New Migrations of Women: Objective Trends and Subjective Experiences. The Case of Immigrants in Poland Cover Image

Nowe migracje kobiet – obiektywne trendy i subiektywne doświadczenia. Przypadek imigrantek w Polsce
New Migrations of Women: Objective Trends and Subjective Experiences. The Case of Immigrants in Poland

Author(s): Krystyna Slany
Subject(s): Social Sciences
Published by: Instytut Stosowanych Nauk Społecznych Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego
Keywords: transnational migration; labour market; globalization; women in new migrations; labour in informal domestic sector

Summary/Abstract: The article has two objectives. On the one hand, it adopts a gender perspective with the aim of highlighting objective trends and characteristics of the so-called new migrations of women with reference to the transformations of the global labour market. On the other hand, on the basis of a qualitative research carried out as part of the EU project FeMiPol, it reports on the experiences of female immigrants in Poland, e.g. with regard to labour market situation, discrimination and integration. Combined analyses based on both the “dry” and the “wet” style present gender in migrations as a derivative of an interactional situation occurring between various global, macro-social, micro-social and individual conditions, creating as a result a complex, multilayer range of migration problems. The FeMiPol research documents the opposition between social exclusion and integration of female immigrants and provides insight into the dynamics of integration through the labour market. At least three dimensions of social discrimination of female immigrants can be distinguished: a) discrimination due to a gender segmentation of the labour market, b) discrimination due to national origin (coming from a poor country, which activates stereotypes and prejudice, emphasizes the significance of the cultural difference), and c) discrimination due to being a female migrant. The qualitative research contributes to the development and strengthening of critical reflection on the socially and culturally constructed roles, relations and gender patterns in migrations.

  • Issue Year: 2012
  • Issue No: 13 (1)
  • Page Range: 27-56
  • Page Count: 30
  • Language: Polish