International Migration Policies and the Status of Female Migrant

7/28/2019 International Migration Policies and the Status of Female Migrant

1/11

International Migration Policies and the Status of Female MigrantsAuthor(s): Hania ZlotnikReviewed work(s):Source: International Migration Review, Vol. 24, No. 2, Special Issue: Labor RecruitingOrganizations in the Developing World (Summer, 1990), pp. 372-381Published by: The Center for Migration Studies of New York, Inc.

Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2546556 .Accessed: 29/11/2012 09:30

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

.JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of

content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms

of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].

.

The Center for Migration Studies of New York, Inc. is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and

extend access toInternational Migration Review.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded by the authorized user from 192.168.72.223 on Thu, 29 Nov 2012 09:30:09 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=cmigrationshttp://www.jstor.org/stable/2546556?origin=JSTOR-pdfhttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/stable/2546556?origin=JSTOR-pdfhttp://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=cmigrations


2/11

CONFERENCE REPORT

International Migration Policies andthe Status of Female Migrants1Hania ZlotnikPopulation Division, United NationsNearly one out of every two international migrants in the world is a woman.That fact alone justifies devoting greater attention to the migration expe?rience of women, especially in relation to the changing status of femalemigrants. Such was the task undertaken by the participants in a meeting onInternational Migration Policies and the Status of Female Migrants organ?ized by the Population Division of the United Nations in collaboration withthe Facolta di Economia e Comercio of the University of Pisa. About 45international experts attended the meeting, including representatives fromseveral international organizations, including FAO, ILO, UNESCO,UNFPA, UNHCR and the International Organization for Migration (IOM).Representatives from the Economic Commission for Europe and that forAfrica were also present. This activity was carried out as part of a largerproject on women and demographic processes being carried out by thePopulation Division with the financial assistance of UNFPA.The meeting was opened by the Honorable Laura Balbo, member of theItalian Chamber of Deputies, who underscored the need to bring migrantwomen into the political agenda. United Nations representatives noted thatissues related to the status of migrant women and measures for its improve?ment would be one of the topics considered during the forthcoming sessionof the Commission on the Status of Women and that both the status ofwomen and international migration were issues slated to receive particularattention in planning the 1994 International Meeting on Population.The meeting started by noting that, despite the difficulties inherent inmeasuring the extent of female migration worldwide, the evidence availableindicated that women constituted 48 percent of all persons enumeratedoutside their country of birth at some point during 1970-1987. In terms offlows, until the early 1980s women had predominated over men amongpermanent immigrants admitted by the United States and had constitutedsubstantial proportions of those admitted by other countries of permanentsettlement. In Europe, the proportion of women among the foreign popu-

1 Anexpert-groupmeetingheld in San Miniato, taly,March27-30, 1990.

372 IMR Volume xxiv, No. 2

This content downloaded by the authorized user from 192.168.72.223 on Thu, 29 Nov 2012 09:30:09 AMAll use subject toJSTOR Terms and Conditions
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp


3/11

CONFERENCE REPORT 373lation had tended to increase since the mid-1970s as a result of the cessationof labor recruitment and the promotion of family reunion. Even with respectto flows of temporary migrant workers, female participation

was becomingmore visible, especially among South and South East Asian migrants goingto the Middle East.Migration Policies and the Status of Female MigrantsParticipants noted that international migration generally involved a movefrom one system of gender stratification to another and thus constituted ademographic process having important implications for the status ofwomen. In addition, migration policies and regulations had a differentialimpact on male and female migrants. In considering the implications ofpolicy on female migration and the status of female migrants, participantsunderscored the importance of taking the following points into account: (1)the various contexts influencing the status of female migrants so as todistinguish those that were amenable to direct policy intervention fromthose that were not; (2) the interplay of political, economic, institutional andsocial forces that might lead to conflicting policy objectives and thus com?plicate efforts to address the needs of international female migrants; (3) theexplicit or implicit nature of migration policies, whether by countries oforigin or those of destination; (4) the need for affirmative-action measuresto deal with particularly vulnerable groups of female migrants, and (5) theheterogeneity of migrant women, especially in terms of their stage in thelife cycle.In considering the sex selectivity of international migration flows, ex?perts concluded that it was generally determined by the interplay ofmigration regulations, country-specific ideologies and systems of sex strat?ification. Although regulations tended not to be explicitly discriminatory onthe basis of sex, their implementation was often influenced by stereotypicalimages of the roles men and women played in the societies of origin ordestination, images that reinforced gender inequality and resulted in differ?ential migration outcomes by sex. Thus, women were largely admitted asdependents in both traditional countries of immigration and Europeancountries, whereas men tended to predominate in migrant categories of aneconomic nature.

It was noted that in European countries, where the right to residence hadgenerally been divorced from the right to employment, migrant womenadmitted as dependents were generally not allowed to work, at least duringa certain period following admission. Such restrictions were considered toreinforce the de facto economic dependence of migrant women on otherfamily members or on their employers when they engaged in clandestinework. Even in traditional countries of immigration, where migrant women



4/11

374 INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION REVIEWadmitted as dependents were not restricted from participation in the laborforce, the linkage of their migrant status with that of a sponsor was judgedto reinforce dependency, if only because it generally restricted the migrantwomen's access to welfare services. The fact that economically active mi?grant women generally earned less than their male counterparts washighlighted as a constraint on their ability to sponsor the migration of otherclose relatives.

Participants noted that, in considering the equity of migration regulationswith respect to sex, it was necessary to determine what constituted discrim?ination. Two possible approaches to gauge discrimination were mentioned:an assessment of biases operating at the individual level, on a case by casebasis, and comparisons of outcomes at the aggregate level. When discrimi?nation at the aggregate level was found to exist, unequal outcomes had tobe redressed irrespective of the processes leading to them. Use of theaggregate approach was said to demand adequate indices of comparison.In the case of migrant women, comparisons might be carried out betweenthem and migrant men or between them and native women. Both types ofcomparisons were judged relevant in establishing the existence of discrim?ination. To fight discrimination, measures ranging from consciousnessraising to affirmative action in regard to vulnerable groups of femalemigrants were mentioned.In considering the possibility of adopting measures of reverse discrimi?nation to facilitate the admission of women on an equal footing as men, theconcerns of receiving countries were highlighted. Women were judged tobe more likely to be admitted as migrants if they were not seen as economicactors. Restrictions on the admission of fiancees or fiances were justified interms of preventing migrants from using such relationships to circumventmigration regulations. The possibility of granting all migrants immediateaccess to welfare entitlements upon admission was judged to add a consid?erable burden to the welfare state and threaten its viability.Several methodological issues arising from the assessment of femalestatus in relation to migration were identified. First, since the citizenship ofmigrants was usually the basis for their differential treatment in regard tothe law, it was judged necessary to focus attention on the different foreigngroups in a country. Second, the need to distinguish between discriminationdue to the status of women vis a vis men and that deriving from themigration process was underscored. Ideally, the selectivity of migrationshould be controlled for when trying to identify which differences arise frommigration or female status and which from particular characteristics of thevarious foreign groups (including those stemming from a distinctive agedistribution, differential educational attainment, skills, etc.). In France, for



5/11

CONFERENCE REPORT 375instance, the foreign population would not be representative of all migrantssince naturalization was common.The growing participation of women in international migration flowsoriginating in countries of South and South East Asia was documented tothe extent possible in the papers presented at the meeting. Asian womenwere reported to be working temporarily in the Middle East, Hong Kong,Singapore and Japan, generally as housemaids or entertainers. The effortsmade by countries of origin to control and direct the flow of female migrantworkers were reviewed and itwas found that the degree of control exercisedby governments had no effect on the extent of clandestine outflows expe?rienced by the different countries of origin. In most countries, economicneeds had counterbalanced the cultural and religious factors that tradition?ally restricted the mobility of women.It was noted that measures adopted by Asian countries to control the exitof temporary female migrants had to take account of economic realities inorder to be enforceable. The case of Sri Lanka, where authorities had setunrealistic limits on recruitment fees and thus forced recruiters into illegal?ity, was cited. Lacking the possibility of providing viable economicalternatives locally, countries of origin had been unable to control labormigration effectively. Difficult economic conditions propelled migrants,especially women, to seek opportunities abroad, irrespective of the risks orconstraints they faced. It was stressed that most women decided to workabroad in order to ensure the basic survival of their families.

Receiving countries were found to be more successful in enforcingmigration policies. Analysis of the case of Kuwait revealed that approxi?mately forty policy instruments had been in operation at different timesduring 1959-1985. A fair degree of association between the policies in forceand the levels and characteristics of migrant inflows was found. Since 1965the presence of women in migrant inflows increased, firstthrough the familyreunification of Arab migrants and later through the arrival of female Asianworkers. Restrictions on the labor force participation of dependents werefound to have affected women mostly. Asian women working as domesticservants were usually subject to restrictions regarding length of stay andtype of employment.The Impact of Female Status on Migration SelectivityThe analysis of the impact of female status on migration selectivity wasjudged to be hampered by lack of adequate data, since migrants tended tobe studied once the move had taken place and their reports on the reasonsfor moving were likely to be rationalized in retrospect. Emphasis was puton the need to analyze how gender considerations operated within thehousehold or family so as to understand how male and female migrants were



6/11

376 INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION REVIEWmobilized, especially when associational migration was involved. Differen?tial labor-market opportunities for men and women in the society ofdestination were judged to be especially relevant when migration was of anautonomous/individual type.

Reports from a survey carried out in a village in Cochabamba, Boliviarevealed that a high degree of complementarity existed between the rolesof men and women at origin, especially in the economic sphere. Men wereengaged in agriculture while women dealt in crafts and trade. With landfragmentation resulting from overpopulation, men were pressured to findwage employment abroad, while women were able to continue their tradi?tional activities. Thus, specific sex roles had a direct impact on the sexselectivity of migration. When women migrated, they normally did so tofollow husbands or fathers and were usually handicapped to enter the labormarket in the country of destination (Argentina). Their loss of economicindependence after migration led to a reduction of their leverage in house?hold decision-making and contributed to their maladjustment to the hostsociety. Thus, migration did not contribute to improving their status withrespect to the one they had in Bolivia.The cases of Filipino and Sri Lankan women were different in that theirdecision to migrate was explicitly based on economic reasons, their mainobjective for migrating being to improve the economic situation of thefamilies they had left behind. Both Filipino and Sri Lankan women tendedto engage in domestic work while abroad. Filipino women in Italy weregenerally young and educated, and most of them had held a job in thePhilippines before migrating. According to the migrants themselves, theirexperiences in Italy were usually positive, since wages were much higherthan in the Philippines and savings could be accrued.Most Sri Lankan women in the Middle East also engaged in domesticservice to provide the support needed by their families at home. Therelatively late entry of Sri Lanka into the regional labor market implied thatthe domestic service sector was the largest open to its citizens. The relativelylow recruitment fees characterizing that sector had contributed to mobilizewomen rather than men. Foreign domestic workers were reported to lacklegal protection and be dependent on employers for food, clothing, housingand even the possibility of contacting other people. Such situations under?mined their position and left them prone to exploitation. The high incidenceof premature returns among women migrating to the Middle East wasinterpreted as indicative of the stressful nature of their situation.These cases were used to show that migration did not necessarily entailan improvement of status or upward mobility. Filipino and Sri Lankanwomen moved for the benefit of others, generally their families, a fact thatunderscored the need to consider the decision-making process at the family



7/11

CONFERENCE REPORT 377level. It also raised the issue of determining an appropriate standard forcomparison: should migrant women be compared to migrant men, nativewomen or non-migrant women in the country of origin? Or was theappropriate standard the position that migrant women and their immediatefamilies had before the move? Whatever the standard, it was stressed thatassessments of status should take account of "cultural relativism" and of thepossibility that certain dimensions of status might not be measurable in anordered unilinear scale. To avoid gross misinterpretations of discrimination,it was suggested that the views that migrant women themselves had aboutmigration and its outcomes should be taken into account.The crucial role played by intermediaries was highlighted in discussingthe cases of both Filipino and Sri Lankan migrants. Two types of interme?diaries were distinguished: informal networks revolving around kinship tiesand commercial recruitment agencies. The latter, by operating on the basisof profit, made explicit the direct costs of migration. Less was known aboutthe operation of the former, though they might also involve costs to themigrant, perhaps in terms of social obligations. Intermediaries were judgedto influence the selectivity of migration and to be an equilibrating mecha?nism linking national and international labor markets. By raising the costsof emigration, intermediaries dissuaded some potential migrants fromseeking employment abroad.The Impact of Adaptation on the Roles and Status of MigrantWomenThe heterogeneity characterizing migrant inflows was singled out as a factorpreventing useful generalizations about the impact of adaptation on the statusof migrant women. Not only did the different national origins of migrants giverise to heterogeneity, it was also detected among migrants having a commonorigin. Changes in the composition of flows through time appeared to be therule. In Australia, for instance, European immigrants, which predominateduntil 1970, had given way to those from Asia. Among the latter, the proportionof women had increased substantially during the 1980s.

Significant differences were reported regarding the adaptation strategiesof the various ethnic groups. The Vietnamese, for instance, tended to livein ethnic enclaves which were judged to have beneficial impacts on theadjustment of migrant women over the short run. In the long term, however,enclaves tended to isolate migrants from the community at large, preventedthem from acquiring needed language skills, reduced their access to betteremployment opportunities and perpetuated traditional gender stratifica?tion systems.

European migration to Australia was by no means homogeneous. Instudying the adaptation process of these migrants care was taken not to



8/11

378 INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION REVIEWequate "Western" or "modern" values with a higher status for women.Migration was found to involve both gains and losses in status. It wassuggested that the ultimate effects of migration

on female status should beassessed with respect to the second generation. Although consideration offactors such as educational attainment, labor force participation or occupa?tion was judged to be enlightening, the need to take into account changingsocial relations and the relative power of men and women was stressed. Theimportance of language proficiency in reducing the barriers faced by femalemigrants during the adaptation process was also emphasized.In analyzing the adaptation of Algerian women to France, it was pointedout that, for them, migration represented a conscious choice leading togreater opportunities in both the social and economic spheres. Marriagewas often a vehicle leading to migration. Algerian women marrying migrantmen were reported to be considerably younger than their husbands, to comefrom an urban environment and have a higher socio-economic status thanthe husband's family of origin. Algerian migrant women were portrayed associal actors devising strategies to forge their future and that of theirchildren. Their status within the host society was depicted as arising from anegotiated compromise between tradition and modernity. Thus, their rela?tively low labor force participation was justified in terms of the innovativestrategies they used to create their own employment in the informal sector,a type of employment that satisfied the constraints set by tradition.It was noted that, to the extent that migration policies incorporatedcriteria to select those most likely to adapt, such criteria were generallyapplied to men rather than women, since the latter were usually admittedas dependents. Hence, selectivity for adaptation was largely self-induced asmigrants, especially women, made conscious choices regarding strategies toqualify for admission. Even among refugees, those admitted for resettle?ment were most likely to be men, since the criteria used for their selectionwere the same as those applied to immigrants. It was therefore necessary tocall for special programs that, based on humanitarian considerations, wouldpermit the admission of women in vulnerable situations, particularly femalerefugees. Because migrant women admitted as dependents were likely toface greater adjustment problems than principal migrants, programs tofacilitate their adaptation were judged to be necessary.The Status of Female Migrants as Compared to that of Women inthe Societies of Origin and DestinationData from a longitudinal survey of Filipino and Korean migrants to theUnited States were used to assess changes in the status of women before andafter migration. The survey results served to combat the widespread per?ception that women admitted as dependents, particularly married women,



9/11

CONFERENCE REPORT 379were not involved in economic activity. Information on the economicactivity of married Filipino and Korean women before and two years aftermigration revealed that their expectations regarding labor force participa?tion after migration were largely realized. Those expectations, however,involved in most cases a decline of occupational status in relation to educa?tional attainment and previous job experience. Yet, because migrationexperiences have only been recently analyzed, such results were not consid?ered definitive. It was suggested that the crucial role that women play infacilitating the social adaptation of their families might delay their entryinto the labor force or retard their advancement. The need for languagetraining programs was emphasized, since language proficiency proved tobe an important determinant of labor force participation.Information regarding Moroccan and Turkish migrants in the Nether?lands showed that the independence of women who had migrated long aftertheir husbands had peaked while they were alone in the country of originhaving sole responsibility for raising the children. The majority of migrantwomen reported that they wanted to move at the time migration took placeand older women tended to play a more important role in the decision-mak?ing process than younger women. When migrant and non-migrant womenhaving the same origin were compared, the former tended to be bettereducated, to have lower labor-force participation rates and lower fertility.Yet, with respect to participation rates, the results were difficult to interpretwithout controlling for age.It was noted that an assessment of status on the basis of labor forceparticipation had to take into account prior skills and the value, in terms ofstatus, that was attached to women's work (in some societies the need forwomen to work was considered to lower their status). It was also importantto assess the labor force participation of wives in terms of the position ofhusbands in the labor market. Three strategies used by migrant women toinsert themselves into the labor market of the host society were identified:(1) by meeting the demands arising in the formal sector, (2) by creating theirown employment opportunities through the informal sector, and (3) bysatisfying a potential demand for services which would otherwise have beenmet through unpaid family work. In general, the last two strategies werejudged unlikely to bring about a significant rise in status.

Returning Female MigrantsReturn migration was considered important because, for a large proportionof migrants, it was said to represent the last stage of the migration processand the attainment of the ultimate migration goal. Information on migrantsreturning to the metropolitan area of Barcelona who were heads of house?holds indicated that the migration of most women was conditioned by family



10/11

380 INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION REVIEWconsiderations, while that of men was prompted by economic motivations.Women showed greater inertia, tending to stay longer in any given place.Their labor force participation upon return was lower than that of males.However, lack of control for age or for the different stages of the life cyclein which returning migrants found themselves made interpretation of theseresults difficult.

Most female migrants returning to Greece were also found to do sobecause of family considerations. However, while upon emigration men hadusually preceded women, upon return, women were more likely to migratefirst.Heterogeneity among Greek returnees was found to be associated withthe different destinations they were returning from. A number of measuresaimed at aiding returnees were discussed. It was suggested that legal advicein family matters be provided, especially for women who, having marriedforeigners, returned after a divorce and needed to secure family allowances.Mention was made of the need to reduce bureaucratic and financial barriersto resettlement, to facilitate currency transfers at a fair rate of exchangeand to aid returnees in validating studies or other training obtained abroad.It was recognized that special services for returnees would be difficult toimplement without causing resentment among the non-migrant popula?tion.

Interviews with female returnees living in Ibadan and Oubokosho, Nige?ria showed that most of them had migrated in connection with other familymembers, mainly their husbands. Their principal destinations were Ghanaor Europe. Migration had generally occurred several years before interviewand women varied in their assessment of the benefits derived from it. A fewhad worked to help their husbands study abroad and had been deserted uponreturn. Female returnees felt that their status had been reduced drasticallyupon return. This assessment was ascribed to re-adaptation problems theyfaced after having acquired new norms and attitudes abroad.Conclusion and RecommendationsA set of recommendations to guide government action regarding migrantwomen was adopted by the meeting. Governments were urged to make anassessment of the effects on migrant women of current migration policies,legislation and regulations, and to modify those that were found to producenegative outcomes for female migrants. The recommendations also high?lighted the needs of migrant women belonging to especially vulnerablegroups, including the elderly, those involved in domestic service and refu?gees. Measures to ensure the equal access of legally admitted migrantwomen to the labor market and to welfare and social services were recom?mended. Special attention was given to the needs of women engaging intemporary worker migration. In addition, governments of receiving coun-



11/11

CONFERENCE REPORT 381tries were urged to ensure that offers of equal opportunities for legalizationto male and female undocumented migrants were standardized and regu?lated.

The meeting was closed by underscoring the need to keep in sight thepositive aspects of migration. Even in cases where the status of migrantwomen could not be said to improve in an objective manner, at the subjectivelevel women often assessed their experience as positive. Furthermore, inmost instances migrant women proved to be active agents of change andadaptation, rather than passive victims of circumstances. Being intent inimproving their own standing and that of their families, migrant womendeserved recognition for the important roles they played in the migrationprocess.

Documents

International Migration Policies and the Status of Female Migrant