New UN report on role of women in development looks at women migrants and the financial crisis

The 2009 report of the World Survey on the Role of Women in Development has just been released, focusing on emerging development issues that have an impact on the role of women in the economy. The following are some migration-related concerns addressed by the report.

[UN] The Report finds that while migration and the ability to remit can be empowering for women, the costs also have to be kept in mind. Many women migrants face long working hours and increased financial obligations. The increase in professional smuggling means that some women who believe that they are migrating to legitimate occupations find themselves trapped into forced prostitution, domestic service and sweatshop labour under conditions that resemble bonded labour.

Today, there is a significant international migration of women to undertake care-giving roles, as both domestic and public sector workers, particularly to countries where the care crisis has generated a high demand for care workers.

Most care work remains unpaid and continues to be classified as a non-economic activity, despite the important debate about the inclusion of unpaid work in national income accounts. Women’s care responsibilities directly affect their choices in the labour market. Changes in demographics in rapidly ageing societies and in the context of HIV/AIDS have increased the need for care and expanded the focus of care from children to the elderly and to adults of prime working age. In addition, urbanization and migration, which have weakened the traditional family support system, and the growth of single-headed households have further increased the burden of care work.

Investments in education also need to address the human capital and capability deficits of the current generation of working women. Poor women who missed out on the expansion of educational opportunities may find themselves unemployed, or trapped in jobs with few promotion opportunities because of their lack of education and skills. Increased education and training for women can also increase their opportunities for migration under skilled-migration schemes. Skills development should also address deskilling and skill erosion among migrant women. The report suggests that a variety of approaches, including non-formal education, technical and vocational training, agricultural extension services, workplace training, lifelong learning and training in new technologies, are needed to assist such women in searching for better jobs.

Cost-sharing of desirable gender-specific provisions between employers, employees and government would simultaneously reduce gender-based discrimination and dampen negative wage effects. In some countries, efforts have been made to limit female migration in an attempt to protect women from the abuse they may encounter in the labour market, particularly as domestic workers. The laws are intended to protect the workers, but also risk limiting women’s mobility and access to employment.

There are strong arguments for promoting women’s access to and control over essential resources to ensure productivity and security of livelihood strategies. Women play an active role in agriculture and rural livelihoods as unpaid family labour, independent farmers and wage labour, often without access to land, credit and other productive assets. Women’s role in agriculture and rural development has increased in some areas as a result of male migration. Women make up a growing percentage of the rural labour force in many countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America.

Lack of access to and control over land and property has been increasingly linked to poverty, migration, urbanization, violence and HIV/AIDS. The report finds that there is growing evidence that increasing women’s access to immoveable resources can have multiple benefits for women themselves and for their families and communities, both in terms of productivity gains and welfare benefits, including in relation to children’s health and education.

Read the full report online here: http://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/64/93