée par une contribution de valeurs éthiques, se référant aux façons différenciées que détiennent les femmes et les hommes dans leurs intentions et leurs actions. Il est attendu d'une prise en compte plus systématique de la nature croisée des déterminants sociaux de la santé, notamment, des questions de genre et de migration, qu'elle mettrait en exergue non seulement les sphères d'inégalité, mais également les responsabilités du système de soins et des services sociaux à donner des soins de qualité à tous dans une perspective de justice sociale (Hugo, 2000;Llácer, Zunzunegui, del Amo et autres, 2007;Somma et autres, 2008). S'agissant de reconnaissance de valeurs éthiques, la clarifi cation des termes à utiliser avant tout entre les chercheurs est certainement une étape importante dans la construction et le maintien d'un partenariat où de la place se doit d'être laissée à la négociation, le compromis, l'adaptation et à l'évolution des points de vue, des savoirs scientifi ques et des savoirs d'expérience. ...
... Given the growth in rural-urban and international labour migration in Bangladesh, such absences by husbands is increasing but remains surprisingly understudied in South Asia (Rahman 2002), and may create an important environment for change in women's lives. Husbands' remittances and potential exposure to different cultures can enhance the standard of living for women at home and provide greater access to resources that subsequently enable them to change their position (Hugo 2000). Indeed, research both from Bangladesh and nations beyond the patriarchal belt reports increases in women's decision-making, daughters' education, and reduced dowry practices in association with husbands' migration (Hadi 2001). ...
... Debate remains, however, about whether these aspects of women's lives are specific to the husband's absence or continue after his return. Additionally, it is unclear if indicators of women's empowerment are only a reflection of the changed conditions in which they are forced to live (Hugo 2000). Qualitative research reports pressure for women to take on roles that are not yet socially acceptable and therefore cause women considerable anxiety. ...
In Bangladesh, dramatic social and economic changes are transforming historical forms of patriarchy with various impacts on pathways to women's empowerment. We hypothesised contemporary resources would be more strongly associated with women's empowerment, as reflected in their influence in family decisions. In cross-sectional analysis, we found the contemporary resources of employment and membership in NGOs were most strongly and consistently associated with women's influence in family decisions. Education was only modestly associated, as were customary resources, including age and fertility. Programmatic efforts to enhance women's empowerment should consider the rapidly changing environment and the importance of women's economic participation.
... According to Labour Force Survey (2017-18) the reasons of rural to rural-to-urban migration include education, job searching, job transfer, business or change in law and order situation but the main reasons for migration are tied migration with the family include 33.1% due to marriage, 21.09% with parents and 10.81% with the spouse. Table 02 Migrant Population 10 Years of Age and over by main reasons of Migration, Sex and Area 2017-18 A study by (Aziz, 2014) has concluded that there is a strong relationship between migration and the socioeconomic empowerment of women; it has left a great change in their lives. The women's status changes with the movements of men out of the home; in that case, women get more empowered in almost every kind of decision-making. ...
The movement of people from rural areas towards urban units is understood as rural-to-urban migration. Women empowerment is the process that leads women to ownership of resources, improves their ability to control their lives and families, and allows them to make decisions to develop new strategies in life. The rural-to-urban migration in Pakistan changes the socioeconomic status of women through their engagements in formal job markets and increases earning sources through paid or professional work. In the Philippines, the economic driver is one of the primary and dominant forces for rural-to-urban migration. This study aimed to assess the impacts of migration on women's socioeconomic status. Also, it focused on exploring migration trends and women's engagement in the labour market after migration in both countries.
... Thus, migration can be both a cause and consequence of female empowerment. 43 Women migrate for different purposes and under different circumstances, as there are various types of migration voluntary or involuntary in nature. A large part of female migration is for marriage purpose or because the husband is migrating, however, there are also other migrations like for education, for family re-unification, for work or for forced situations. ...
This paper empirically evaluates the impact of internal migration on empowerment of women in urban areas. Based on data from a nationally representative household survey, we find that migration exerts its positive impact both through improvements in educational attainment and labor market outcomes in urban settings. Migration contributes positively to empowerment of women by both raising their education levels and lowering the schooling gap between men and women. Migration also allows migrants, both men and women, to access jobs and occupations in high wage regions, particularly for those with tertiary education. Unlike education, gender wage gap persists even after migration.
... The total number of overseas employment of female workers was 11,603 in 2019 and the number increased to 809,298 from 1991 to 2019 (BMET). Migration can be both a cause and a consequence of female empowerment (Hugo, 2000). Pull and push factors lead women to migrate just as they do for men too. ...
... Women's empowerment as a consequence of migration is another topic that helps us understand the gender dynamics of the migration process. Hugo (2000) argues that the increased empowerment of women depends on many factors, such as the context in which the migration occurs, the female migrant's characteristics and the type of movement. On the other hand, migration becomes a gendered issue through the policies of nation-states towards international immigration. ...
Drawing on interviews with families from Turkey living in Northern Italy and a series of observations, this article focuses on the construction of gender roles through migration experiences and men and women's agency in migration decision-making. Acknowledging the theoretical dichotomy between women being victims or conscious agents in the migratory process, I argue that (1) extended family ties of the country of origin are crucial for comprehending the transformation of gender roles in the migration context and that (2) living away from extended family ties gives women the opportunity to transform the roles attributed to them. Their migration experience seems to give them more possibilities for their needs to be taken into consideration by their husbands in household decision-making. For men, this change is almost never pleasant; in fact, the connotation given to the word 'transformation' is determined by the cultural code that favours the strong gender segmentation. Women like to change while men don't. Such a transformation in family life could also explain the lack of willingness of migrant women to return definitively to Turkey despite all the difficulties faced in Italy.
... Gender has increasingly been integrated into the ever-growing literature on migration and development in the past 20 years. While this literature on gender and migration has long been biased toward the figure of the female migrant (Hugo 2000), female relatives of migrants who stay in the origin communities -henceforth referred to as "women left behind" -progressively garnered more attention throughout the 1990s (e.g., Brink 1991;Hoodfar 1997) and the 2000s (e.g., Hadi 2001;Sadiqi and Ennaji 2004;Menjívar and Agadjanian 2007). If the study of this population initially suffered from a negative portrayal of these women as passive and "involuntary immobile" actors (Carling 2008), socio-anthropological studies have explored the hypothesis that male emigration could lead to female empowerment in the origin household. ...
Based on a mixed-methods approach using the 2006–2007 Morocco Living Standards
Measurement Survey and qualitative interviews, this article examines the distinct roles
that international migration and remittances play in female labor force participation
(FLFP) in origin-country households and discusses the implications in terms of women’s
empowerment. We find that having an emigrant among household members increases
FLFP for a given household, while receiving remittances decreases it. However, these
effects are significant only for unpaid family work, that is, a category of work unlikely to
lead to any form of economic empowerment. Although previous studies sometimes
hypothesized that emigration could drive gender-sensitive development at origin, the
quantitative and fieldwork findings suggest that, while paid work remains a route to
female empowerment, predominantly male emigration is unlikely to play a positive role
in supporting women’s access to income-generating activities in a society characterized
by strong patriarchal gender norms and poor job opportunities
... The link between emigration and women's empowerment is not straightforward and can be seen as a two‐way relationship (Hugo, 2000). If we focus on how the migration of household members can affect the agency of the women staying behind, different mechanisms can be distinguished, each of them reinforcing or contradicting each other. ...
The migration and development literature increasingly interrogates the effects of emigration on sociocultural change in the countries of origin, especially in relation to gender relations. Various studies conducted in the context of patriarchal societies have posited that male emigration may result in an empowerment of the women staying behind, with very mixed conclusions. Analysing in-depth interviews with 12 women living in a southwestern Moroccan town in a region of historic emigration to France, this contribution seeks to further this investigation by considering how migration and remittances impact women's bargaining and decision-making power within the household left behind. It examines how migration affects what is generally regarded as an enabling factor of women's empowerment, that is, the process of household nuclearisation through which migrants' wives can emancipate themselves from the control of their in-laws and gain more control over finances. It shows how women's power and status change over time, following the important stages of the domestic cycle and the migratory trajectory of their husbands. This paper distinguishes three “ages” for wives left behind, corresponding to different power configurations in the local and transnational households. In contrast with the empowerment hypothesis, the interviews suggest that migration may actually contribute to the resilience of the traditional extended household structure rather than its demise. Overall, this contribution argues that migration systems predicated on a patriarchal social and family order are unlikely to bring about sustainable women's empowerment in the origin household and community.
... Women whose husbands have migrated in search of work are referred to as left-behind wives, wives left behind, or left-behind women [1]. In China, the title of "left-behind wives" refers to rural female residents who are left behind by their migrant husbands for the sake of business or other employment opportunities in places outside of their registered households for over 6 months at a time or more than 6 months over a year [2]. ...
Background
In China, the number of left-behind wives in rural areas has reached 47 million. Left-behind wives might have more psychological stress and lower life quality. This study was to examine the health-related quality of life and influencing social and cognitive factors in a sample of left-behind wives in rural areas of China.
Methods
The demographic data questionnaire, the Short Form 36 Health Survey Scale, Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale, Perceived Social Support Scale, Simplified Coping Style Questionnaire, and Perceived Stress Scale were completed by a sample of 1,893 left-behind wives and 969 non-left-behind wives.
Results
Left-behind wives had lower scores on physical component summary (PCS), mental component summary (MCS) , and all the eight subscales of the SF-36 than non-left-behind wives (P < 0.05), especially on the role limitations due to emotional problems (RE) and on MCS. Compared to non-left-behind wives, left-behind wives scored higher in depression, stress, and passive coping styles, and scored significantly lower in social support and active coping styles. Logistic regression analysis showed that the status of being left behind, age, education years, monthly income, employment, physical health status, active coping styles, and depression were influencing factors on the PCS of rural women, whereas the status of being left behind, monthly income, physical health status, sense of marriage security, stress, social support, passive coping styles, and depression were influencing factors on the MCS of rural women.
Conclusions
Left-behind wives scored lower on health-related quality of life than non-left-behind wives. Low health-related quality of life was associated with left behind status, older age, less education, low monthly income, unemployment, bad physical health status, passive coping styles, low social support, high level of stress, and high depression.
... The migration of male heads of household, for example, has been found to lead to reconfigurations both of productive and of reproductive labour within transnational families as women and children perform tasks traditionally performed by men Hugo, 2002;Xiang, 2007). Male migration may also result in nonmigrant women experiencing more financial hardships (Smith-Estelle and Gruskin, 2003), difficulties with disciplining their children (Battistella and Conaco, 1998;Dwiyanto and Keban, 1997;Hugo, 2000), reduced access to food (Smith-Estelle and Gruskin, 2003), and increased loneliness and isolation (Gardner, 1995). However, other studies have found more positive outcomes for women, with wives of migrant men accorded greater autonomy and self-confidence, as well as improved social status (Donnan and Werbner, 1991;Hadi, 2001). ...
As a significant supplier of labour migrants, Southeast Asia presents itself as an important site for the study of children in transnational families who are growing up separated from at least one migrant parent and sometimes cared for by 'other mothers'. Through the often-neglected voices of left-behind children, we investigate the impact of parental migration and the resulting reconfiguration of care arrangements on the subjective well-being of migrants' children in two Southeast Asian countries, Indonesia and the Philippines. We theorise the child's position in the transnational family nexus through the framework of the 'care triangle', representing interactions between three subject groups- 'left-behind' children, non-migrant parents/other carers; and migrant parent(s). Using both quantitative (from 1010 households) and qualitative (from 32 children) data from a study of child health and migrant parents in Southeast Asia, we examine relationships within the caring spaces both of home and of transnational spaces. The interrogation of different dimensions of care reveals the importance of contact with parents (both migrant and nonmigrant) to subjective child well-being, and the diversity of experiences and intimacies among children in the two study countries.
... Adjusting to sexual development and protecting their reproductive health are among the greatest challenges for adolescents during this period of transition from childhood to adulthood. When women get empowered, they benefit themselves and the larger community (Hugo 2000). 'The expansion of women's A capability not only enhances women's own freedom and well-being but also has many other effects on the lives of all. ...
In the study, authors have proposed a mathematical model for unmarried female migrant workers having number of closed boy friends. They are more vulnerable to STDs and HIV transmission. The model is fitted well on the given data and estimate of female migrants having one close boy friend was found maximum. The study based on 362 pre-marital female migrant workers less than 30 years of age in Delhi urban India, while they have wanted lavish life styles and having number rich boy friends.
... The percentage of female migrants from Asia increased from 46% in 1980 to 55% in 2005 55% in (SFS, 2008). The relationship between women's migration and social (in)equality is, however, not yet fully understood (eg Hugo, 2000). Studies in which the roles of gender, ethnicity, and socioeconomic position in the possibilities of migrant women to gain equal opportunities of access to the labour market in destination countries are specifically questioned are still scant (Rian¬ o and Baghdadi, 2007). ...
The concept of citizenship, originally coined by Marshall, and synonymous with social rights and equality, is pivotal in understanding and overcoming the social injustices that many migrants experience. Marshall’s notion of social rights, however, does not elaborate on economic rights. Feminist authors argue that women’s equal access to sources of income outside family relations is key to their citizenship. Access to spaces of paid work is a significant aspect of migrant women’s citizenship because their residence status and naturalization is often contingent on their employment. The author thus argues that economic rights should be central to debates on migration and citizenship. The proposed term ‘economic citizenship’ is used to examine experiences and strategies of fifty-seven skilled migrant women from Latin America, the Middle East, and South East Europe when trying to access positions in the Swiss labour market corresponding to their professional qualifications. The feminist and postcolonial perspectives of ‘intersectionality’ and participatory research are used to understand how and why inequalities in the labour market occur. It is found that traditional ideas about gender roles, discourses about ethnic difference, and discriminatory migration policies intersect to create boundaries for skilled migrant women in accessing upper segments of the Swiss labour market. Migration, therefore, does not always imply empowerment and emancipation, but also generates new forms of social inequality.
... Parallèlement, la migration de l'homme n'est soumise à aucune restriction familiale ou sociale. Ce dernier est au contraire encouragé à se déplacer ; dans certaines sociétés, la migration représente une étape obligatoire pour accéder au statut d'adulte (Lim, 1993 ; Gardner and Rilley, 1993; Hugo, 1993 Hugo, et 2000). Cependant, depuis les années 80, des études révèlent l'importance numérique de la migration féminine par rapport à celle des hommes ainsi que l'apparition de migrations féminines autonomes. ...
En Côte d'ivoire, comme dans d'autres pays africains les migrations traditionnellement dominées par les hommes se féminisent progressivement. Les résultats de l'Enquête Ivoirienne sur les Migrations et l'Urbanisation (1993) indiquent clairement que les femmes migrent presque autant sinon plus que les hommes, notamment en ce qui concerne les migrations urbaines. Parallèlement à cette forte migration féminine, se déroulent d'autres processus dont celui de l'autonomisation des femmes migrantes très longtemps négligées et considérées comme des « migrantes passives » . Des études récentes montrent que les femmes sont de plus en plus autonomes dans leur migration par rapport à la famille, d'autres insistent sur le rôle déterminant des rapports de genre qui obligent les femmes à migrer en association avec un autre membre de sa famille. Dans ce contexte, comment interpréter l'importante migration féminine actuelle ? Est-elle le signe d'une plus grande autonomie ou alors la conséquence de l'affaiblissement du contrôle familial et social ? S'agit-il d'une évolution des migrations en général ou tout simplement une mutation de la situation et des aspirations personnelles des femmes ? Quels liens peut-on établir entre ces migrations et les relations de genre ? Cet article réexamine la question de l'autonomie des femmes dans la migration. L'analyse est axée sur la prise de décision et le motif de la migration et utilise les données de l'Enquête Ivoirienne sur les Migrations et l'Urbanisation (EIMU). Elle montre que pour les femmes, la famille et les rôles sexuels restent déterminants dans la capacité à prendre une décision individuelle ou pour faire une migration économique indépendante. L'autonomie des femmes dans la migration est par conséquent très limitée et reste un mythe.
Migration is a common phenomenon in India, but households have different patterns and typologies of migration. After the household decides to migrate, the next step is determining the migration pattern, which can involve either a single household member migrating or multiple members, including spouses and children. The decision-making process regarding migration, including the choice to migrate or not, as well as the specific typology of migration selected by households, is influenced by various economic, social, and gender factors. These factors also play a significant role in shaping the outcomes of migration. In this context, the study examines to what extent gender is associated with the causes and consequences of migration and its typologies. In specific, this paper explores the role of gender and other related socio-cultural factors in explaining decisions pertaining to migration and its typology and examines the impact of migration and its typology on women’s empowerment. The study was conducted in Nuh, a backward district in India, where migration is mainly distress-led. The study includes a primary survey that encompasses 448 households covering 2634 household members. Employing a mixed-methods approach, the study reveals distinct intra-household migration typologies shaped significantly by gender-related factors, which, in turn, exert a profound impact on outcomes on women empowerment. The findings emphasise the multifaceted nature of household migration decisions and underscore the importance of holistic approaches that address gender disparities for sustainable development and inclusive growth in rural regions like Nuh district and similar regions.
This study intricately delves into the multifaceted experiences of skilled female immigrants who have undertaken individual journeys to Batumi, Georgia in recent years. By focusing on their narratives, encountered challenges throughout immigration and integration processes, and their collaborative endeavors in supporting fellow migrants while advancing community interests, this research highlights the pivotal role these women play as advocates for communal progression. Additionally, through active engagement in the establishment of international social networks, they facilitate mutual support and aid in the integration process for themselves and their peers, fostering a more cohesive and inclusive community fabric. Acting as intermediaries bridging incoming immigrants with the local populace, they facilitate the exchange of invaluable skills and knowledge, all while meticulously preserving their cultural traditions and seamlessly integrating into the host community. Furthermore, through the initiation of innovative entrepreneurial ventures and financial initiatives, they actively contribute to the ongoing development of the region. Employing qualitative research methodologies such as case studies, literature review, and in-depth interviews with migrant women residing in Batumi, this study endeavors to offer a comprehensive exploration of their migration narratives, professional pursuits, integration experience, and the underrecognized role they play as major driving forces of migration, initiators of change, and intermediaries.
The study of split households in China and beyond has traditionally centered on rural-urban migration, overlooking the prevalence of split householding among urban-urban migrants. Despite receiving scant scholarly attention, urban-urban migrant dynamics, particularly concerning relational power negotiation among women in long-distance relationships, warrant exploration. This paper delves into the experiences of urban-urban migrants in China, spotlighting how stay-behind women negotiate relational power within split households. Drawing from 30 in-depth, semi-structured interviews conducted with various types of migrant households and focusing on 12 split households, this study sheds light on the relationships of contemporary urban, educated Chinese couples with patriarchal values entrenched in the Confucian family system. The findings reveal that split households expose the tension between entrenched Confucian patriarchy and women’s aspirations for autonomy. While serving as a respite from traditional gender roles, split households inadvertently offer women newfound independence. Although not overtly challenging conventional gender norms, stay-behind women in urban-urban split households leverage agency and empowerment within the existing gender framework. This research underscores the evolving gender dynamics in China, poised between entrenched patriarchy and emerging spaces for alternative gender practices, offering insights into the nuanced experiences of women in split households.
The present study intended to examine the impact of male outmigration on work participation and decision-making autonomy of left-behind women in Rarh region of West Bengal, India. For that purpose, a sample of 185 migrant households is selected randomly with a well-structured schedule, which was prepared to visit migrant households and collected all the information in a face-to-face interview process. Moreover, the logistic model was used to analyse the influence of socio-economic variable to determine the decision-making autonomy of left-behind women. The study revealed that women from landless household received a low range of migration remittances and the major proportion of them worked outside the households as a maid, wage labourer, agricultural labourer, etc. The study found that scheduled caste and tribal women have more freedom to make any decision in the absence of male compared to forward caste women. The study also unfolds that the women of landless households and scheduled caste and tribe engaged more in agricultural labour compared to marginal and small landholder migrant households due to less social bound. In contrast, women of forward caste households occupy themselves only in household work. Moreover, the study unfolds those women who worked outside the households tended to have more freedom to take any household decision in absence of male migrants.
Empowering women and girls in UNFPA safe spaces: Experiences from the humanitarian response in Bosnia and Herzegovina
This introductory chapter begins by pointing out the curious oversight of the research and books discussing migration to Australia from Eastern Europe. The chapter starts with a short historical overview of the Eastern European migration to Australia since 1947, when Commonwealth Bureau of Census and Statistics shows that Eastern Europeans comprised 37% of all arrivals to Australia, making them the most numerous immigrant group of non-British descent. It notes the dramatic increase in migration of Eastern European migrants to Australia since the 2000s, highlighting the new forms and paths of migrants from Ukraine, Hungary and the Czech Republic associated with the regime crises and political/economic turbulence in these sending states. The chapter concludes by explaining the conceptual model and methodology behind this book. Ultimately, this chapter sets up the background for the insights into the diversities and complexities of the reasons and employment outcomes of this new wave of Eastern European migration to Australia that come to light in the following chapters.
Despite decades of research on naturalization, the relationship between gender and the decision to naturalize is under-theorized. Given that women's lived experiences of migration are distinctive from those of men, we ask whether and how gender plays into immigrants’ naturalization decisions. We explore gendered migration trajectories by incorporating Michael Piore's concept of social status as an additional rationale for naturalization. To better understand immigrants’ naturalization decisions, our research leverages semi-structured interviews conducted in 2018 with immigrants residing in California to illuminate gendered decision-making processes that underpin naturalization choices. We find that naturalization is conditioned by gender when women's status in the origin country differs from their status in the destination country. Where women's rights are less extensive in origin countries, we find that both genders value citizenship in the destination country but for different reasons. Women respondents who enjoyed enhanced status in the destination country valued citizenship because it secured their ability to remain in the destination country, while retaining their ability to visit friends and care for family in their origin country. By contrast, men respondents who lost status in the destination country planned return to their origin country to regain their societal position but valued the destination-country passport as a status symbol in their origin country and because the passport provided enhanced mobility and economic opportunities in the global economy. Where status differences between the origin and destination countries were minimal, gender was not a significant factor in naturalization decisions. We point to a fruitful extension of the research agenda on naturalization by incorporating a theoretical framework that acknowledges gendered migration and naturalization trajectories.
Urban slum populations often have limited or delayed access to critical maternal and child health services. Recent migrants, who typically have weaker social networks and limited familiarity with the urban service environment, are at a further disadvantage. This study examines the effects of migration and socio-economic status on utilization of maternal and child health services in a large-scale slum population sample of household heads in and around Dhaka City, Bangladesh. Using data collected from the Dhaka Urban Health and Demographic Surveillance System (UHDSS), we conducted bivariate statistical analysis to explore the relationship between household head duration in the city (migration status) and maternal and child healthcare outcomes, including antenatal care, facility delivery, skilled delivery by a doctor and immunization coverage. Our findings point to the need for new interventions that alleviate the widespread health coverage disparities affecting rural-to-urban migrants in slum areas. Such interventions should aim to help recent migrants learn to navigate the complex health service ecosystems of urban areas or, alternatively, provide seamless solutions for accessing care in the sending area without disruption in social ties, work or continuity of care.
This chapter discusses the key ideas and concepts that build up the original life strategy research framework and provides new conceptual and methodological tools for social scientists who want to study the life strategies of mobile social actors. By bringing together the analysis of regime transition and the analysis of life strategies within the Eastern European and Western sociology, this chapter syntheses the original life strategy research framework and discuss the building blocks of the framework, that is, agency/structure, transition, migration and social identities. The chapter discussed the unique mix-method research design and methodology that is shaped by the conceptual framework and introduces the analytical logic that guides the analytical chapters that follow.
Since the 1990s, the Sikh community in India has entered a phase of considerable socioeconomic and demographic transformation that is caused by the large-scale practice of female feticide, the spread of higher education among women, and the mass emigration of unskilled men to the Western countries. These changes have a great impact on the traditional configuration of gender roles and disrupt the construction of masculinity in the Sikh community in India and in the diaspora. Based on ethnographic observations and 64 in-depth interviews with Sikh immigrants in Spain (26) and Italy (22) and their relatives in India (16), this paper first explores the expectations of masculinity in the Sikh community in Italy and Spain; and second, analyses the challenges that are imposed by the socioeconomic and demographic transformation in the Indian Sikh community and the social environment in the host countries on the construction of masculinity in the Sikh community in both countries.
Since the 1980s, there has been an increase in the rural-urban migration of African women seeking employment in the urban informal economy. However, perceptions of internal migration and informal employment as economically, socially and politically destabilizing have led to a policy stance that discourages these processes. Drawing on field research in Ghana, this chapter shows that while rural-urban migration gives women access to an independent source of income through informal employment and allows women to make remittances that facilitate investments in education in their origin households, the emancipatory potential of migration for women is limited by policies that stigmatize or penalize rural-urban migration and informal employment. Sustainable Development Goals 5 and 8 require African governments to promote gender equality and empower women by expanding their freedom to choose whether or not to migrate, by protecting labour rights, and by promoting safe and secure working environments for women who do migrate from rural areas to work in the urban informal economy.
Although there is a growing body of scholars who have examined the reproduction and experiences of masculinities, research on the experiences of migrant men remains relatively limited. While I continue to draw upon insights from these scholars of both migration and gender, my data show that there remains considerable potential to contribute to this research field, in particular, analysing the reproduction of masculinity through a class lens. Drawing upon migrants' own narratives and notions of class by Bourdieu, I examine how Bangladeshi men make sense of their labour migration to Singapore, particularly after they fall out of work. Their responses are not only based upon instrumental calculation, but are also powerfully shaped by a complex set of normative gendered formations that can further constrain them.
It is essential to explore the role of gender while analysing internal migration in Albania to account for the differing experiences of men and women. Quantitative studies suggest that Albanian internal migration is pioneered by men, with women merely acceding to their wishes. This article addresses the undervalued role of women in the academic discourse concerning migration in Albania. Utilizing ethnographic research techniques, it explores the role of women migrating from rural to urban areas as part of a larger household and examines the coping and negotiating strategies used for survival in the city. Our findings reveal that women actively participate in the rural-to-urban migration process, including the initial decision to migrate and the choice of destination. Women's narratives provide evidence of specific emancipation strategies through which they express themselves and their new ways of living. Women adjust to and challenge their new urban environment through gaining paid employment and expanding their social networks, as well as experience emancipation through daughters and by changing their appearance, achieving varying degrees of personal and social prosperity.
This paper serves as an introduction to the three substantive papers in this themed section on the impact of migration on the well-being of the 'left behind' in Asia. In the light of recent migration trends such as the 'feminization' of migration and 'brain-drain' of health workers in the region, the paper provides a brief review of the existing scholarly literature on the vulnerability of different groups of the 'left behind', particularly women, children and the elderly. It argues that a multi-dimensional approach is needed, taking into consideration not only the economic impact of remittances but also factors such as social networks and gender effects.
This article examines the impact of internal migration, and its timing, on young women’s transition to adulthood. Using the 2010 Greater Jakarta Transition to Adulthood Survey, we identify five key groups of women living in Greater Jakarta: those who were born there, those who migrated before the age of 10, those who migrated between ages 10 to 17, those who migrated after age 17, and circular migrants. Using retrospective quantitative data, we examine the timing of five key adulthood markers for each of these groups: leaving the parental home, leaving the education system, entering the workforce, marrying, and having children. We then explore the extent to which variation in education, marriage, and fertility patterns explain the women’s current employment outcomes. Qualitative findings are also discussed to provide insights on migration motivation and the life strategies that these women adopt to navigate their transition to adulthood.
This paper examines the linkages between systems of internal migration and systems of international migration in the Asian region. In the context of changing global patterns of international migration on the one hand and urbanisation on the other, the paper briefly examines the evolution of two different traditions in migration research and policy: those concerned with international and those concerned with internal migration. Recognising that there is some blurring in any distinction between the two types of migration, the paper hypothesises that there are sufficient differences between the two systems to warrant separate identification. Although both can operate simultaneously, the paper goes on to posit two scenarios: that internal migration can lead to international migration; and that international migration can lead to internal migration. Evidence from various parts of South and East Asia is employed to examine the validity of these statements.
There is no single evolutionary path, and examples of both scenarios are found in Asia. The concentration of populations in urban areas can give rise to later international movements, but these international migrations themselves, by creating vacuums in areas of origin, can in turn generate internal migration. The history of colonial contact, too, can initiate international migration from particular areas, not necessarily just urban, which give rise to later internal movements. Internal and international migrations are integrated and it is necessary to consider them as a unified system rather than in isolation. The hierarchical movements link richer and poorer groups together and need to be understood in the context of the implementation of programmes of poverty alleviation. By attempting to link internal and international migration, this paper is a small step towards the creation of a more integrated framework for the study of population movement. Copyright
It is well established that the workplace provides an important site for the production of gender identities. However, it is less-well understood how this identity construction might operate in the context of migrant workers, who bring with them particular notions of gender from their countries of origin that interact with 'local' gender practices. Through an in-depth case study of a London hotel and hospital, masculinity and economic status were observed to be intricately related in the ways in which male migrants described their work performances in terms of either 'women's work' or 'lower-class work'. Men originating from middle- and upper-class economic positions were observed to be 'flexible' with their economic identity and take on work considered 'lower-class' in their country of origin in order to contest their gender identities in the UK. In contrast, men who migrated for economic gain and had family obligations to send remittances were observed to be 'strategically' flexible with their gender identities and often performed what they considered to be 'women's work' in order to be able to fulfil economic expectations. We suggest that a migrant's willingness and/or desire to enact 'flexible and strategic masculinities' is tied to the perceived trade-offs of his/her employment in the UK.
Slightly more males are born in the world than females. But because male mortality is usually greater, in old age groups there are many more women than men. The situation is particularly stark in the former Soviet Union, where male adult death rates are exceptionally high. In much of Asia, strong son preference has long informed unusually high female child mortality. And the impact of this on population sex ratios has been reinforced by the recent spread of sex-selective abortion. Especially in China, there is an unusually large number of boys relative to girls. Sex ratios are also skewed by migration, most notably male labor migration. Unbalanced sex ratios have many effects. Among other things, research has focused on the consequences of male outmigration for those who are left behind and on the implications of the coming heightened masculinity of young adult populations in Asia, e.g., with respect to marriage and crime.
This paper studies the impact of fathers’ and siblings’ migration on children's pace of schooling in Matlab, an area of rural Bangladesh with high rates of rural–urban and international out-migration. A large sample of children aged seven to 14 participated in the 1996 Matlab Health and Socio-economic Survey. The overseas migration of their fathers and both the overseas and internal migration of their brothers were associated with improvements in the pace of the children's schooling. The migration of sisters had no effect. Migration of mothers in the location of this study remained too rare to be addressed in this study. Research relating migration to improved schooling outcomes among the left-behind raises concern that migration effects merely proxy for greater investment capital or higher aspirations. By integrating MHSS data with a unique Health and Demographic Surveillance System, the effects of wealth measured at the time of the survey and 14 years before the survey were controlled for. Migration effects, though reduced, remained significant even after controlling for current and prior socio-economic status.
This paper focuses on the association between migration and gender roles measured by women’s paid work. The main migrant group of this study, its context and the method of analysis provide opportunity to meet this objective appropriately. The paper focuses on female migrants from the Middle East and North Africa region, who are often characterized by traditional gender roles including women’s low rates of paid work. The residing country of this migrant group is Australia, which holds different gender roles including women’s high work participation rate. Accordingly, the multivariate results of this paper provide empirical evidence to examine the effects of migration on gender roles.
Giving the central focus to ‘religious affiliation’ which ‘was once at the forefront of demographic research (McQuillan 2004:
25), this paper examines the association between religion and women’s market employment. Generally speaking, gender characteristics
such as high fertility and low employment levels for Muslim women in both intracountry and worldwide comparisons have been
asserted in an extensive literature. The context, method and comparison groups of this study provide the opportunity to examine
the longstanding debate as to whether religionper se or other determinants explain such gender characteristics in Islamic settings. It is, however, acknowledged that the present
study faces limitations mainly associated with the selectivity of migrants. Using logistic regression and the multicultural
context of Australia containing a substantially diverse ethnic composition of Muslims, this paper highlights Muslim/non-Muslim
employment differentials. The paper also analyses the employment level of Muslim women across the regions of origin representing
various contexts in order to provide empirical evidence to examine the above debate.
This study examines the impact of migration on women's positions in Chinese rural households. A number of studies have found that rural Chinese migrant women experience more autonomy and freedom in urban areas than they would at home. But do these experiences carry over into marriage when they return to rural areas? Using a survey of more than 3,000 married, rural women in Anhui and Sichuan provinces and controlling for potential endogeneity of migration and return, this paper explores four main categories of women's status: women's views on male/female relationships, women's roles in household decision making, women's relationships with their husbands, and women's views concerning parents and children. It concludes that for women from Anhui and Sichuan, migration has some statistically significant lasting effects on a woman's position in the household, though the effects are not always positive, nor are they universal.
This paper examines the impact of husbands' migration on the lives of women left behind. Using data from the India Human Development Survey 2005, we focus on two dimensions of women's lives: women's autonomy and control over their lives; and women's labour force participation. Results suggest that household structure forms the key mediating factor through which husbands' absence affects women. Women not residing in extended families are faced with both higher levels of responsibilities and greater autonomy, while women who live in extended households do not experience these demands or benefits.
This article extends the debate on gender and property rights that has previously focused on agricultural land in rural areas to housing in urban areas. Specifically, it explores the impact of joint titling of houses on women's empowerment in urban informal settlements in Chandigarh, India. Property rights increase women's participation in decision making, access to knowledge and information about public matters, sense of security, self-esteem, and the respect that they receive from their spouses. Women display a higher attachment to their houses than men, especially after getting joint titles, because houses play a valuable role in fulfilling women's practical and strategic gender needs. This increased attachment to the house helps reduce property turnover in regularized settlements, hence assisting the government in attaining its goals and making joint titling a win-win policy.
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