Geopolitics, Migration and Gender Dynamics in Asia

In 2020, eighty-six million migrants (30.5 per cent) of the world’s international migrants (281 million) are in Asia. More than 80 per cent of them (69 million) are intra-regional Asian migrants the majority of whom are employed in semi-skilled, low-skilled, low wage occupations. Women migrants in particular are disproportionately concentrated in care work such as domestic work.  

In the early 1990s, Maria (not her real name), a graduate in X-ray technology, informed her father that she had applied for a position as a domestic worker in Hong Kong. Her father firmly opposed the idea and insisted that she should pursue a job aligned with her education. However, Maria was firm in her decision to leave. She had previously worked as a factory worker, but the job was both stressful and poorly paid. Determined to improve her circumstances, she left for Hong Kong despite her family’s objections. While working in Hong Kong, and later in London—where she moved after her English employer returned to the United Kingdom following the handover of Hong Kong to China in 1997—Maria achieved remarkable financial milestones. She was able to purchase a house for herself and frequently provided financial support to her siblings. She is now retired as a British citizen and divides her time between the Philippines and London. She lives modestly on her small pension from the Social Security System in Manila and the United Kingdom.

Maria’s story is all too common among Filipino women who, despite holding higher educational qualifications, end up working overseas as domestic workers. Unable to secure employment in the Philippines, many choose this path in hopes of earning a better income. While their pay is often lower compared to local workers in their host countries, it is still significantly higher than what they could earn back home. However, domestic work is demanding and often stressful, with work hours frequently exceeding 10 hours a day, as live-in workers are on call around the clock in their employers’ homes.

Domestic work is often looked down upon in society, even in the Philippines, and is typically associated with the poorest women, those who have barely completed their education, and often come from rural areas. This narrative persists, despite the fact that domestic workers play a crucial role in supporting the financial needs of their families.  

Overall, the negative atmosphere is attributed to the mindset of people that 1) domestic work is non-productive and something women do "naturally" as unpaid labour, rather than as a means to support their families—a responsibility traditionally assigned to men; 2) that women should not leave, especially if they have young children, as their primary role is seen as caring for the family; ergo, 3) that working overseas is often considered more suitable for male family members.

Maria may have been more fortunate than many, as being single meant less pressure to provide for her family compared to those with young children. Her move from Hong Kong to London was also uncommon; most migrant women remain in Asian countries where citizenship pathways are unavailable. At best, they might gain permanent residency, but domestic workers are often excluded. In Hong Kong, for instance, they are considered temporary residents, even if they work there for decades.

The Gendered Nature of Migrant Labor in Asia

Maria’s story is not only the story of the majority of Filipino women migrants. Asian women migrants, notably from Indonesia and Sri Lanka are in similar predicament.

It is now widely recognised that women increasingly migrate independently for work. Moreover, demographic shifts, along with declining welfare provisions and social protection programmes in destination countries, will proportionately increase the demand for care workers.

The concern, however, is not on the increasing numbers per se but on the persistence of discriminatory and exclusionary laws and practices against them. When abuses take place, origin countries impose deployment bans and age restrictions.¹ Gender-pay gap is prevalent and access to social protection is limited or non-existent. They are prohibited or restricted from forming or joining associations. As migrants and as women careworkers, they also face double wage penalty of about 21 per cent and 19 per cent respectively.²

The overwhelming majority of migrant care workers work in private homes that double as their accommodations, making labour inspections difficult. This arrangement leaves many women migrants more vulnerable to labour exploitation and gender-based violence.

Male migrants on the other hand, continue to dominate sectors such as construction, agriculture, seafaring and fishing, and digital technology, where they tend to receive relatively higher wages than female migrants. The primary, and perhaps sole, expectation placed on male workers is to provide financial support to their families, who are usually left behind in their home countries. Of course, they also experience abuses and discrimination, just like any other migrants.

For migrants with diverse sexual orientation, gender identity and expression (SOGIE), while better economic opportunity is the main push to migrate, “escaping from violence, discrimination, restrictions on their personal freedom at home” are also motivations to migrate. That being said, they may have relative improvements economically, but just like any other migrants, they face intersecting discriminatory policies and practices throughout their migration journey, on the one hand, and as migrants with diverse SOGIE, on the other hand. They often feel compelled to hide their true selves for fear of losing their jobs, facing persecution, or even being deported. Many who do disclose their SOGIE experience oppression and persecution and are denied social services, not only in destination countries but also in their home countries. Ultimately, migrants with diverse SOGIE often find themselves in occupations determined by societal perceptions of their gender.

What Gives? Migrant Workers are essential Workers, BUT ....

Despite evidence that 80 per cent of the migrants in the region are from within the region, where one may expect an iota of kinship and solidarity, this does not seem to be the case. On the contrary, migrant workers, necessary and essential as they are, remain in the purview of national security thus reinforcing their “otherness” and their “temporariness” and therefore justifying the unequal treatment, denial of access to social protection and exclusion from the enjoyment of fundamental human and labor rights.

Nexus between geopolitics, migration and gender justice

Fast forward, migration policies in both countries of origin and destination have shifted due to various factors, including demographic changes, wars and conflicts over resources and political leverage, climate change, epidemics and pandemics, persistent poverty, and widening social gaps, among others. Now more than ever, an increasing number of people are crossing borders for economic, socio-cultural, political, and personal reasons.³

Labour migration in and from Asia is characterised by the prominent role of private recruitment agencies which find the labor export programme lucrative and profitable. In the Philippines for example, in 2023, it has 752 licensed agencies for land-based workers and 355 manning agencies for sea-based workers. With stringent requirements for registration and regulation, recruiters will not thrive if the business is indeed not profitable.

On top of this, unscrupulous agencies and traffickers continue to exploit vulnerable job seekers by charging excessive and illegal fees, forcing them to take out loans at usurious rates from lending companies that are often in cahoots with the recruitment agencies. This effectively traps workers in a situation of debt bondage.

Additionally, a significant number of migrants find themselves in irregular or undocumented status for various reasons, including being deceived, trafficked, or subjected to abusive employers.

Despite migrants’ invaluable contribution to development,⁴ promoting and upholding their human and labor rights remains a critical issue in the dominant regional and global migration discourse because the migration narrative is shaped and controlled by destination countries, driven by their economic needs (labour shortages across various skill categories),  socio-political factors (aging populations, pandemics, conflicts, and climate-induced migration), border control, and security concerns.

Amidst these dynamics, migrant workers—particularly women—bear the greatest impact. Yet, they remain marginalized and excluded from policy discussions and decision-making processes due to their status as non-citizens. Compounding this, countries of origin (COOs) are complicit, as they fail to provide decent job opportunities for the workers, effectively pushing workers to migrate out of necessity. At the same time, COOs benefit significantly from the remittances sent by migrants, which play a vital role in sustaining their economies.    

Emerging Geopolitical and Migration Trends Shaping Future Gender Dynamics

Digital technology and robotics are here to stay, profoundly reshaping the world of work. Workers, particularly women, risk displacement if their digital and technological skills are not continuously honed and upgraded on par with male workers. At the same time, online scams, including love scams and cryptocurrency fraud, are proliferating on social media, targeting young men and women for labour exploitation and forced criminality. Love scams often exploit women, pressuring them to meet quotas by luring unsuspecting men into fabricated romantic relationships. Victim-survivors of these online scams frequently endure severe emotional trauma and lasting psychological scars.

While the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries continue to host a significant number of Asian migrants, this trend may not last, as the region increasingly explores Artificial Intelligence (AI), digital technology, and nationalisation programmes. Asian migrants, particularly women employed predominantly in the care sector, must focus on upgrading their skills, acquiring new competencies, and seeking opportunities in alternative destinations.

However, women migrants face disproportionate restrictions on mobility due to entrenched gender biases that heighten their vulnerability to gender-based violence. Discriminatory policies further limit their mobility, including deployment bans based on factors such as occupation, age, destination, family, and civil status.      

The climate crisis, natural disasters, and conflicts lead to massive displacements of people, loss of lives, destruction of crops, assets, and resources, as well as job losses in both origin and destination countries. These impacts are particularly severe for women and children. Women disproportionately bear the burden of maintaining family cohesion and ensuring food security, while often having limited access to social protection measures that could help them mitigate risks, adapt to changes, and rebuild their lives and communities.

Public health emergencies, epidemics and pandemics pose significant threats to people’s health and well-being. Migrants, as non-nationals, often face exclusion and discrimination in accessing social services, particularly in countries of destination (CODs). Additionally, such crises are frequently exploited to scapegoat migrants and refugees as diseases carriers, fueling animosity and division between the local populations and migrants.

A notable trend is the increasing mobility of Asian students to OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries, where they account for more than half of the total foreign student population. Many of these students eventually remain in their host countries, transitioning into young professionals, marking a shift in the profile of Asian migrants.

On the political front, politicians and ruling governments, to varying degrees, implement anti-migrant programmes and campaigns. These are evident in COD’s policies that criminalise migrants with undocumented status, forcibly and arbitrarily detaining migrants and their families, restrict their access to basic social services—including medical and sexual and reproductive health care for women migrants—and delegitimise climate migrants. Overall, migrants and non-nationals face significant unequal treatment and discrimination.

Role of Feminist Perspectives in Shaping Migration Policies in Asia and Their Impact on Geopolitical Dynamics

Migrant workers are as essential as national workers, contributing significantly to production and economic activities in the CODs without displacing local workers. Instead, they ensure uninterrupted progress and act as agents of development. They deserve to be treated with dignity, and their human and labor rights must be respected and upheld.

Women migrants, who dominate the care economy, are essential to the functioning of societies and households. They shoulder the responsibility of providing care and social protection for the elderly, persons with disabilities, and children—roles that should primarily be the responsibility of States. In COOs, this often takes the form of unpaid care work; while in CODs, it is floor-level paid care work with minimal access to social protection.

To address discrimination and exclusion of migrants and uphold their decent work and human rights, it is imperative to challenge the prevailing discourse on migration and mobility, not only through the lens of human rights but also with a focus on gender equality and gender justice.  

First, we must return to the basics—ensuring that duty bearers fulfil their human rights obligations to all the populations within their territorial jurisdictions, including both nationals and non-nationals, regardless of skills, occupations, race, ethnicity, legal status, or SOGIE, while actively promoting diversity and inclusion. In this post-colonial era, CODs—and COOs, which are often CODs themselves—should recognise and appreciate the invaluable contributions that migrants make to society and the economy.

Second, the mobility framework must be reoriented and aligned with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, particularly Articles 13 and 23 which affirm the fundamental rights to freedom of movement and right to work, fair pay, and unionisation.

Third, care work must be recognised, fairly valued, and adequately compensated. Unpaid care work within households must be redistributed to alleviate the burden on women, enabling them to access equal opportunities for decent, paid employment.  

The global division of labour allows for cross border movements of workers and does not in any way sanction denial of human rights and decent work conditions for these workers. Neither should they be taken as the cheaper labour than the local workers.

The opinions and statements of the guest authors do not necessarily reflect the opinion and position of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung.

• ¹ In the Philippines, the minimum age for migrant domestic workers is set at 24 years old. If one is younger than 24 and deployed, it is child trafficking.
• ² "The pay gap between male nationals and migrant women in high-income countries is estimated at nearly 21 per cent per cent per hour. This is higher than the gender pay gap (16 per cent) in those countries.... In high-income countries, the pay gap between migrant care workers and non-migrant care workers is about 19 per cent."
• ³ Total estimates of international migrants globally in 2019 was 272 million. In 2020, it was 281 million.
• ⁴ In 2022, Asia Pacific’s share of inward global remittances is at 43 per cent or USD 340Billion.