Preliminary Programme

Wed 22 March
    8:30
    10:45
    14:15
    16:30

Thu 23 March
    8:30
    10:45
    14:15
    16:30

Fri 24 March
    8:30
    10:45
    14:15
    16:30

Sat 25 March
    8:30
    10:45
    14:15
    16:30

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Wednesday 22 March 2006 16:30
C-4 ETH23 Gender and Migration IV
Room C
Network: Ethnicity and Migration Chair: Margo Anderson
Organizers: - Discussants: -
Michelle Small : The Feminization of Migration and Labour Market Segmentation
The feminisation of migration is a further consequence of the feminisation of poverty, which continues to plague women in the developing world. This is indicative of a two-fold problem. Firstly, that many international initiatives and structural adjustment programmes that seek to address the root causes of the feminisation of poverty ... (Show more)
The feminisation of migration is a further consequence of the feminisation of poverty, which continues to plague women in the developing world. This is indicative of a two-fold problem. Firstly, that many international initiatives and structural adjustment programmes that seek to address the root causes of the feminisation of poverty remain gender blind and actually work to prolong and entrench the unequal political, social and economic status of women. This has ultimately resulted in the migration of women, or the 'feminization of migration' into informal domestic spheres of employment at a transnational level. Secondly, that state policy in the developing world still marginalizes women and where attempts have been made to rectify this they have not been enough to change the plight of the majority of women particularly in Sub Saharan Africa and South East Asia. The impact of HIV on the developing world has served to increase the number of female-headed households and deepen the extent of their poverty. All these factors have contributed towards increasing numbers of women migrant workers. Preliminary studies seem to indicate that the majority of women do not find better political, social and economic conditions in their new host countries as their poor education precludes them accessing better paying employment. Their vulnerable socio-economic condition also increases their exposure to exploitative labour practices and human trafficking. The aims of this research paper are threefold: to decipher whether migration really empowers women's socio-economic positions; to decipher the unique challenges migration pose to women and their households; and to offer a mind map of understanding the inter-linkages between the feminization and the criminalization of migration. (Show less)

Nikolina Sretenova : Female Scientists on the Move: Catching up Societies in Transition
The issue discussed in this paper lies on the crossroads of two disciplinary fields – gender studies and migration studies. It aims to fill the gap between these two subject matters with the expectation of possible cross-fertilization of both of them.

The rationale: The mainstream research in the gender studies field ... (Show more)
The issue discussed in this paper lies on the crossroads of two disciplinary fields – gender studies and migration studies. It aims to fill the gap between these two subject matters with the expectation of possible cross-fertilization of both of them.

The rationale: The mainstream research in the gender studies field still have not integrated the topic of female brain drain and female academic migration as a specific focus of interest within the theme of ‘women and science’. On their part the female academic migration or female brain drain however is beyond the scope of the migration studies. The mainstream research in the area of brain drain issues (belonging to the broader field of migration studies) still have not inserted the gender dimension as a particular aspect for investigation.

The ENWISE report of the EC reveals that the women scientists in the Central and Eastern European countries and the Baltic States, facing difficult economic situations are inclined to accept a job below their qualification and in general to work for lesser wages, which is rarely the case with their male counterparts. This flexibility of attitude towards the labour market in fact makes them prospective emigrants. In order to understand the female brain drain we are going to ask the following questions:
- What are the specific push and pull factors that motivate highly qualified women scientists and engineers in the SEE region to emigrate?
- Are they accepting jobs under their qualifications in the host country (e.g. Austria)?
- If the female scientists are on the move, what are the effects of this nomadic stile of life on their families and children? (It is not difficult to imagine that a child who is accompanying his/her mother on the move has to grow up and bring education in several different countries with different cultural milieu and traditions. It is not difficult to imagine who will return, when the elder members of the family, who have stayed in the country of origin, need help.)
- How the problems related with the so-called ‘dual academic career’ (i.e. both partners are scientists) are managed within the academic migration process?
The proposed topic is both innovative and challenging. (Show less)

Lambrini Styliou : The Albanian Family: Negotiating gendered ideologies and practices
This paper refers to Albanian migrant men and women living in Volos, a city in northeastern Europe. Albanians are the largest in number migrant population in Greece, which stands also for the city of Volos. Based on a research programme in progress and through the analysis of oral testimonies and ... (Show more)
This paper refers to Albanian migrant men and women living in Volos, a city in northeastern Europe. Albanians are the largest in number migrant population in Greece, which stands also for the city of Volos. Based on a research programme in progress and through the analysis of oral testimonies and fieldnotes’ material, this paper focuses on gendered practices and ideologies in the household level. However, leaving out the husband-wife relationship, I will try to move the discussion a little bit further, in the parents-children relationship. What gender ideologies and practices are being negotiated and contested in the new social reality through the relationship of the parents with the children, the ideas that are put down on them, and the roles they are expected to incarnate? By describing some of the practices and ideas that the Albanian parents try to impose to their children, and the way they speak about their attitude, I support that more than a cultural legacy these gendered ideologies are empowered in a process of differentiation from a dominant “other”, who is in that way inferiorised. (Show less)



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