Turkey country briefing – Gender Migration Culture

This brief focuses on the gendered dynamics of labour migration in Turkey, looking at the labour migration of both skilled migrant women working and living in Istanbul, and lower skilled Migrant Domestic Workers (MDWs). The findings are based on two distinct case studies that look at female labour migrants from neighbouring countries in the Global South, particularly the former Soviet Union (FSU), as well as from the Middle East (Iran, Lebanon and Syria), and female labour migration from the Global North from Canada, the US and Europe. The participants predominantly work in two sectors: domestic and care with the majority of those from
the FSU working as live-in-care givers and often experiencing substantial deskilling. The majority of professionals are upper-middle income academics, teachers, coordinators, editors, translators and NGO workers, who have mostly migrated from North America, Europe and the Middle East.

The migrant workers’ experiences are mapped across both public and private spaces to show how gender inequalities are specific to time, place and culture. This brief also looks at the drivers and processes of migration and experiences of urban life (at home, in work and socialising) of the women who have migrated to Turkey to live from countries in the Global North and Global South.

While migration remains a live issue globally, relatively little work has been done to explore gendered migrations to the Global South, and what research has been done has largely focussed on domestic and care work. This brief contributes to a better understanding of the global circulation of gendered labour, the drivers of this movement, women’s rights and agency and how migrant women use urban spaces within these contexts.