Gender and labour market integration

There were 164 million economically active or working migrants in 2017 (International Labour Organization [ILO], 2018). Though the total number of male and female migrants is similar (see the Introduction), there are more male than female migrant workers (ILO, 2018). This is due to the fact that female migrants in general have a lower rate of labour market integration than male migrants (Tastsoglou and Preston, 2005), and many of them do temporary work (Vosko, 2009). Part of the reason is because of the social expectations around gender or gender hierarchy within the household (Raghuram, 2004).

However, women often have a higher rate of labour market participation in their country of destination than in their country of origin (Flippen and Parrado, 2015). In other words, female migrants are more likely to work than female non-migrants (ILO, 2015), though highly educated migrant women often work in lower skilled occupations and experience deskilling. One reason for this deskilling is that decisions made at the (heterosexual) household level are often made in favour of the male partner’s career (Cooke, 2007) and thus women’s careers may suffer (Clark and Withers, 2002).

For similar reasons, female migrants who migrated alone or prior to their spouses have significantly higher chances of finding work than those who migrated together with their husbands or those who joined their husbands later (Taylor, 2007; Flippen and Parrado, 2015). Similarly, as more women migrate for family reunification purposes (Birschall, 2016), their migration may come with employment restrictions, leaving them unable to access formal employment or match their previous employment (see Family and migration).

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Figure 2. Global distribution of migrant workers by sex and labour force participation rates of migrants and non-migrants

Source

ILO, 2018.

Based on these statistics, some have argued that international migration does not unsettle traditional gender norms and roles but rather reinforces them (Yeoh and Willis, 2005). Certainly, migration alone does not automatically eliminate gender-biased policies, unequal labour market experiences or prevailing gendered barriers within the household. For this reason, there needs to be a gender-responsive approach to migration policy that addresses the specific needs of disadvantaged gender groups. If governed with a gender lens, migration can push back against restrictive gender norms, providing opportunities for independence, safety and growth. On average, however, not much targeted support has been given to migrant women, especially lower-educated and young women (Solano and Huddleston, 2020.

LGBTI migrants’ decisions to migrate and stay in their destination country is not only informed by economic betterment and satisfactory labour market integration, but also by the way their sexual orientation and gender identity are understood and treated in the destination country. LGBTI migrants may migrate to destination countries with more permissive family rights, such as the legal recognition of same-sex couples and their parenting rights, for instance (Stella, Flynn and Gawlewicz, 2017).

Good Practice
African and Migrant Women’s Network in Ireland

The African and Migrant Women’s Network (AkiDwA) is a national network of more than 3,000 African women in Ireland. It aims to address the existing and changing needs of African women in Ireland, irrespective of their ethnic/national backgrounds, traditions/religious beliefs, and socioeconomic, political or legal status. AkiDwA supports migrant women’s greater participation in Irish society and plays a key role in addressing areas of concern for migrant women, including gender-based violence, unemployment and gender discrimination. In addition, AkiDwA engages in collaborative work with key non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and government stakeholders.

Source

African and Migrant Women’s Network.

Gendered sectors

The data on the distribution of migrant workers by sector address agriculture, industry and services. Of the three, the service sector engages the majority of migrant workers (71 per cent). Male and female migrants are equally represented in agriculture, with a higher proportion of male migrants working in industry and a higher proportion of female migrants working in services (International Labour Organization [ILO], 2015).

Within these broad sectors, the subsectors that engage migrant workers are further marked out along gendered lines. For instance, most migrant worker in the service sector as a whole are women because the majority (73.4 per cent) of the 11.5 million migrant domestic workers are women (ILO, 2015). Domestic and care work is traditionally undertaken by women within the home for no pay. As the global population gets older and more women enter the labour force, the need for domestic and care workers has increased which has led to an increase in migration into domestic work (UN Women, 2017).

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Source

IOM, 2012.

The high proportion of male migrant workers in industry can be explained by their employment in heavy manufacturing and construction, especially in the Arab States. In construction particularly, the employment of (primarily male) migrant workers in work that is considered low skilled is often linked with dangerous working conditions and issues with late and non-payment of wages (Wells, 2017). In some cases, these workers are subjected to physical and sometimes sexual and emotional abuse.

Gendered differences can also be seen in the level of skill required of, and pay offered to, female and male migrant workers. In sectors such as manufacturing, construction and agriculture, female migrants are more commonly employed in lighter work that is considered less skilled and is less well paid. Their jobs in these sectors are often secondary or subordinate to those of their male counterparts. For instance, while male migrant workers might be responsible for harvesting a crop, female workers might sort the harvest (Hennebry, Grass and Mclaughlin, 2016). Equally, on construction sites, a female migrant worker is often employed alongside her spouse and seen as a helper where she may be better skilled and have more experience (ILO, 2016a). Female agricultural workers may also be paid informally by their male partners, rather than being contracted directly with the employer.

Precarious employment such as this leaves female migrant workers without protection or access to services (Hennebry, Grass and Mclaughlin, 2016). Differences in the rates of engagement by male and female migrants with the labour market, as well as levels of labour protection and formality, can be addressed by national employment policies on gender and migration. This entails taking a strategic approach to the employment of migrant workers so that all gender groups have equitable access to decent work in a way that is supported by checks and balances to ensure employer accountability.

Policy Approaches
Addressing gender differences in migrant access to the labour market
  • Address gender-biased practices that restrict access to regular migration on the basis of gender. This could be done by ensuring gender-responsive policies and practices at the recruitment stage; for instance, policies and practices that do not permit gender-specific hiring or restrictions.
  • Undertake labour market needs assessments to provide information on migration opportunities that match the skillset of potential migrants.
  • Link recruitment to labour market needs rather than to gender.
To Go Further
Feminization of migration

The feminization of migration relates less to the numbers of female migrant workers, and more to the characteristics of their migration. In particular, it refers to the increasing demand for female migrant labour in a variety of sectors. One characteristic of the feminization of migration is the channelling of women into sectors that are traditionally considered “female roles” such as domestic and care work at both low- and high-skilled levels. In the high-skilled sectors, female migrant workers are well represented in the health-care sector, in particular as internationally educated nurses (IEN). These positions can be well remunerated with benefits including social protection.

Article / Quotes
feminization of migration

The changing nature of women’s migration, reflecting the fact that more women migrate independently rather than as members of a household, and are actively involved in employment.

A significant factor in the feminization of migration is the global care chain, which is the product of several factors such as the weakening of social protection systems and the pervasive lack of publicly delivered care services. This coincides with an aging population and women’s growing labour force participation, leading to the high demand for domestic work and the commodification of care (see Drivers of international migration). Given these demographic, social and cultural drivers, care roles are increasingly outsourced to female migrants. However, this creates a shortage of care providers in countries of origin. Thus, the chain continues in countries of origin, where the family needs of an international migrant are met by an internal female migrant from a lower-income (typically more rural) part of the country (Yeates, 2009). Whenever the need is met, a further unmet gap is created.

Good Practice
Undergoing gender analysis and mainstreaming in Sweden

All policies in Sweden must undergo a gender analysis and mainstreaming. Following a gender-responsive review of its labour migration system, the Government decided to introduce a temporary labour immigration scheme to address an indirect bias against women. The key features of the new policy are:

  • The labour migration system should have no baseless ceilings or quota;
  • Work permits are granted to third-country nationals who have job offers that could not be filled through recruitment within Sweden or the European Union;
  • No occupation or skill level is excluded from the programme;
  • All migrant workers are given full access to the welfare system and are allowed to bring their families with them from the beginning;
  • A temporary work permit can be granted for the duration of the employment or for the maximum of two years. If the person is still working, the permit can be extended once or several times, for up to a total of four years. After four years, the permit may be converted into a permanent residence permit.
Source

Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), 2009.

Gendered barriers to regular migration and decent work

Common barriers to regular migration and decent work can be produced by government policies that deny access based on a migrant’s age, sector of work or destination country. These barriers affect potential migrants along gender lines either directly or indirectly. For instance, policies that discriminate directly often refuse access for male or female migrants specifically, or for subgroups of men or women such as unmarried women. Some policies can also restrict independent movement of female migrants without an approval from a male guardian. Less direct barriers come in the form of migration programmes that refuse access to a particularly gendered sector. For example, a ban on migration into domestic work has a greater impact on female migrant workers, while any policies regarding the offshore fishing sector will have a greater impact on male migrants.

When a migration programme allows the employers to decide the gender of their workers, it can effectively exclude male or female migrants from accessing employment. This typically occurs in migration programmes for heavy manufacturing, construction work or other occupations that some employers might consider more appropriate for male rather than female migrants. Further, migration programmes with technical skills or language requirements can also present a barrier, since in many countries women and girls enrol in technical training at a lower rate than men or boys. As such, female migrants are less likely to have the required skills to meet the market demands and are therefore less able to enter regular migration programmes (International Labour Organization [ILO], 2016).

Direct or indirect barriers to regular migration along gender lines can result in increased irregular migration, which in turn increases the risk of negative migration experiences such as violence, exploitation and abuse. Having limited access to regular migration routes also means that migrants have limited access to official pre-departure training programmes as well as to State assistance when they face problems (Napier-Moore, 2017).

Policy Approaches
Understanding and addressing deskilling
  • Conduct a gender analysis on data on migrant skills and qualifications, alongside their employment.
  • Use the gender analysis to engage in national policy processes or bilateral negotiations so that countries of destination can benefit from the qualifications and skills of migrants.
  • Undertake a gender-responsive review of the access and entry to regular migration options to show where physical and structural barriers exist along gender lines.

More on Recognizing skills and qualifications.

Gender and remittances

Remittances have an impact on development outcomes (see Migration and development), but they also have social and gender implications in addition to their monetary value (King, Mata-Codesal and Vullnetari, 2013). While female migrants generally earn less than their male counterparts, they send around the same amount in financial remittances back to their country of origin. This indicates that female migrants remit a higher proportion of their income (IOM, 2010), more regularly and for longer periods of time than men (IOM and International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women [INSTRAW], 2007).

Such difference in sending behaviour may be the result of a higher pressure placed on female migrants by their families to remit more of their earnings and support extended families (IOM, 2010). Close family ties, including to children that remain in countries of origin, can also motivate the sending of remittances. The cost of remitting is often higher for female migrants, however. This is because so many of them work in the informal sector: female migrants may struggle to access formal remittance processes, which may leave them facing exploitative fees. Equally, because they send money more often, they are exposed to paying more in remittance fees (International Labour Organization [ILO] and UN Women, 2015).

Policy Approaches
Addressing gendered barriers to financial inclusion and formal remittance services
  • Provide free and accessible information/training on financial institutions and services at the pre-departure stage. This introduces female migrants to the options available to them.
  • Increase the use of digital services for remittances and savings. This can increase female migrants’ participation, in particular where such services can be accessed through their mobile phones.
Source

UN Women, n.d.

In addition to economic remittances, migrants transfer ideas, norms and attitudes described as social remittances. When women and girls migrate to destination countries with more progressive ideas on gender equality, they return with new perceptions that have a positive impact at countries of origin (Ferrant and Tuccio, 2015). Social remittances can also be transferred through increased investment in the health and education of migrant families, improving the social development of origin countries (ILO and UN Women, 2015). However, there are social costs related to migration, too. Migrants often need to parent from afar, adding complexity to caregiving roles and further changes to the lives of the family, especially of the children (see Children left behind).

Key messages
  • Gendered notions of female migrants’ work direct them into sectors or roles that are feminized, and therefore often considered less skilled, tend to be informal and are less well paid.
  • Access to regular migration into decent work can be restricted on the basis of gender either directly or indirectly.
  • While female migrant workers earn less than male migrant workers, they commonly remit a higher proportion of their earnings.
  • Female migrant workers’ remittances are more likely to be spent on human development factors as well as to support day-to-day investment expenses for family wellbeing in origin countries.
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