This book examines the vulnerability caused by migration, in particular, the vulnerability of women that may cause forced migration, and the ways in which this is dealt with by national authorities in affluent European states. It explores transnational migration, gender and human rights, migration regimes, and anti-trafficking efforts in Norway.

From its beginnings in the 1970s and 1980s, interest towards the topic of gender and migration has grown. Gender and Migration seeks to introduce the most relevant sociological theories of gender relations and migration that consider ongoing transnationalization processes, at the beginning of the third millennium. These include intersectionality, queer studies, social inequality theory and the theory of transnational migration and citizenship; all of which are brought together and illustrated by means of various empirical examples. With its explicit focus on the gendered structures of migration-sending and migration-receiving countries, Gender and Migration builds on the most current conceptual tool of gender studies—intersectionality—which calls for collective research on gender with analysis of class, ethnicity/race, sexuality, age and other axes of inequality in the context of transnational migration and mobility. The book also includes descriptions of a number of recommended films that illustrate transnational migrant masculinities and femininities within and outside of Europe. A refreshing attempt to bring in considerations of gender theory and sexual identity in the area of gender migration studies, this insightful volume will appeal to students and researchers interested in fields such as sociology, social anthropology, political science, intersectional studies and transnational migration.

The last decades have shown an increase in the migration from poor and conflict ridden states to the affluent peaceful north. Part of this migration is constituted by refugees and asylum seekers, while the other part, grossly put, is constituted by labour migrants who seek to improve their lives and future prospects through their work power. There are of course not only push factors causing migrants to leave, but also pull factors as when the middle classes enjoy an increase in their living standards which cause them to employ domestic help in their homes. Different regulations apply for migrants within different national contexts and also within the same nation and have different impact on the migrants' manoeuvring possibilities and rights, and may leave them vulnerable to exploitation. As migration is gendered in that different motivations often exist for men and women, so are the possibilities that are offered, exemplified by the fact that very many women migrate as domestic workers, as nannies, or as au pairs, yet basically perform the same duties but are defined differently according to the rules that apply. As the work the female migrants perform is very often and traditionally regarded as 'women's work' it does not qualify as 'real work' and, consequently, it is not necessary to pay them a proper salary. This book examines the vulnerability caused by migration or rather the fact that the vulnerability of women may cause a forced migration and the ways in which this is dealt with by national authorities in affluent European states.

In 2006, the United Nations reported on the “feminization” of migration, noting that the number of female migrants had doubled over the last five decades. Likewise, global awareness of issues like human trafficking and the exploitation of immigrant domestic workers has increased attention to the gender makeup of migrants. But are women really more likely to migrate today than they were in earlier times? In Gender and International Migration, sociologist and demographer Katharine Donato and historian Donna Gabaccia evaluate the historical evidence to show that women have been a significant part of migration flows for centuries. The first scholarly analysis of gender and migration over the centuries, Gender and International Migration demonstrates that variation in the gender composition of migration reflect not only the movements of women relative to men, but larger shifts in immigration policies and gender relations in the changing global economy. While most research has focused on women migrants after 1960, Donato and Gabaccia begin their analysis with the fifteenth century, when European colonization and the transatlantic slave trade led to large-scale forced migration, including the transport of prisoners and indentured servants to the Americas and Australia from Africa and Europe. Contrary to the popular conception that most of these migrants were male, the authors show that a significant portion were women. The gender composition of migrants was driven by regional labor markets and local beliefs of the sending countries. For example, while coastal ports of western Africa traded mostly male slaves to Europeans, most slaves exiting east Africa for the Middle East were women due to this region’s demand for female reproductive labor. Donato and Gabaccia show how the changing immigration policies of receiving countries affect the gender composition of global migration. Nineteenth-century immigration restrictions based on race, such as the Chinese Exclusion Act in the United States, limited male labor migration. But as these policies were replaced by regulated migration based on categories such as employment and marriage, the balance of men and women became more equal – both in large immigrant-receiving nations such as the United States, Canada, and Israel, and in nations with small immigrant populations such as South Africa, the Philippines, and Argentina. The gender composition of today’s migrants reflects a much stronger demand for female labor than in the past. The authors conclude that gender imbalance in migration is most likely to occur when coercive systems of labor recruitment exist, whether in the slave trade of the early modern era or in recent guest-worker programs. Using methods and insights from history, gender studies, demography, and other social sciences, Gender and International Migration shows that feminization is better characterized as a gradual and ongoing shift toward gender balance in migrant populations worldwide. This groundbreaking demographic and historical analysis provides an important foundation for future migration research.

From a multi-sited ethnography with Swedish migrant women in the United States, Singapore and Spain, the book explores gender vulnerabilities and racial and class privilege in contemporary feminized migration, filling a gap in literature on race and migration.

Increasing interconnections between nation-states across borders have rendered the transnational a key tool for understanding our world. It has made particularly strong contributions to immigration studies and holds great promise for deepening insights into international migration. This is the first book to provide an accessible yet rigorous overview of transnational migration, as experienced by family and kinship groups, networks of entrepreneurs, diasporas and immigrant associations. As well as defining the core concept, it explores the implications of transnational migration for immigrant integration and its relationship to assimilation. By examining its political, economic, social, and cultural dimensions, the authors capture the distinctive features of the new immigrant communities that have reshaped the ethno-cultural mix of receiving nations, including the US and Western Europe. Importantly, the book also examines the effects of transnationality on sending communities, viewing migrants as agents of political and economic development. This systematic and critical overview of transnational migration perfectly balances theoretical discussion with relevant examples and cases, making it an ideal book for upper-level students covering immigration and transnational relations on sociology, political science, and globalization courses.

By linking the experiences of immigrant families with the increased reliance on cheap and flexible workers for care and domestic work in Southern Europe, this study documents the lived experiences of neglected actors of globalization — migrant women — as well as the transformations of Western families more generally. However, while describing in detail the structural and cultural contexts within which these women have to operate, the book questions dominant paradigms about women as passive victims of patriarchal structures and brings out instead their agency and the creative ways in which they take control of their lives in often difficult circumstances. Based on extensive ethnographic fieldwork and interviews, the author offers a valuable dual comparison between two Southern European countries on the one hand and between two migrant groups, one Christian and one Muslim, on the other, thus bringing to light unique detailed data on migration decision-making, settlement and on the multiple ways in which different women cope with the consequences of their transnational lives.