Relevance of gender in the policy area

Pages3-3
1. Relevance of gend er in the policy area
Sectoral Brief: Gender and Migration 3
1. Relevance of gender in the policy area
Around seven per cent of the total population living
in the EU Member States are born outside of the
EU, and half of them are women and girls. Work,
study and reuniting with family memb ers, as well
as different forms of persecution, are common rea-
sons motivating both women and men to migrate
and live in other countries. Migration can bring
new opportunities to migrants and their families .
Especially in societies where women are limited
in their mobility decisions, the act of migration,
when voluntary, is in itself empowering. It may
stimulate change in the women themselves and
in the sending and receiving societies. However,
there is also an adverse side to migration.
Women migrants, refugees and asylum seekers
face different risks and insecuritie s in the different
stages of the migration process from those faced
by men. Women refugees and asylum seekers
are considered as categories in most vulnerable
situations, requiring a prompt and effective pro-
tection response as they are at a higher risk of
gender-based violence, including trafficking for
sexual exploitation and forced marriage. While
some studies show that highly skilled wo men tend
to migrate more than men, women born outside
the EU experience high inactivit y rates and worse
employment outcomes than men migrants. Wom en
migrants are disproportionately represented in
lower paid occupations and work in the informal
economy, such as domestic work and care work,
where human right s abuses are commonplace.
Negative media representation of migrant women’s
oppression can fuel racism and xenophobia and
reinforce stereotypes that stigmatise them. In
the context of restrictive immigration policies,
the representation of migrants – and especially
Muslim women – as vulnerable, passive victims of
patriarchal cultures, has opened up a space for
co-opting or instrumentalising women’s rights
and gender equality.
Gender is a crucial variable when looking into
the policy area of migration. The lack of a gender
perspective in migration, as ylum and integra-
tion policies can have detrimental effec ts on the
women and men on the move. Whether they are
forced to move, migrate on voluntary basis or
their reasons for migration are a combination of
the two, women and men, girl and boy migrants
are a highly heterogeneous group and a careful
analysis of gender as a basis and source of dis-
crimination cannot neglect or overlook diversity
of experiences. Women and men migrants ex-
perience intersectional discrimination based on
multiple factors including gender identit y, sexual
orientation, migration status, age and class.
The main gender inequality issues related to mi-
gration status in the EU are:
labour market participation, deskilling and the
informal economy;
family reunification;
international protection;
gender-based violence.

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