Double gendered: public views on women’s and men’s migration in Armenia

Abstract

ABSTRACT Globally, the share of women among international labour migrants has risen dramatically in the past several decades, but in many patriarchal settings with traditionally high levels of men’s out-migration the levels of women’s migration remain low. Using data from a nationally representative survey conducted in one such setting, Armenia, I examine public perceptions of various consequences of migration with what I define as a double-gendered analytic lens: looking at female and male migration through women’s and men’s eyes. The statistical tests find that overall female migration tends to be assessed more negatively than male migration, but they also point to instructive gender differences in such assessments. Thus, in general, men tend to see female migration more negatively and male migration more positively, compared to women. Yet, while this gender divide is consistently present in views on various consequences of male migration, it is not statistically noticeable in views on the effects of female migration on family duties and relationships or on sexual matters after controlling for other factors. These patterns illustrate the gendered complexity of public attitudes toward international labour migration and help to understand its dynamics and prospects in this and similar migrant-sending contexts.