International Migration Policies and the Status of Female Migrants Author(s): Hania Zlotnik Reviewed work(s): Source: International

Migration Review, Vol. 24, No. 2, Special Issue: Labor Recruiting Organizations in the Developing World (Summer, 1990), pp. 372-381 Published by: The Center for Migration Studies of New York, Inc. Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2546556 . Accessed: 29/11/2012 09:30
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CONFERENCE

REPORT

International the Status of

Migration Female

Policies Migrants1

and

Hania

Zlotnik

Population Division, United Nations Nearly 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 female migrants. Such was the task undertaken by the participants in a meeting on International Migration Policies and the Status of Female Migrants organ? ized by the Population Division of the United Nations in collaboration with e Comercio of the University of Pisa. About 45 the Facolta di Economia international experts attended the meeting, including representatives from FAO, ILO, UNESCO, including organizations, and the International Organization for Migration (IOM). for Europe and that for from the Economic Commission Representatives Africa were also present. This activity was carried out as part of a larger processes being carried out by the project on women and demographic UNFPA, UNHCR Population Division with the financial assistance of UNFPA. Laura Balbo, member of the The meeting was opened by the Honorable Italian Chamber of Deputies, who underscored the need to bring migrant women into the political agenda. United Nations representatives noted that issues related to the status of migrant women and measures for its improve? ment would be one of the topics considered during the forthcoming session on the Status of Women and that both the status of of the Commission women and international migration were issues slated to receive particular attention in planning the 1994 International Meeting on Population. The meeting started by noting that, despite the difficulties inherent in measuring the extent of female migration worldwide, the evidence available indicated that women constituted 48 percent of all persons enumerated several international

In terms of outside their country of birth at some point during 1970-1987. over men among flows, until the early 1980s women had predominated permanent immigrants admitted by the United States and had constituted substantial proportions of those admitted by other countries of permanent settlement. In Europe, the proportion of women among the foreign popu1 An meetingheld in San Miniato,Italy,March 27-30, 1990. expert-group

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lation had tended to increase since the mid-1970s as a result of the cessation of labor recruitment and the promotion of family reunion. Even with respect to flows of temporary migrant workers, female participation was becoming more visible, especially among South and South East Asian migrants going to the Middle East. Policies and the Status of Female

Migration

Migrants

Participants noted that international migration generally involved a move from one system of gender stratification to another and thus constituted a for the status of process having important implications demographic women. In addition, migration policies and regulations had a differential impact on male and female migrants. In considering the implications of policy on female migration and the status of female migrants, participants underscored the importance of taking the following points into account: (1) the various contexts influencing the status of female migrants so as to to direct policy intervention from distinguish those that were amenable those that were not; (2) the interplay of political, economic, institutional and social forces that might lead to conflicting policy objectives and thus com? plicate efforts to address the needs of international female migrants; (3) the explicit or implicit nature of migration policies, whether by countries of origin or those of destination; (4) the need for affirmative-action measures to deal with particularly vulnerable groups of female migrants, and (5) the heterogeneity of migrant women, especially in terms of their stage in the life cycle. In considering perts concluded the sex selectivity of international migration flows, ex? that it was generally determined by the interplay of migration regulations, country-specific ideologies and systems of sex strat? ification. Although regulations tended not to be explicitly discriminatory on

the basis of sex, their implementation was often influenced by stereotypical images of the roles men and women played in the societies of origin or destination, images that reinforced gender inequality and resulted in differ? ential migration outcomes by sex. Thus, women were largely admitted as dependents in both traditional countries of immigration and European countries, whereas men tended to predominate in migrant categories of an economic nature. It was noted that in European countries, where the right to residence had generally been divorced from the right to employment, migrant women admitted as dependents were generally not allowed to work, at least during a certain period following admission. Such restrictions were considered to of migrant women on other reinforce the de facto economic dependence family members or on their employers when they engaged in clandestine work. Even in traditional countries of immigration, where migrant women

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admitted as dependents were not restricted from participation in the labor force, the linkage of their migrant status with that of a sponsor was judged to reinforce dependency, if only because it generally restricted the migrant women's access to welfare services. The fact that economically active mi? male was women less than their earned grant counterparts generally the of other a to as constraint on their migration highlighted ability sponsor close relatives. Participants noted that, in considering the equity of migration regulations with 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 case basis, and comparisons of outcomes at the aggregate level. When discrimi? nation at the aggregate level was found to exist, unequal outcomes had to be redressed irrespective of the processes leading to them. Use of the

of women on an equal footing as men, the of receiving countries were highlighted. Women were judged to be more likely to be admitted as migrants if they were not seen as economic actors. Restrictions on the admission of fiancees or fiances were justified in nation to facilitate the admission concerns migrants from using such relationships to circumvent migration regulations. The possibility of granting all migrants immediate access to welfare entitlements upon admission was judged to add a consid? terms of preventing

aggregate approach was said to demand adequate indices of comparison. In the case of migrant women, comparisons might be carried out between them and migrant men or between them and native women. Both types of comparisons were judged relevant in establishing the existence of discrim? ination. To fight discrimination, measures ranging from consciousness raising to affirmative action in regard to vulnerable groups of female migrants were mentioned. In considering the possibility of adopting measures of reverse discrimi?

erable burden to the welfare state and threaten its viability. Several methodological issues arising from the assessment of female status in relation to migration were identified. First, since the citizenship of migrants was usually the basis for their differential treatment in regard to the law, it was judged necessary to focus attention on the different foreign groups in a country. Second, the need to distinguish between discrimination due to the status of women vis a vis men and was underscored.

that deriving from the the migration process selectivity of migration Ideally, should be controlled for when trying to identify which differences arise from migration or female status and which from particular characteristics of the various foreign groups (including those stemming from a distinctive age distribution, differential educational attainment,

skills, etc.). In France, for

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instance, the foreign population would not be representative of all migrants since naturalization was common. The growing participation of women in international migration flows to originating in countries of South and South East Asia was documented the extent possible in the papers presented at the meeting. Asian women were reported to be working temporarily in the Middle East, Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan, generally as housemaids or entertainers. The efforts made by countries of origin to control and direct the flow of female migrant workers were reviewed and it was found that the degree of control exercised by governments had no effect on the extent of clandestine outflows expe? rienced by the different countries of origin. In most countries, economic needs 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 exit of temporary female migrants had to take account of economic realities in order to be enforceable. The case of Sri Lanka, where authorities had set unrealistic limits on recruitment fees and thus forced recruiters into illegal? viable economic the possibility of providing ity, was cited. Lacking alternatives locally, countries of origin had been unable to control labor migration effectively. Difficult economic conditions propelled migrants, especially women, to seek opportunities abroad, irrespective of the risks or constraints they faced. It was stressed that most women decided to work abroad in order to ensure the basic survival of their families. Receiving countries were found to be more successful in enforcing migration policies. Analysis of the case of Kuwait revealed that approxi?

mately forty policy instruments had been in operation at different times A fair degree of association between the policies in force during 1959-1985. and the levels and characteristics of migrant inflows was found. Since 1965 the presence of women in migrant inflows increased, first through the family reunification of Arab migrants and later through the arrival of female Asian workers. Restrictions on the labor force participation of dependents were found to have affected women mostly. Asian women working as domestic servants were usually subject to restrictions regarding length of stay and type of employment. The Impact of Female Status on Migration Selectivity

The analysis of the impact of female status on migration selectivity was judged to be hampered by lack of adequate data, since migrants tended to be studied once the move had taken place and their reports on the reasons for moving were likely to be rationalized in retrospect. Emphasis was put on the need to analyze how gender considerations operated within the household or family so as to understand how male and female migrants were

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mobilized, especially when associational migration was involved. Differen? tial labor-market for men and women in the society of opportunities destination were judged to be especially relevant when migration was of an autonomous/individual type. Bolivia Reports from a survey carried out in a village in Cochabamba, revealed that a high degree of complementarity existed between the roles of men and women at origin, especially in the economic sphere. Men were engaged in agriculture while women dealt in crafts and trade. With land men were pressured to find fragmentation resulting from overpopulation, wage employment abroad, while women were able to continue their tradi? tional activities. Thus, specific sex roles had a direct impact on the sex selectivity of migration. When women migrated, they normally did so to follow husbands or fathers and were usually handicapped to enter the labor market in the country of destination (Argentina). Their loss of economic after migration led to a reduction of their leverage in house? independence hold decision-making to the host and contributed to their maladjustment society. Thus, migration did not contribute to improving their status with respect to the one they had in Bolivia. The cases of Filipino and Sri Lankan women were different in that their decision to migrate was explicitly based on economic reasons, their main objective for migrating being to improve the economic situation of the families they had left behind. Both Filipino and Sri Lankan women tended to engage in domestic work while abroad. Filipino women in Italy were generally young and educated, and most of them had held a job in the Philippines before migrating. According to the migrants themselves, their in Italy were usually positive, since wages were much higher experiences than in the Philippines and savings could be accrued. Most Sri Lankan women in the Middle East also engaged in domestic service to provide the support needed by their families at home. The relatively late entry of Sri Lanka into the regional labor market implied that the domestic service sector was the largest open to its citizens. The relatively

low recruitment fees characterizing that sector had contributed to mobilize women rather than men. Foreign domestic workers were reported to lack legal protection and be dependent on employers for food, clothing, housing and even the possibility of contacting other people. Such situations under? mined their position and left them prone to exploitation. The high incidence of premature returns among women migrating to the Middle East was interpreted as indicative of the stressful nature of their situation. These cases were used to show that migration did not necessarily entail

an improvement of status or upward mobility. Filipino and Sri Lankan women moved for the benefit of others, generally their families, a fact that underscored the need to consider the decision-making process at the family

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level. It also raised the issue of determining an appropriate standard for comparison: should migrant women be compared to migrant men, native women or non-migrant women in the country of origin? Or was the appropriate standard the position that migrant women and their immediate families had before the move? Whatever the standard, it was stressed that assessments of status should take account of "cultural relativism" and of the possibility that certain dimensions of status might not be measurable in an ordered unilinear scale. To avoid gross misinterpretations of discrimination, it was suggested that the views that migrant women themselves had about migration and its outcomes should be taken into account. The crucial role played by intermediaries was highlighted in discussing the cases of both Filipino and Sri Lankan migrants. Two types of interme? diaries were distinguished: informal networks revolving around kinship ties and commercial recruitment agencies. The latter, by operating on the basis

of profit, made explicit the direct costs of migration. Less was known about the operation of the former, though they might also involve costs to the migrant, perhaps in terms of social obligations. Intermediaries were judged to influence the selectivity of migration and to be an equilibrating mecha? nism linking national and international labor markets. By raising the costs of emigration, intermediaries dissuaded some potential migrants from abroad. seeking employment The Impact Women of Adaptation on the Roles and Status of Migrant

The heterogeneity characterizing migrant inflows was singled out as a factor preventing useful generalizations about the impact of adaptation on the status of migrant women. Not only did the different national origins of migrants give rise to heterogeneity, it was also detected among migrants having a common origin. Changes in the composition of flows through time appeared to be the rule. In Australia, for instance, European immigrants, which predominated until 1970, had given way to those from Asia. Among the latter, the proportion of women had increased substantially during the 1980s. Significant differences were reported regarding the adaptation strategies of the various ethnic groups. The Vietnamese, for instance, tended to live in ethnic enclaves which were judged to have beneficial impacts on the

adjustment of migrant women over the short run. In the long term, however, enclaves tended to isolate migrants from the community at large, prevented them from acquiring needed language skills, reduced their access to better employment opportunities and perpetuated traditional gender stratifica? tion systems. In European migration to Australia was by no means homogeneous. studying the adaptation process of these migrants care was taken not to

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tion was judged to be enlightening, the need to take into account changing social relations and the relative power of men and women was stressed. The importance of language proficiency in reducing the barriers faced by female migrants during the adaptation process was also emphasized. In analyzing the adaptation of Algerian women to France, it was pointed out that, for them, migration represented a conscious choice leading to greater opportunities in both the social and economic spheres. Marriage was often a vehicle leading to migration. Algerian women marrying migrant men were reported to be considerably younger than their husbands, to come from an urban environment and have a higher socio-economic status than the husband's family of origin. Algerian migrant women were portrayed as social actors devising strategies to forge their future and that of their children. Their status within the host society was depicted as arising from a negotiated compromise between tradition and modernity. Thus, their rela? tively low labor force participation was justified in terms of the innovative strategies 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 incorporated criteria to select those most likely to adapt, such criteria were generally applied to men rather than women, since the latter were usually admitted as dependents. Hence, selectivity for adaptation was largely self-induced as migrants, especially women, made conscious choices regarding strategies to qualify for admission. Even among refugees, those admitted for resettle? ment were most likely to be men, since the criteria used for their selection were the same as those applied to immigrants. It was therefore necessary to call for special programs that, based on humanitarian considerations, would permit the admission of women in vulnerable situations, particularly female refugees. Because migrant women admitted as dependents were likely to face greater adjustment problems than principal migrants, programs to facilitate their adaptation were judged to be necessary. to that of Women in

equate "Western" or "modern" values with a higher status for women. Migration was found to involve both gains and losses in status. It was suggested that the ultimate effects of migration on female status should be assessed with respect to the second generation. Although consideration of factors such as educational attainment, labor force participation or occupa?

The Status of Female Migrants as Compared the Societies of Origin and Destination Data

from a longitudinal survey of Filipino and Korean migrants to the United States were used to assess changes in the status of women before and after migration. The survey results served to combat the widespread per? ception that women admitted as dependents, particularly married women,

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having the same origin were compared, the former tended to be better educated, to have lower labor-force participation rates and lower fertility. Yet, with respect to participation rates, the results were difficult to interpret without controlling for age. It was noted that an assessment of status on the basis of labor force participation had to take into account prior skills and the value, in terms of status, that was attached to women's work (in some societies the need for women to work was considered to lower their status). It was also important to assess the labor force participation of wives in terms of the position of husbands in the labor market. Three strategies used by migrant women to insert themselves into the labor market of the host society were identified: (1) by meeting the demands arising in the formal sector, (2) by creating their

be 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 after their husbands had peaked while they were alone in the country of origin having sole responsibility for raising the children. The majority of migrant women reported that they wanted to move at the time migration took place and older women tended to play a more important role in the decision-mak? ing process than younger women. When migrant and non-migrant women

not involved in economic activity. Information on the economic activity of married Filipino and Korean women before and two years after migration 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 migration experiences have only been recently analyzed, such results were not consid? ered definitive. It was suggested that the crucial role that women play in facilitating the social adaptation of their families might delay their entry into the labor force or retard their advancement. The need for language since language proficiency proved to training programs was emphasized,

own employment opportunities through the informal sector, and (3) by satisfying a potential demand for services which would otherwise have been met through unpaid family work. In general, the last two strategies were judged unlikely to bring about a significant rise in status. Returning Female Migrants

holds indicated that the migration of most women was conditioned

Return migration was considered important because, for a large proportion of migrants, it was said to represent the last stage of the migration process and the attainment of the ultimate migration goal. Information on migrants returning to the metropolitan area of Barcelona who were heads of house? by family

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because

considerations, 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 cycle in which returning migrants found themselves made interpretation of these results difficult. Most female migrants returning to Greece were also found to do so

of family considerations. However, while upon emigration men had usually preceded women, upon return, women were more likely to migrate first. Heterogeneity among Greek returnees was found to be associated with the different destinations they were returning from. A number of measures aimed at aiding returnees were discussed. It was suggested that legal advice in family matters be provided, especially for women who, having married foreigners, returned after a divorce and needed to secure family allowances. Mention was made of the need to reduce bureaucratic and financial barriers to resettlement, to facilitate currency transfers at a fair rate of exchange and to aid returnees in validating studies or other training obtained abroad. It was recognized that special services for returnees would be difficult to implement 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 family members, mainly their husbands. Their principal destinations were Ghana or Europe. Migration had generally occurred several years before interview and women varied in their assessment of the benefits derived from it. A few had worked to help their husbands study abroad and had been deserted upon return. Female returnees felt that their status had been reduced drastically upon return. This assessment was ascribed to re-adaptation problems they faced after having acquired Conclusion and new norms and attitudes abroad. Recommendations

A set of recommendations to guide government action regarding migrant women was adopted by the meeting. Governments were urged to make an assessment

of the effects on migrant women of current migration policies, legislation and regulations, and to modify those that were found to produce also high? negative outcomes for female migrants. The recommendations vulnerable the needs of lighted migrant women belonging to especially groups, including the elderly, those involved in domestic service and refu? to ensure the equal access of legally admitted migrant gees. Measures women to the labor market and to welfare and social services were recom? mended. Special attention was given to the needs of women engaging in temporary worker migration. In addition, governments of receiving coun-

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positive aspects of migration. Even in cases where the status of migrant women could not be said to improve in an objective manner, at the subjective level women often assessed their experience as positive. Furthermore, in most instances migrant women proved to be active agents of change and adaptation, rather than passive victims of circumstances. Being intent in improving their own standing and that of their families, migrant women deserved recognition for the important roles they played in the migration process.

tries were urged to ensure that offers of equal opportunities for legalization to male and female undocumented migrants were standardized and regu? lated. The meeting was closed by underscoring the need to keep in sight the

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