The role of family networks and migration culture in the continuation of Moroccan emigration: a gender perspective

Abstract

About 1.5 million people of Moroccan origin live as legal migrants in the countries of the European Union. For several decades, emigration has affected various provinces of Morocco. In some regions, the process started more than 40 years ago; in others the migration experience is much more recent. This study seeks to portray from a micro perspective the ongoing migration processes from Morocco, in particular to Western Europe. Emphasis is placed on the effect of family networks and migration culture on the intention to emigrate of Moroccan men and women without international migration experience. We focus especially on gender differences since the position and the roles played by men and women both within the family and within Moroccan society are very different. This gender distinction reveals remarkable differences between men and women in the intention to emigrate, and in its explanation. For men, emigration intentions are stronger in regions having a migration culture, while at the same time the presence of family networks abroad has a negative but small effect on the emigration intention. For women, however, the existence of a migration culture has no effect on the intention to leave the country, whereas family networks abroad tend to increase this intention. Interestingly, women with a paid job and who judge their financial situation negatively have the highest emigration intentions. This may indicate that, among Moroccan women, the more modernised, especially, intend to migrate. The more conservative Moroccan women are not likely to express an intention to migrate on their own. Rather, they behave in a manner that suits the husband or family. This behaviour may, or may not, include an emigration decision.