Gendered Dynamics and Migrant Networks in Ghanaian Migration to Europe: Testing the Strength of Ties
Gendered Dynamics and Migrant Networks in Ghanaian Migration to Europe: Testing the Strength of Ties
Wednesday, 9 July 2025: 12:45
Location: FSE032 (Faculty of Education Sciences (FSE))
Oral Presentation
This paper examines the role of migrant networks in facilitating migration from Ghana to Europe, with a focus on personal ties and gender dynamics. Migrant networks, formed through personal relationships, are crucial in sustaining migration flows by providing support and information to potential migrants, reducing migration risks. While migration network studies have traditionally distinguished between strong family ties and weak community ties, this paper adopts a more comprehensive approach by considering a wider range of personal relationships, including friendships and extended family ties.
This research builds on Liu’s (2013) work on Senegalese migration, expanding it to the Ghanaian context using data from the MAFE longitudinal survey. Using a logistic discrete-time event history analysis, the study measures the likelihood of Ghanaians migrating to Europe, factoring in the size and composition of their migration networks, and emphasizing gender-differentiated patterns. Additionally, this paper delves into the impact of Ghana’s matrilineal system on migration outcomes. By examining the greater autonomy and access to resources that women enjoy in matrilineal systems, it seeks to understand how these social structures influence women’s propensity to migrate compared to men. By focusing on gender and social structures, the study offers a nuanced understanding of migration as a gendered process and the complex interplay between social capital and migration decisions.
This research builds on Liu’s (2013) work on Senegalese migration, expanding it to the Ghanaian context using data from the MAFE longitudinal survey. Using a logistic discrete-time event history analysis, the study measures the likelihood of Ghanaians migrating to Europe, factoring in the size and composition of their migration networks, and emphasizing gender-differentiated patterns. Additionally, this paper delves into the impact of Ghana’s matrilineal system on migration outcomes. By examining the greater autonomy and access to resources that women enjoy in matrilineal systems, it seeks to understand how these social structures influence women’s propensity to migrate compared to men. By focusing on gender and social structures, the study offers a nuanced understanding of migration as a gendered process and the complex interplay between social capital and migration decisions.