CITIZENSHIP, MIGRATION AND GENDER: Polish migrant women in the UK and Poland

Ewa Duda-MikulinPhD Student/GTASocial Policy DepartmentE.A.Duda-Mikulin@edu.salford.ac.uk

• Accession 8 (A8) migration to the UK has been studied extensively over the last few years

• Migration from the new EU member states to the UK has been one of the most significant social phenomena of recent times

The UK and Accession 8 (A8) migration

Ewa Duda-Mikulin

• Evidence suggests that migrant women constitute a large proportion of international migrants

• When considering migration within the European context, migrant women already outnumber their male counterparts

Feminisation of Migration

Picture by Flickr CC, Author: The U.S. National ArchivesEwa Duda-Mikulin

Evidence suggests that characterising women as passive followers of migrant men is flawed

Picture by Flickr CC, Author: Richard Loyal FrenchEwa Duda-Mikulin

• Gender is one of the oldest, if not the oldest, forces shaping human life and, accordingly, it influences migration and migrants’ lives.

• Nonetheless, gender has been regularly sidelined in scholarly research on international migration over the past 100 years.

(Pessar & Mahler, 2003, p. 812)

Ewa Duda-Mikulin

• Gender and gender roles, in particular in relation to A8 migration, remain an under-researched area

Picture by Flickr CC, Author: Nationaal ArchiefEwa Duda-Mikulin

Aim: to explore the impact of the migratory

process on gender roles of Polish migrant women

Picture by Flickr, Author: The Library of CongressEwa Duda-Mikulin

• Can migration be a catalyst for change in traditional gender roles?

• How do Polish migrant women negotiate their gender roles across time and space in regard to work and welfare responsibilities when exercising their rights as EU citizens?

Picture by Flickr, Author: The Library of Congress

Ewa Duda-Mikulin

• Are gender roles reconfigured through the migratory process?

- care- paid work

Picture by Flickr CC, Author: doc 1, Don O-Brien

Ewa Duda-Mikulin

Methodology:

Ewa Duda-Mikulin

• Feminist methodology• Qualitative, in-depth, semi-structured interviews

• Research questions:1. To what extent are Polish migrant women’s lives gendered?

2. Has the migratory process affected Polish migrant women’s gender roles, and if so, in what way?

3. How, if at all, has migration impacted on Polish migrant women’s roles as carers and workers? How do they manage their roles over time and space?

• Sample: 2 groups of women:

1) – Polish migrant women in the UK - migrants

2) – Polish migrant women in Poland – returnees

Ewa Duda-Mikulin

PhD Student/GTA

Department of Social Policy

Email: E.A.Duda-Mikulin@edu.salford.ac.uk

Website: http://salford.academia.edu/EwaDudaMikulin

Twitter: @EwaDudaMikulin

Picture by Flickr CC, Author: woodleywonderworks

• Boyd, M. & Grieco, E. (2003). Women and Migration: Incorporating Gender into International Migration Theory, Migration Information Source, Retrieved 30 April, 2012, from: http://www.migrationinformation.org/Feature/display.cfm?id=106

• Castles, S. & Miller, M. (2003). Introduction. In S. Castles & M. Miller, The Age of Migration. International Population Movements in the Modern World, (3rd ed.) (pp. 1-20). Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

• Dwyer, P. (2010). Understanding Social Citizenship. Themes and perspectives for policy and practice. Bristol: The Policy Press.

• Kindler, M., Kordasiewicz, A., Napieraƚa, J., Szulecka, M., Redondo Toronjo, D. & White, A. (2010). Migracje kobiet: przypadek Polski. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Naukowe SCHOLAR.

• Kofman, E. (2004). Gendered Global Migrations: Diversity and Stratification. International Feminist Journal of Politics, 6(4), pp. 643-665. doi: 10.1080/1461674042000283408

• Kofman, E. (1999). Female ‘birds of passage’ a decade later: Gender and immigration in the European Union. [Electronic version]. The International Migration Review, 33(2), pp. 269-299.

• Lister, R. (forthcoming). Citizenship and Gender. In K. Nash & A. Scott (eds.) Blackwell Companion to Political Sociology. Blackwell.

• Morokvasic, M. (2004). ‘Settled in Mobility’: Engendering Post-Wall Migration in Europe. [Electronic version]. Feminist Review, 77, pp. 7-25.

• Pessar, R. & Mahler, S.J. (2003). Transnational Migration: Bringing Gender in. [Electronic version]. International Migration Review, 37(3), pp. 812-846.

• Phizacklea, A. (1983). Introduction. In: A. Phizacklea (eds), One Way Ticket. Migration and Female Labour (pp. 1-13). London: Routledge & Kegan Paul plc.

• Zlotnik, H. (2003). The Global Dimensions of Female Migration, Migration Information Source. Retrieved 9 November, 2011, from: http://www.migrationinformation.org/feature/display.cfm?ID=109

References & further reading: