Gender, Labor, and Migration: Reconstructing the Feminized Experience in Transnational Care Economies

This research reconstructs the lived experiences of women migrant workers within global care economies through a multi-sited qualitative study spanning Nepal, Indonesia, Vietnam, Turkey, and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. It examines how intersecting structures of gender, class, and ethnicity shape feminized migration pathways, labor conditions, and social reproduction strategies. Findings reveal that women from marginalized communities (e.g., Nepal’s dalit and janajati groups) disproportionately enter precarious domestic work via irregular channels, while transnational motherhood generates complex care reconfigurations in sending communities. The COVID-19 pandemic intensified existing vulnerabilities through job losses, health risks, and border closures. The study advocates for feminist political economy approaches to migration governance that center care justice, intersectionality, and collective agency. Policy recommendations include gender-responsive social protection and ethical recruitment frameworks co-designed with migrant communities.