Migration & Gender

Until the mid-1980s, migration was regarded as a male phenomenon. Today, women account for almost half of the migrant population globally. Migration is often seen as gender-neutral because it deals with the process of the movement of persons, however, it is in fact gender-related because migration impacts differently on men and women, and on different groups of men and women in their process of movement.

Awareness of gender-related phenomena exposes roles and relationships between men and women that can be subtle as well as obvious. These relationships are defined in and by the socio-cultural structures and systems of the societies people live in. The experiences men and women have as migrants differ, and most of the differences are due to the role, behaviour, and relationships that society assigns to, and expects from, a woman or a man in a country of origin and a country of destination.

When designing policies and programmes, it is important to acknowledge and respect the background and socio-cultural context for gender relations in countries of origin. This will have impacts and determine the ability of individuals to benefit from policies and programmes.

Key Message

Migrants can be exposed to a dual vulnerability: as migrants and because of their gender. Factoring gender considerations into migration and other policies does not mean redesigning these policies, but rather looking at how to incorporate gender issues into the policy process and the programmes resulting from it.

Gender should not be viewed only as a set of issues that must be applied separately to migration policy for men and women. Migration policy should also take into account the relations between women and men in sending and receiving countries.

Terms and Concepts

Gender
A term that refers to socially constructed differences between the sexes and to the social relationships between women and men. These differences between the sexes are shaped over the history of social relations and change over time and across cultures.

Gender identity
An outcome of the circumstances in which women and men live, including economic, cultural, historical, ideological, and religious factors

Gender relations
The relationship between women and men that varies according to the economic and social conditions of the society and differs between social and ethnic groups

International migrant
A person who lives outside his or her country of origin

Migrant
All cases where the decision to migrate is taken freely by the individual concerned, for reasons of "personal convenience" and without intervention of an external compelling factor

Migrant worker
A person who is to be engaged, is engaged, or has been engaged in a remunerated activity in a State of which he or she is not a citizen

Migration
A term used to describe the process of the movement of persons. It includes the movement of refugees, displaced persons, uprooted people, as well as economic migrants.

Sex
Biological differences between women and men