IOM and the Female migration

Migration is considered one of the defining global issues of the early twenty-first century, as more and more people are on the move today than at any other point in human history. There are now about 192 million people living outside their place of birth, which is about three per cent of the world's population.

Discourse on migration involves many perspectives. There is growing recognition that migration is an essential and inevitable component of the economic and social life of every State, and that orderly and properly managed migration can be beneficial for both individuals and societies. The multiple and complex dimensions of migration include:

• labour migration
• family reunification
• migration and security
• combating irregular migration
• migration and trade
• migrant rights
• health and migration
• integration
• migration and development.

Even though population movements are a gender-neutral process, they are related to gender because women and men migrate for different reasons, use different channels, and have different experiences. The social context, within which migration takes place, is strongly influenced by gender and family relations. This, in turn, strongly influences migration behaviour, and also affects the experiences men and women undergo. The role that gender plays in the decision of an individual to migrate or not also illustrates why it is important to consider gender issues when considering and formulating migration policy options - regardless of whether these focus on immigration, family reunification, labour migration, resettlement, or asylum.
The Gender Coordination function is responsible for the development and implementation of policies and programmes on gender issues, and for promoting gender awareness and sensitivity throughout the Organization. This part of the organization makes documents, research, papers, events, activities.

Established in 1995 to evaluate and assist in institutionalizing IOM's efforts to mainstream gender into IOM's planning and actions, the Working Group on Gender Issues (WGGI) has been instrumental in formulating IOM's gender policy, its mainstreaming strategy and a five-year plan of action.

Compare to the text “Advocating for Sri Lankan migrant workers, Michelle R Gamburd” that explains that the Sri Lankan migrants continue to face exploitative labor conditions abroad and weak support at home. In Sri Lanka it has been an increasing feminization of migrant work forces around the world, women make up two thirds of Sri Lanka´s overseas contract workers. Domestic servants or “housemaids” alone constitute over half of Sri Lanka´s migrants. But there is a problem with the migrants there is a lack of support from the NGO´s and the unions and also from the government. There is an inaction of the government due to three factors: Sri Lankan gender norms, women´s lack of participation in national politics and Sri Lanka disadvantageous position in the international division of labor.

Bibliography

IOM. (13 de 08 de 2000). Recuperado el 12 de Octubre de 2010, de International Organization for Migrations: http://www.iom.int/jahia/jsp/index.jsp

R. Gamburd, M. Advocating for Sri Lankan Migrant workers

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Pictures: IOM Library, from http://www.iom.int/jahia/Jahia/pid/2054/lang/es