3.1.3.

Contributions of migrant women

Immigrant women contributed to the society in many ways. According to “United

Nations Population Division reckons that almost between 48% to 49% of all international

migrants were women. In the developed regions, the proportion of women among foreign

migrants reached 51%”.

The structure of the labor market in the new world order has resulted in two different

patterns. Women are increasingly moving into the 'household' economy, such as hospitality and

care work, and into previously male-dominated sectors, such as agriculture. In developed

countries, the demand for such jobs is steadily increasing, but women's contribution is not

particularly valued (Majumdar, 2017).

By helping to fill gaps in the labor force, women have increased the working age population and

contributed to technical and human capital. They have also used their non-technical skills to

offset declining tax revenues due to an ageing population and to help older people affected by

cuts in health spending. For Example, In the Philippines, the third largest remittance-receiving

country in the world, the female migrant workers are the breadwinners for their families.

In Indonesia and the Philippines, for example, migrant women are widely presented as

economic heroines who contribute to the national economy and supplement the budgets of poor

families. The prospect of being lifted out of poverty within a few years motivates many women

to work as domestic workers, for example in the Gulf countries.

Though women tend to migrate to Europe and North America. But with the changing world

order and the growth of new economies, this trend could change. Experts say that migration
flows from the northern hemisphere to the southern hemisphere will change as migrants move to

fast-growing economies in Asia, such as China and India.

Patriarchy being a universal system, although it takes different forms in different contexts

of every country. Although migrant women's experiences are very different, much of the policy

debate on gender equality and migration is caught up in generalizations, stereotypes, and

misunderstandings about the very different ways in which gender relations are organized in

different societies (Bastia. 2019, & Piper's.). Migrant women respond to opportunities in local,

national, regional, and global labor markets that are shaped by gender norms and inequalities.

Several other factors limit the potential benefits of women's migration. Limited access to

information and support networks prevents women from accessing decent work and successfully

exercising their labor rights. The high cost of formal remittance services and the insecurity

associated with informal remittances can significantly reduce income and increase financial risk.

In addition, women workers may not have control over how their money is spent or how much

they send once it is remitted. Both factors reduce the benefits that women's households and

families derive from their earnings (Orozco 2007, Hennebry, 2008).

Upon return, women may be exposed to prejudice and lack of integration services and

employment opportunities, which can have a negative impact on them and their dependents.

Restrictive laws and practices affecting women's access to and control over property may limit

their ability to invest or acquire property in their home country. Limited access to financial

services and products in home and destination countries, lack of financial education, and

inadequate support for capacity building, investment and income diversification may also

prevent women from turning their income into tangible and realizable gains. These factors, often
intertwined with gender norms and stereotypes, prevent migrant women from fully realizing the

benefits of migration and limit their contribution to the family and the economy.

In the context of global supply chains, social remittances are more complex, especially in

terms of gender norms, and in Social Remittances we develop the idea that the contribution of

women migrant workers can go beyond the act of remittance. There has been little research or

reporting on social remittances, which are transfers of practices, norms, identities, and social

capital. Moreover, social remittances are not as predictable and difficult to measure as economic

ones. For example, if a new source of income improves a woman's status within her family or

community, she may have more influence not only over how she spends her money, but also

over other important decisions that she was previously excluded from. The social and political

benefits of women's labor migration depend to a large extent on women's experiences and on

women themselves. The structural barriers to the empowerment of women migrant workers are

the same gender and cultural norms or misguided policies that prevent women from realizing the

social and political benefits of migration.

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Levitt, P. (2001). The Transnational Villagers. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of

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Temin, M. et al.: Adolescent Girls and Migration in the Developing World Policy Brief,

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http://www.popcouncil.org/research/girls-on-the-moveadolescent-girls-migration-in-the-

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