IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/pra/mprapa/19181.html

Migration and gender empowerment: Recent trends and emerging issues

Author

Listed:
  • Ghosh, Jayati

Abstract

Women are increasingly significant as national and international migrants, and it is now evident that the complex relationship between migration and human development operates in genderdifferentiated ways. However, because migration policy has typically been gender-blind, an explicit gender perspective is necessary. This paper attempts this, beginning with an examination of recent trends in women’s migration, internationally and within nations. It then considers the implications of the socio-economic context of the sending location for women migrants. The process of migration, and how that can be gender-differentiated, is discussed with particular reference to the various types of female migration that are common: marriage migration, family migration, forced migration, migration for work. These can be further disaggregated into legal and irregular migration, all of which affect and the issues and problems of women migrants in the process of migration and in the destination country. The manifold and complex gendered effects of migration are discussed with reference to varied experiences. Women migrants’ relations with the sending households and the issues relevant for returning migrants are also considered. The final section provides some recommendations for public policy for migration through a gender lens.

Suggested Citation

  • Ghosh, Jayati, 2009. "Migration and gender empowerment: Recent trends and emerging issues," MPRA Paper 19181, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:19181
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/19181/1/MPRA_paper_19181.pdf
    File Function: original version
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. McKenzie, David, 2007. "Paper Walls Are Easier to Tear Down: Passport Costs and Legal Barriers to Emigration," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 35(11), pages 2026-2039, November.
    2. Thomas Liebig, 2007. "The Labour Market Integration of Immigrants in Australia," OECD Social, Employment and Migration Working Papers 49, OECD Publishing.
    3. Fargues, Philippe, 2006. "The demographic benefit of international migration : hypothesis and application to the Middle Eastern and North African contexts," Policy Research Working Paper Series 4050, The World Bank.
    4. Dumont, Jean-Christophe & Martin, John P. & Spielvogel, Gilles, 2007. "Women on the Move: The Neglected Gender Dimension of the Brain Drain," IZA Discussion Papers 2920, IZA Network @ LISER.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Binhan Elif, Yilmaz, 2018. "Remittances, and Human Development in Central Asia," MPRA Paper 106580, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 2018.
    2. Smriti Rao & Christina Presenti, 2012. "Understanding Human Trafficking Origin: A Cross-Country Empirical Analysis," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 18(2), pages 231-263, April.
    3. Yali Li & Ni Yan & Haifan Cheng & Jing Luo & Zhengxu Zhou, 2024. "Hesitant or determined? The influence of social and environmental factors on settlement decision-making of rural in-migrants: evidence from Dali, China," Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-12, December.
    4. Lourdes Benería & Carmen Diana Deere & Naila Kabeer, 2012. "Gender and International Migration: Globalization, Development, and Governance," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 18(2), pages 1-33, April.
    5. Livia Ortensi, 2015. "Engendering the fertility-migration nexus: The role of women's migratory patterns in the analysis of fertility after migration," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 32(53), pages 1435-1468.
    6. Lynda Pickbourn, 2018. "Rethinking Rural–Urban Migration and Women’s Empowerment in the Era of the SDGs: Lessons from Ghana," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-18, April.
    7. Mavis Dako-Gyeke, 2016. "Exploring the Migration Intentions of Ghanaian Youth: A Qualitative Study," Journal of International Migration and Integration, Springer, vol. 17(3), pages 723-744, August.
    8. Ratha, Dilip & Mohapatra, Sanket & Scheja, Elina, 2011. "Impact of migration on economic and social development : a review of evidence and emerging issues," Policy Research Working Paper Series 5558, The World Bank.
    9. Tatiana Sitchinava, 2025. "Unveiling the Active Role of Skilled Immigrant Women as Intermediaries and Developers: A Case Study in Batumi, Georgia," Journal of International Migration and Integration, Springer, vol. 26(1), pages 1-23, March.
    10. Halim,Daniel Zefanya & Seetahul,Suneha, 2023. "Why Do People Move ? A Data-Driven Approach to Identifying and PredictingGender-Specific Aspirations to Migrate," Policy Research Working Paper Series 10396, The World Bank.
    11. Mavis Dako-Gyeke, 2013. "Conceptualization of Female Migrants’ Experiences across the Lifespan Authors," Academic Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, Richtmann Publishing Ltd, vol. 2, November.
    12. Bożena, Chrząstowska, 2019. "Labour Migration and Remittances in Eurasia," MPRA Paper 106628, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 2019.
    13. Cooray Arusha, 2014. "Do Low-Skilled Migrants Contribute More to Home Country Income? Evidence from South Asia," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 14(3), pages 1185-1212, July.
    14. Aydemir, Abdurrahman B. & Kırdar, Murat Güray & Torun, Huzeyfe, 2022. "The effect of education on internal migration of young men and women: incidence, timing, and type of migration," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    15. Humera Sultana & Ambreen Fatima, 2017. "Factors influencing migration of female workers: a case of Bangladesh," IZA Journal of Migration and Development, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 7(1), pages 1-17, December.
    16. repec:msb:wpaper:2013-01 is not listed on IDEAS

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Cristian ÎNCALTARAU & Sorin-Stefan MAHA & Liviu-George MAHA, 2011. "A Broader Look on Migration: A Two Way Interaction Between Development and Migration in the Country Of Origin," Review of Economic and Business Studies, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, issue 8, pages 285-297, December.
    2. Frederic, DOCQUIER & B. Lindsay, LOWELL & Abdeslam, MARFOUK, 2007. "A gendered assessment of the brain drain," Discussion Papers (ECON - Département des Sciences Economiques) 2007045, Université catholique de Louvain, Département des Sciences Economiques.
    3. Javorcik, Beata S. & Özden, Çaglar & Spatareanu, Mariana & Neagu, Cristina, 2011. "Migrant networks and foreign direct investment," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 94(2), pages 231-241, March.
    4. Erica Briones-Vozmediano & Natalia Rivas-Quarneti & Montserrat Gea-Sánchez & Andreu Bover-Bover & Maria Antonia Carbonero & Denise Gastaldo, 2020. "The Health Consequences of Neocolonialism for Latin American Immigrant Women Working as Caregivers in Spain: A Multisite Qualitative Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(21), pages 1-21, November.
    5. Orazbayev, Sultan, 2017. "International knowledge flows and the administrative barriers to mobility," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(9), pages 1655-1665.
    6. Flake, Regina, 2012. "Multigenerational Living Arrangements among Migrants," Ruhr Economic Papers 366, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.
    7. Artuc, Erhan & Docquier, Frédéric & Özden, Çaglar & Parsons, Christopher, 2015. "A Global Assessment of Human Capital Mobility: The Role of Non-OECD Destinations," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 6-26.
    8. Nil Demet Gungor & Aysit Tansel, 2009. "Brain Drain from Turkey: Return Intentions of Skilled Migrants," ERC Working Papers 0902, ERC - Economic Research Center, Middle East Technical University, revised Oct 2009.
    9. Naghsh Nejad, Maryam, 2013. "Institutionalized Inequality and Brain Drain: An Empirical Study of the Effects of Women's Rights on the Gender Gap in High-Skilled Migration," IZA Discussion Papers 7864, IZA Network @ LISER.
    10. Phyllis Tharenou, 2010. "Women’s Self-Initiated Expatriation as a Career Option and Its Ethical Issues," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 95(1), pages 73-88, August.
    11. Marek Szarucki & Jan Brzozowski & Jelena Stankevičienė, 2016. "Determinants of self-employment among Polish and Romanian immigrants in Germany," Journal of Business Economics and Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 17(4), pages 598-612, July.
    12. David McKenzie & Dean Yang, 2015. "Evidence on Policies to Increase the Development Impacts of International Migration," The World Bank Research Observer, World Bank, vol. 30(2), pages 155-192.
    13. Chong, Alberto & León, Gianmarco, 2008. "Barriers to exit," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 99(1), pages 93-97, April.
    14. Bertoli, Simone & Dequiedt, Vianney & Zenou, Yves, 2016. "Can selective immigration policies reduce migrants' quality?," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 100-109.
    15. Agnieszka Postepska & Anastasiia Voloshyna, 2025. "The effect of Ukrainian refugees on the local labour markets: the case of Czechia," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 38(1), pages 1-45, March.
    16. Schmid, Lena & Renner, Laura, 2020. "The Decision to Flee: Analyzing Gender-Specific Determinants of International Refugee Migration," VfS Annual Conference 2020 (Virtual Conference): Gender Economics 224596, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    17. Luca Barbone & Mikhail Bonch-Osmolovskiyi & Matthias Luecke, 2013. "Labour Migration from the Eastern Partnership Countries: Evolution and Policy Options for Better Outcomes," CASE Network Reports 0113, CASE-Center for Social and Economic Research.
    18. Michael S. Rendall & Flavia Tsang & Jennifer K. Rubin & Lila Rabinovich & Barbara Janta, 2010. "Contrasting Trajectories of Labor-Market Integration Between Migrant Women in Western and Southern Europe [Trajectoires d’intégration des immigrées sur le marché du travail: une comparaison entre l’Europe de l’Ouest et l’Europe du Sud]," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 26(4), pages 383-410, November.
    19. Nejad, Maryam Naghsh & Young, Andrew T., 2016. "Want freedom, will travel: Emigrant self-selection according to institutional quality," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 45(S), pages 71-84.
    20. Sebastian Butschek & Thomas Walter, 2014. "What active labour market programmes work for immigrants in Europe? A meta-analysis of the evaluation literature," IZA Journal of Migration and Development, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 3(1), pages 1-18, December.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • Z1 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics
    • J6 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:19181. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Joachim Winter (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/vfmunde.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.