Gendered Migrations. Towards gender sensitive policies in the UK. Working paper 6 of the 'Asylum and Migration' series

Article

This working paper examines the factors that underlie the neglect of gender and the consequences of this neglect for our understanding of migration processes and outcomes.

Migrants and the migration process are implicitly - and sometimes explicitly - assumed to be male. From analyses of economic migration and its impacts on the labour market through to assumptions about the persecution of politically active men, the description of the factors underlying migration to the UK, the experiences of migrants themselves and the costs and benefits that they bring to our society and economy are based on a model of male migration. Unfortunately, this model rarely, if ever, reflects the reality of what is actually going on.

Policy and practice relating to immigration control and management inevitably reflect and reinforce these tendencies. Whilst recent research has highlighted, in particular, the feminisation of labour flows and the need for an interpretation of the 1951 Refugee Convention that takes into account gendered experiences of persecution, the complex relationship between gender and migration remains relatively under researched or taken adequately into account in policymaking.

View the other papers in the series here. All are available free of charge.

Related items

  1. A group of teenage students wearing maroon t-shirts smiling and responding to a teacher during a rehearsal

    Rethinking child poverty through enrichment accounts

    Every child should have access to activities that build confidence, skills, and opportunity, regardless of income.
  2. The Houses of Parliament and Big Ben, River Thames and Westminster Bridge

    Taxing choices: Taking the public’s temperature ahead of the budget

    The stakes for a government are rarely higher than at a budget. Every chancellor has dealt with this differently. Ken Clarke would draft his budget speech with cigars and whisky, Gordon Brown pored over every word in what officials called…
  3. Scottish parliament building at Holyrood and Calton Hill, Edinburgh

    Great expectations: Rejuvenating the national debate in Scotland

    Fresh IPPR Scotland polling shows that politicians must raise their game if next year’s election is a to be serious debate about the challenges facing Scotland and potential solutions.