Making migration work for women and men in rural labour markets

Many poor rural households see migration to urban or other rural areas, or abroad, as a strategy to escape poverty or improve the quality of their lives. Migration patterns vary by continent and even countries within continents, and change over time. One of the most significant changes in the last half century is the increasing proportion of women migrating: today, they constitute half of the international migrant population, often migrating independently as the main economic providers for their families. Driven by economic, social and political forces as well as new challenges (such as environmental degradation, natural disasters or climate change impacts), migration can bring, both benefits and costs to the migrants themselves, their families, and their communities of origin and destination, depending on the migrants’ profile and gender, and on labour market specificities.