Women on the Move: The Gendered Reality of Migrant Work

Migration is said to be a decision to have better wages, security or possibilities. It is also a survival tactic among many women, freeing them out of debt, unemployment, weather pressures, or even violence. However, travelling can make inequality even more. Women migrant workers are concentrated in domestic work, caregiving, garments, hospitality, and informal services, where regulation is weak and power is unequal. They may face recruitment deception, wage theft, isolation, and harassment—risks shaped by gender as much as by immigration status. Understanding this gendered reality is essential to building fair labour migration systems.

Why women migrate—and where they work

Women move within and outside of the country to work in order to support families, finance education or become independent. Nevertheless, the work opportunities that are offered tend to reflect gender roles: caring, cleaning, food processing, and domestic labour. Such positions may be untraceable to the inspector and not explored by the usual labour regulations, and they form a funnel into low-paid and precarious labour.

The gendered risks in labour migration

The initial place of exploitation can be during the recruitment. There are women who pay high fees, sign contracts that they do not understand or are promised a job and then they are given a different job. Some of the risks once utilized include the possibility of not being issued passports, uncompensated overtime, limited movement and punishment on reporting of abuse. For domestic workers, the workplace is a private home, where isolation makes it harder to seek help.

Gender also shapes exposure to harassment and violence, especially when workers depend on employers for housing, transport, or visa sponsorship. Where grievances jeopardize revenues or legal position, it is silence and not assent.

Read more: Women Migrant Workers Take the Lead: Gender-Responsive Advocacy & Fair Recruitment in Indonesia

Documentation, status, and unequal power

Immigration regulations tend to bind the right of a worker to remain to a particular employer. That dependency can undermine basic migrant worker rights—including freedom to change jobs, organize, or access justice. Women in informal or seasonal employment even in the same country may not have any ID documents, bank accounts, or even access to childcare, and they thus remain stuck in cash payments and oral contracts.

What real protection looks like

It won’t be easy to win fairer outcomes without taking actions throughout the chain. One possible action by the state is regulating recruiters while also putting a limit on or prohibiting worker-paid fees and extending labour law protections to domestic and informal work. Another contribution of the employers may be, for instance, providing written contracts, safe housing along with zero-tolerance harassment policies with independent reporting. In addition, unions and community groups could provide legal aid, shelters, and multilingual helplines as well. Making gendered migration the central issue of policy turns “mobility” into dignity thus making women migrant workers able to move for opportunities rather than being pushed into harm.

Disclaimer: Stay informed on human rights and the real stories behind laws and global decisions. Follow updates on labour rights and everyday workplace realities. Learn about the experiences of migrant workers, and explore thoughtful conversations on work-life balance and fair, humane ways of working.