Why might two people, leaving the same country, with similar resources, experience very different migration journeys? The answer lies, in particular, in gender. Gender influences the reasons for leaving, access to information, migration routes, risks involved in the journey, available employment opportunities, family relationships and avenues for integration. Understanding migration therefore requires looking not only at who is moving, but also at the conditions under which they do so and the constraints they face.
Migration is often portrayed through aggregate figures: the number of migrants, countries of origin, destinations, money transfers or asylum applications. Whilst these data are crucial, they can overshadow significant differences between the experiences of women, men, girls and boys.
According to the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), gender plays a role at every stage of the migration cycle, from the decision to move to integration in the country of destination or return. Gender stereotypes, unequal access to information, the digital divide and access to regular migration channels are among the main challenges identified.
The issue is therefore not whether women migrate more or less than men, but rather to appreciate how gender dynamics shape their migration pathways.
Gender Comes into Play Even Before Departure
The first difference may emerge in the country of origin. Migration decisions are not always informed by the same circumstances depending on whether the person is a woman or a man. In some societies, women have fewer economic resources, fewer employment opportunities or more restricted freedom of movement. They may also have greater household responsibilities.
Conversely, in other circumstances, migration can be a strategy by which a woman achieves economic empowerment, enabling her to find work, transfer money to her family or pay for her children’s education.
UN Women therefore points out that gender-based economic and occupational inequalities may themselves contribute to the decision to emigrate. Some women become the main breadwinners for their families and choose to leave precisely to make ends meet.
We must therefore not systematically portray migrant women as coerced or passive. They may experience real vulnerabilities whilst remaining fully in control of their decision.
UN Women also emphasises the need to recognise the autonomy and agency of migrant women in migration policies.
Access to Information is Not Universal
Before setting off, access to reliable information can help ensure a safe migration. What procedure should be followed? Which visa apply for? What documents should be obtained? What employment contract should be entered into? What are a migrant worker’s rights? Who should one turn to in the occurrence of a problem?
This information is not always equally accessible. IOM identifies differences in access to information and the digital divide as key issues surrounding the relationship between gender and migration.
A woman who does not have unrestricted access to the internet, a bank account, a personal phone or a professional network may find herself more dependent on relatives, middlemen or recruiters.
This lack of autonomy may have serious repercussions if the information provided is incomplete or misleading.
This is why information programmes aimed at migrants must take women’s specific needs into consideration. A guide published in 2025 by IOM and UN Women recommends, in particular, making information and guidance programmes more gender-sensitive at every stage of labour migration including from recruitment through pre-departure preparation, arrival, employment and to return.
Migration Routes May Differ
Gender also shapes how people move. When regular routes are hard to access, some women may be more likely to face the risks associated with irregular routes. UN Women highlights that the lack of safe and regular options can make some women and girls prone to taking dangerous routes, where they may be at risk of trafficking, gender-based violence, kidnapping or exploitation. This does not mean that all migrant women travel on dangerous routes or that men are spared such risks.
Rather, the key point is that the same migration policies can have gender-specific consequences. A border closure, a restrictive visa procedure or the lack of regular migration routes are not merely administrative hurdles. They can alter migration routes and increase dependence on middlemen.
Inequalities Also Travel in the Labour Market
Once they reach their destination, migrant women do not necessarily begin their professional careers on an equal footing with men.
The industries in which they work are heavily influenced by traditional gender divisions of labour.
Domestic work and caregiving activities are a particularly significant example of this.
The International Labour Organisation (ILO) notes that migrant women are heavily represented in domestic and care work, notably because the rising demand for domestic and care services has contributed to the increasing feminisation of certain forms of labour migration.
An ILO publication on migrant workers in the care economy also highlights the strong presence of migrant women in this sector and the persistent challenges regarding decent work and protection.
ILO data show that in 2022, 28.8% of employed migrant women worked in the care economy, compared with 12.4% of migrant men. In other segments, women accounted for 35% of migrant workers, compared with 65% for men.
This occupational concentration can lead to vulnerability when jobs are informal, poorly paid or inadequately protected by Labour laws.
Migration Can Also Strengthen Economic Empowerment
Migration may also provide women with opportunities that were not available in their country of origin: paid employment, financial independence, skills development, business start-ups or the ability to play a greater role in family decision-making.
The ILO describes migration as a pathway to prosperity for many women, particularly those who leave low-paid jobs in search of better opportunities. This aspect is important to avoid a portrayal of migrant women that victimises them exclusively.
A migrant woman may both be subjected to discrimination and be an agent of her own economic transformation.
When Gender Combines with Origin or Nationality
A migrant woman may also encounter discrimination linked to her nationality, ethnic origin, skin colour, language or religion. In this context, UN Women refers to intersectional discrimination where multiple systems of inequality can intersect and give rise to more complex forms of discrimination.
An African migrant woman, for example, may encounter obstacles arising from her migration status, gender, nationality and racial background simultaneously. This reality helps explain why one-size-fits-all policies are not always sufficient.
A measure presented as ‘gender-neutral’ may have distinct impacts depending on the groups concerned.
Family Reunification and Household Responsibilities
Gender also factors into family relationships during migration.
Women are still largely associated with the responsibility of caring for children, the elderly or otherwise dependent family members.
This reality can weigh into their decision to leave, their ability to take up employment, their choice of destination and their ability to remain in the host country.
It can also lead to long-distance motherhood or parenthood, where parents migrate whilst their children remain in the country of origin. Migration can disrupt the distribution of family responsibilities, intergenerational relationships and the roles normally assigned to women and men.
Gender Also Affects Integration
Simply arriving in a new country does not mean that the challenges of migration come to an end.
Integration particularly depends on access to housing, employment, healthcare, education, social services and participation in community life.
Women may meet specific constraints in several of these areas.
Language barriers, family responsibilities, the recognition of credentials and workplace discrimination can narrow their access to jobs that fit their skills.
The ILO reports that migrant women have lower employment rates than migrant men. In its global data for 2022, the employment-to-population ratio was 48.1 per cent for migrant women, compared with 72.8 per cent for migrant men.
This figure obviously does not suggest that gender is the sole cause of this difference. The ILO also highlights language barriers, the non-recognition of qualifications, discrimination and a lack of childcare provision as possible explanations.
Men, Too, Are Affected by Gender Norms
Addressing migration and gender does not mean focusing solely on women. Social norms also have an impact on men’s life trajectories. In certain circumstances, men may feel under intense social pressure to become the household’s main economic provider. This expectation can lead them to accept jobs that may be dangerous, demanding or underpaid.
Gender therefore influences the experiences of all migrants, even if the forms of vulnerability are not identical. This is exactly why IOM recommends an approach that is not confined to women, but seeks to understand gender-related barriers and inequalities throughout the entire migration cycle.
A Key Issue for African Migration Dynamics
The approach is of particular relevance to African States. African women migrate within the continent and to other parts of the world to work, study, join their families or seek better standards of living.
Analysing the volume of departures and arrivals alone is therefore not enough. We must also ask: Who is leaving? Under what conditions? With what information? By what routes? For what jobs? With what rights? And what happens once they arrive? These questions help us move beyond a purely quantitative view of migration to a more nuanced understanding of migration dynamics.
