In an era of unprecedented human mobility, migration from and within the Asia-Pacific region has assumed gendered dimensions, with implications for migration flows, trends and patterns. While gender roles, inequalities and relations affect who migrates, it also has significant implications for women migrant workers themselves.

In ‘Women’s Labour Migration from Asia and the Pacific: Opportunities and Challenges’, author Bandita Sijapati explores the pros and cons of women’s migration.  The brief looks into how opportunities can be provided to improve the lives of women migrants and that of their families.This issue also describes how women migrants are exposed to different types of risks, vulnerabilities and discrimination.

This issue in brief is the twelfth in the series of policy papers by the Migration Policy Institute (MPI) and the International Organization for Migration’s Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific that offer succinct insights on migration issues affecting the Asia-Pacific region today. To read earlier briefs in the series, visit : IOM Online Bookstore or Migration Policy Institute.