Gender issues in labour migration governance

The importance of considering Gender Issues in Migration

The proportion of women who are involved in global migration flows is increasing rapidly. Worldwide, it represents half of the migrant population and in some countries even account for 70 or 80% of the total. Many of these women act as pioneers of the migration chain. However, little is known about the determinants of female migration and the factors that distinguish them from male migrants.

Gender refers to the set of characteristics assigned to men and women in a society, and which are acquired during the socialization process. They consist of the responsibilities, behavioural guidelines, norms and values, preferences, fears, activities, and expectations that culture assigns differently to men and women. In other words, gender defines what it means to be a man or a woman in a given culture and a given economic situation and social environment. The gender element in the migration phenomena is related to the motivation of men and women to move, to the migration process itself and to the conditions migrants find on their arrival to the country of destination.

Lack of employment opportunities and conditions of poverty represent the major factors leading men and women to migrate to another country. Migration is seen by both men and women as a means to improve one's living situation and increase one's share in development. Large wage differentials between sending and receiving countries, the increasing burden placed on women on account of rising male unemployment at home or the reductions in demand for male labour due to economic slowdowns in receiving countries as well as the economies' shift to services (which usually employ female labour), spur female emigration. Migration is also seen by women mainly as a strategy which would allow them to offer better living conditions to their families, whether in the country of origin or destination.

Migration seems to have a generally empowering impact on women themselves in terms of higher self-esteem and increased economic independence both as family members and as economic actors. Nevertheless, despite the fact that women's educational levels have notably improved worldwide, reaching that of men, that fertility rates have declined considerably, and even if women's insertion in the labour market have showed rates of economic participation close to those of men, female migrants continue to be particularly vulnerable to gender-based discrimination. Stated very simply, the problems faced by migrant women are compounded by their being both women and migrants. While migration provides productive labour and an economic lifeline for millions of women, the plight of unprotected female migrant workers has become an increasing source of public concern as evidence of abuses mounts. They therefore require special protection.

It is the gender-segregated labour markets as well as the sexual division of labour in the household that determine gender-selective migration flows. Stated simply, men and women follow different migration patterns (e.g. they migrate for different reasons) because they do different things in the sending country and are expected to engage in gender-specific occupations on arrival to the host country.

Specific gender-related issues become evident when, for example, female migrants suffer human abuses and violations by those who take advantage of their dual vulnerability as migrants and women. Such abuses occur even in the first phase of migration, during transit, and when they enter the receiving country. During the travel these abuses can include: demand of higher payments, greater exposure to robbery, intimidation, frequent sexual harassment, and violation of their physical integrity (and that of their daughters and grand-daughters) from smugglers and by male compatriots accompanying them on the trip. In addition, on arrival, gender becomes a factor that increases the female migrants' vulnerability with respect not only of women's insertion into the labour market and the society of the receiving country, but also in her economic development during her stay. In fact, it has been recognized that many of the labour activities where women play a predominant role during her migration years are not even considered "work".

Labour related factors

The working condition of female migrants is also a gender issue. Their status as women, as migrants or non-nationals and as workers in gender-segregated labour markets makes international women migrant workers particularly vulnerable to various forms of exploitation and discrimination.

Besides being subject to sometimes very harsh working and living conditions, migrant women workers are in some instances prohibited from marrying with local citizens, lose their jobs if they become pregnant, and are subject to pregnancy tests every six months.

It is not only their status as female and non-nationals that puts women migrants in a vulnerable situation, but also the type of work they engage in. They find themselves incorporated into an already disadvantageous labour market for women, and these disadvantages intensify in the case of migrant women, especially for those who are undocumented. Most women migrants generate income through jobs or work that is considered unskilled, poorly paid and reproduces traditional domestic roles (washing, cleaning, cooking, sewing, taking care of children and the elderly, etc.) The work opportunities offered to them almost always involve precarious working conditions and disrespect for their labour rights. Most of the time, they are found working in the informal sector and experienced low wages, long shifts, unhealthy and/or dangerous conditions, and psychological, physical and sexual aggression. When offences occur, migrant women lack information or protection that would allow them to protest, denounce and exercise their right to defend themselves, and most of them continue working out of fear of losing employment or of being deported.

While men commonly work in groups (e.g. construction or plantation), women often go into individualised work environments (e.g. domestic service), where there is greater isolation and lower likelihood of establishing networks of information and social support. Other types of work women migrants engage in, such as the export processing zones or textile sweatshops are known for not respecting workers' human rights and for their bad and exploitative working conditions. Prostitution, another type of work where migrant women predominate, is often controlled by criminal rings and put women in a vulnerable condition because of the illegality of the activities they engage in.

A minority of migrant women have developed themselves strategies, such as self-employment, to fight against being pushed towards the lowest echelons of the labour market.