THE GENDER FACE OF LABOUR MIGRATION- URGENT NEED TO ENGENDER LABOUR MIGRATION POLICIES

By Eunice Chipangula

In view of globalization, migration is likely to increase in future, so too the need to come up with a comprehensive labour market information system and put in place policies to regulate or govern it. The International Labour Organisation (ILO) observes that with the increasing informality in the labour market, there is need for countries to have up to date data and put in place such policies as social protection to ensure the respect and promotion of rights of migrant workers. One such area that cannot be ignored when coming up with such information system and policies is the most vulnerable category of migrant workers that includes women, young workers and low income workers. These are either self-employed, in small and micro enterprises, in social/community services, transport, construction, agriculture, temporary, domestic and housework. Unfortunately the gender dimensions of migration have been largely ignored in Southern Africa. Judica Amir-Makhetha of the ILO office in Pretoria says gender issues need to be mainstreamed in the migration debate so that gender equality can be promoted through gender responsive policies.
“There is stereotyping and failure of accurate representation of migration issues pertaining to both men and women. The stereotypical face of migration in the SADC region is male (miners), the language used is male biased, there is lack of enough data for gender analysis and lack of understanding masculinity in the context of migrant work”, Ms Makhetha observed at the recent Labour administrators capacity building workshop on migration organized by ILO in Botswana.
Putting in place such policies will therefore ensure that the benefits of migration are maximized since such benefits will depend on the conditions of work and the protection of rights of these migrants.
According to the information from the UN population division, as of 2005, almost half of the 191million total migrants were women. The motivation behind their migration has been a search for better opportunities for decent work; famine, natural disasters; violent confli8ct or persecution; voluntary or forced migration including trafficking, international and internal displacement due to wars and conflict. Despite the effects migration has to both men and women, the extent of the effects on them is different. This is so because the gender element in this migration phenomenon is related to motivation to move, the migration processes itself, the condition migrants find on their arrival in the country of destination and that left behind in countries of origin. Research has confirmed that internationally, men are more mobile than women and it is women who are more often left behind; men’s migration is undertaken more independently than that by women who always think of who they have left behind; men’s migration is more often than not linked directly to access to employment; men move further and to a wider range of destinations and that women are disadvantaged by male out migration. In addition, migrant women have fewer employment opportunities than migrant men in destination labour markets; men migrate across a wide range of ages whereas female migrants tend to be young; and women maintain more enduring social and economic links between areas of origin and destination. Although statistics for the SADC region indicate that males predominate in cross border migration, the feminization trend of labour migration has seen a shift in reasons for women’s migration with more and more women becoming independent labour migrants. In 2001, it was established that more women in southern Africa migrated for the purpose of informal trading, shopping and visiting family and friends. They often see migration mainly as a strategy to allow them offer better living conditions to their families, whether in the country of origin or destination. In addition, the labour market is highly stratified by gender and provides very different in incentives and opportunities for labour migration by males and females. For instance, in the region, 99 percent of mine workers are male. There is no equivalent employment sector for women in which there is comparable ease for entry.
When it comes to discrimination, gender based norms and socio-cultural factors limit women’s economic opportunities, relegating women to low, semi-skilled and exploitable labour. This has been worsened with the transglobalisation of economies that has created a labour demand in low paying service sectors of developed economies. In addition, sex disaggregated labour markets continue to contribute to the increase of discriminative labour markets in countries of destination. This in the end leaves women migrants in unregulated sectors such as domestic work, farms and the sex industry. Women migrants are less likely to be awarded rights and possibilities for regular migrant status as compared to males since most legal channels of migration offer such opportunities to typically male dominated sectors. Again, as migrants, women get pushed into illegal channels or unprotected informal sector where exploitation and poor working conditions characterized with lack of information to protect themselves against offences and crimes is the order of the day. Worse still, migration policies and regulations for admission and entry currently in force advantage men than women.
It is in the context outlined that generally, women migrants are disadvantaged and more prone to abuse, exploitation than men and thereby heavily affected by the HIV and Aids pandemic. These issues must therefore be brought to the attention of policy makers in the region urgently to avoid aggravating social inequalities in the labour market.
The gender dimension of labour migration therefore needs to be fully explored to ensure adequate information and a comprehensive analysis on the ground. This will then inform the process of engendering migration policies and regulations so that gender responsive programmes in labour migration are undertaken.