Female Migration, Poverty and Inequality

Migration often reflects and reinforces existing spatial, structural and social inequalities including those related to gender, age and income. Increased barriers to migration, irregular and insecure migration, bad working conditions, and a lack of protections for migrants and their families can also result in disparities, as this leads to an opening up of new social, economic, political and cultural vulnerabilities in the lives of migrants. Over the years there has been an upward trend of women migrating independently for work, education and as heads of households. Women migrants still face stronger discrimination as both migrants and as women in their host country in comparison to men migrants. Women are more vulnerable to mistreatment, often placing them in the poorest and most disadvantaged groups within their new society. Migration can therefore be an instrument for overcoming poverty, but it can also lead to poverty and social exclusion. In terms of foreign migrations, women migrants can be seen as contributing to the overall earnings inequalities in the countries where they settle, since they often face a gap between their skills or qualifications and the returns they get for these skills. Thus, structural factors locking Global South countries into unequal economic and power relations may increase local, regional or global inequalities. This session is seeking papers arising from different regions of the world, within and outside of migration studies, to consider the issue of women’s migration, poverty and inequality.