At what cost? Women migrant workers, remittances and development

This report is produced by UN Women’s Economic Empowerment Section for the “Promoting and Protecting Women Migrant Workers’ Labour and Human Rights” Project, supported by the European Union. This report is the third in a series of three reports designed to build on the growing body of scholarship pertaining to gender and migration, and is a resource for the creation of gender-sensitive policies and practices aimed at empowering women migrant workers.

The third report illustrates and discusses the nuanced interaction between women’s migration for labour, their scope of contributions to development, and the economic, social and personal costs incurred throughout their migration. In exploring this complexity, the report highlights the importance of labour and human rights to realizing the human development potential of women’s labour migration while critically considering what constitutes development: by whom, for whom, and at what cost. The report illustrates how gender mainstreaming of the migration for development model can enhance the protection of rights and opportunities for women migrant workers, and contribute to more inclusive and sustainable development.