WUNRN
Women's Labour MIgration in the Context of Globalisation
The report Women's
labour migration in the context of globalisation offers an introduction to
important contemporary political analysis on the influence of globalisation on
women´s work, mobility and empowerment. Authors of the report Anja K. Franck
and Andrea Spehar explain how globalisation shapes women´s labour migration.
Download the full report from here.
Executive summary of this study is available in English, French, Spanish and Russian.
This new publication from WIDE, entitled “Women’s Labour Migration in the Context of Globalisation” offers
an introduction to important contemporary political analysis on the influence
of globalisation on women´s work, mobility and empowerment. Authors of the
report Anja
K. Franck and Andrea Spehar highlight how globalisation
shapes women´s labour migration.
Women migrate for work across the globe in
many different sectors; the analysis of internal and intra-regional migration
patterns shows that many of them find work in agriculture and export-oriented
sectors, where women’s relatively low wages constitute a comparative advantage.
In these sectors, working conditions are often exploitative and employment is
insecure and informal. The report illustrates these trends by referring to
women’s labour migration in the manufacturing export sectors, highlighting that
the hiring of (young, flexible, cheap) women workers forms an explicit strategy
of governments and big corporations in the export sector. The low wages of women
and women migrant workers have been fundamental to economic growth and
export-oriented development strategies in many developing countries.
Part of the study focuses specifically on the
EU, as female migration to the EU has always been important. Similar to
developments in other regions of the world, the restructuring of the European
economies has contributed to informalisation, flexibilisation and casualisation
of work, growing job insecurity and downward pressure on wages. The authors use
the example of women migrants’ work in the domestic and care sector in Europe
to illustrate that women migrants contribute to sustaining the contemporary
economic system and social reproduction in the region.
The study points out the ambiguity in the
migration discourse in Europe, where a combination of economic needs and
security interests define fairly restrictive migration policies. While the
(temporary), regular movement of highly skilled professionals is encouraged,
migrants moving into low-skilled jobs to meet the increasing demand for cheap
and flexible migrant labour are facing manifold discrimination. The authors
also draw attention to the inconsistencies and lack of cohesion between
international and EU commitments to human, women’s and workers’ rights, on the one
hand, and its migration policy discourse and practice, on the other. So far,
governments and the international community have failed to create an
environment that enables women migrants to fully exercise their economic,
social, political and cultural rights, protects their physical security.
As the study shows, migration is a complex
and often contradictory process. Despite the discriminatory environment, the
multiple challenges and adverse conditions women migrants face, a large number
of women improve their situation and gain economic independence and empowerment
by migrating. Understanding the complexity of the influence of
globalisation and the ongoing economic and social restructuring processes on
women’s work, mobility and empowerment is an important aspect of WIDE’s
struggle for global economic, social and gender justice. This study offers
entry points for an in-depth discussion around these issues. It tries to
understand and bridge the gaps between feminist analysis and practice on both
economic and migration issues. It concludes by formulating a number of
recommendations looking at short-term objectives that strengthen the normative
and legal frameworks to safeguard women migrants’ human and labour rights and
long-term recommendations seek structural change to the current unsustainable
and unjust economic development model..