Gendering Migration

Abstract

This chapter sets out to highlight the importance of understanding gender in the study of marriage and migration. It will be argued that the critical work of feminist scholars such as Eleonore Kofman (1999; Kofman et al. 2000) and Patricia Pessar and Sarah Mahler (2001; Mahler and Pessar 2006) among many others, has demonstrated the importance of gender as a key, but often under-estimated, factor in understanding migration. It has been argued since the 1980s that the value of gendered perspectives on migration has not so much been unknown or under-studied, as overlooked and neglected by policy-makers (Kofman 1999). This neglect continues today as while policy-makers and legislators commonly advocate ‘gender guidelines’, there remains a tendency for ‘gender’ to stand for ‘women’ and for the more subtle lessons of gender-sensitive research to be ignored. Gender identity, conceptualised as a socially and culturally produced construct that is durable but not immutable (McNay 2000), informs the decision-making of individuals and guides the actions of men, women and their communities. This chapter will argue for the importance of gender-sensitive research and policy and will consider how understandings of gender roles inform how marriage is seen in different cultures.