Gender and International Migration: Does Gender Matter? Discuss in the context of changing patterns of global migration and our need to more fully understand the impact of migration of men and women on countries of origin and destination.

GENDER AND IMMIGRATION : A GROWING CONCERN

INTRODUCTION

This research firmly believes that international migration indeed improves the lives of people , reverses the social indignation into a harmonious relationship and plays a good role in both parties- the sending and the receiving nations . Because of this , international migration really rocketed tremendously knowing that there are many opportunities given to other receiving nations . However , in the past few decades where migration increased at a tremendous rate , there are actually very limited or no set of rules addressing the concept of gender in

international migration . Gender is one big aspect in the said phenomenon and it receives a great impact because of the unending flow of workers across nations . It is important to take a look at how gender can be affected so as to further comprehend how international migration greatly affects men and women , because of the immigration legislation gender-selective demand for foreign labor , and changing gender relations in countries of origin (Carling , 2005

More specifically , international migration makes a greater effect on women because of the notion that this world wide phenomenon is turning feminized from the previously manly act . Today , the feminization of migration has increased at a global level (Castles and Miller , 2003 ) and in the past few years , the number of female migrants is in roughly equal proportion to that of male migrants . Migration does offer women a greater chance of earning autonomy , self-confidence and a higher status in the society (Jolly and Reeves , 2005 . However , there are also stigmas which these female migrants might experience such as verbal and physical abuse , sex abuse and slavery , low payment from employers , unjust treatment and breach of contracts . Because of this , it is necessary that we address the need of these migrants and cover them up with international policies so as to prevent these kinds of abuse they might experience as they chase their ambitions abroad

THE STATUS OF GENDER IN INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION

The introduction of the term gender is for the purpose of emphasizing the difference between socially and biologically established sex . It is through gender in which institutionalized asymmetries are created and experienced by many . The gender of a person identifies his social responsibilities , behaviors , values , activities and expectations in a certain society . Gender enters the phenomena of international migration since it involves the motivation of men and women to migrate on other nations for economic purposes , and the like

Last 2000 , international migration statistics reports that there were 175 million migrants worldwide (IOM , 2005 . The world-wide notion of migration is that is a predominantly male act . Before , it is said that female migrants are invisible and that their act of migration is not that comparable to that of males . Occurrences of women migration is less taken into consideration since many deem it as a simple following of patterns to that of men (Koffman , 1999 . But then , since 1960 , the gap between male and female migrants closed in and reached an estimate that there are 49 women...