FEMINIZATION OF MIGRATION IN FEMINIZATION OF MIGRATION IN LATIN AMERICA: DISCUSSIONS LATIN AMERICA: DISCUSSIONS AND MEANINGS FOR POLICIESAND MEANINGS FOR POLICIES

Jorge Martínez PizarroCEPAL-CELADE

July 2007

Feminization of Feminization of Migration…Migration…

• The feminization of migration is a common theme in public debates but, to large extent, the specificity of migration and its consequences for women continue to be unknown

• The feminization has implied consideration of gender in migration processes and policies

• Although some mechanisms may lead to emancipating conditions, they also perpetuate collective assimetries and structures of subordination, independently from the successful perception of some migrants

Various DeterminantsVarious Determinants• Financial determinants in close interaction with social,

family and cultural considerations, without leaving out a non-hierarchical approach to these factors.

• The need for many more studies from the viewpoint of the experience of these women and with a gender approach, without leaving out that the experience of men is also fundamental in migration.

• The limitations of the information sources have to be overcome, since for many years they made female migration invisible.

• The ineludible gender perspective must be present in many other areas of migration.

Three IssuesThree Issues

• The problem of the invisibility of women in migration;

• The possibilities offered by the use of a gender perspective, and

• The labor situation of migrants employed as domestics.

The Fight against the The Fight against the Invisibility of Women in Invisibility of Women in

MigrationMigration• The invisibility of migrant women persists

because their lack of protection is more marked than men’s.

• In a large part of the world they suffer more acutely the vicissitudes affecting migrants and, together with the children, are subject to almost exclusive abuse.

• This is particularly noticeable in the case of undocumented migrants.

The Fight against the The Fight against the Invisibility of Women in Invisibility of Women in

MigrationMigration

• The creation of the profile of a victimized woman can be the motive for broad and varied forms of sexual discrimination, if it leads to excessively identify women who migrate alone as vulnerable and in risk of prostitution.

The Fight against the The Fight against the Invisibility of Women in Invisibility of Women in

MigrationMigration• Consensus is growing regarding the need

to introduce the gender perspective in a more integrated understanding of the migration phenomenon and to prevent the existing omissions from being necessarily blamed on lack of data.

Gender in International Gender in International MigrationMigration

• Gender differences are increasingly being recognized and are now among the most distinctive characteristics of international migration.

• The long process to define the problems of female migration had two notorious traits: the woman was perceived from an associational perspective as a passive actor, the partner of a husband, the one who follows his movements, the one who waits for her spouse and children.

• She was also relegated to a secondary plane in the theoretical formulations on migration, and there are still numerous rationales that only implicitly recognize their role.

Gender in International Gender in International MigrationMigration

• Gender studies show that the feminization of migration brings with it the possibility of opening new spaces within the family and in society, flexibilizing the sexual division of labor and transforming the gender roles and models; but it also hides the risk of affecting the life projects of women, reinforcing their situation of subordination and the assimetry of gender hierarchies, undermining their dignity and challenge their rights.

Gender in International Gender in International MigrationMigration

• A distinction must be made between the positive perceptions of the individual migration experience and the collective consequences of reproducing gender assimetries.

• Although the individual experience may be successful, even when irregular, it should be noted that there is a risk of inhibiting claims for rights, as is shown, for example, in several studies of the Latin American sub-regions.

Migrant Women in their Migrant Women in their Labyrinth and the Case of Labyrinth and the Case of

HousewivesHousewives• One of the characteristics that defines the

migration flows of women between Latin American countries is its work nature.

• Several case studies agree in that migrant women increasingly identify financial reasons for their decision and many work as domestics in the destination country.

Gravitating Incidence of Gravitating Incidence of Domestic ServicesDomestic Services

Porcentaje de mujeres inmigrantes ocupadas en el servicio doméstico en los países de América Latina, por país de nacimiento, alrededor de 2000

05

101520253035404550

Arg

entin

a

Bol

ivia

Bra

sil

Chi

le

Col

ombi

a

Cos

ta R

ica

Cub

a

Ecua

dor

El S

alva

dor

Gua

tem

ala

Hon

dura

s

Méx

ico

Nic

arag

ua

Pana

má 

Para

guay

Perú

Rep

. Dom

inic

ana

Uru

guay

Vene

zuel

a

Tota

l A. L

atin

a

Fuente: Proyecto IMILA del CELADE.

SpainSpainEspaña, 2001: inserción ocupacional de los inmigrantes latinoamericanos por rama de

actividad económica, según sexo

0%

15%

30%

45%

Agr

icul

tura

,ga

nade

ría y

pesc

a

Indu

stria

Con

stru

cció

n

Com

erci

o

Hos

tele

ría

Tran

spor

te

Fina

nzas

ein

mob

iliar

ías

Adm

inis

trac

ión

públ

ica

Educ

ació

n y

salu

d

Serv

icio

sco

mun

itario

s

Trab

ajo

dom

éstic

o

Hombres Mujeres

Fuente: INE, Censo de Población y Vivienda de 2001.

Migrant Women in their Migrant Women in their Labyrinth and the Case of Labyrinth and the Case of

HousewivesHousewives• In the main receiving countries most are

mothers. For example:– Among Nicaraguans working as domestics in Costa

Rica, 72% have children;– Colombians in Venezuela, 87%;– Peruvians in Chile, 85%, and in Argentina, 66%

• These women are financially responsible for their children and this shows the relative autonomy for women who travel alone to make the migration decision

Migrant Women in their Migrant Women in their Labyrinth and the Case of Labyrinth and the Case of

HousewivesHousewives• Cross-border domestic work is strongly linked to

the concern of the international community about the vulnerability of migrant women which may lead them to become victims of discrimination and violation of their human rights and fundamental freedoms.

• An in-depth analysis of this issue offers the greatest probability of achieving agreements among the countries in the region and to take advantage of the various initiatives underway aimed at migration governance, including the protection of migrant men and women.