GCM Objective 19

Create conditions for migrants and diasporas to fully contribute to sustainable development in all countries
Scenes from the municipal market in Tucuru, Guatemala. Indigenous women of Guatemala’s Polochic valley are feeding their families, growing their businesses and saving more money than ever before.
Photo: UN Women/Ryan Brown

Issues

The positive contributions of migrant women to sustainable development in countries of origin, transit destination and return merit recognition. These contributions include financial remittances as well as social remittances­­—the ideas, norms, values, knowledge, behaviour, practices and skills that migrants carry with them.

Partnerships with migrant women’s organizations are key to engaging migrant women and the diaspora in knowledge and skills transfer. Migrants can play a key role in peace and reconciliation processes in their countries of origin, especially women in peacebuilding.

Measures

  • Policies that facilitate the consultation or participation of migrant workers and their families in decisions concerning the life and administration of local communities
  • Policies that enable migrant women to fully participate in society, including in political decision-making, peacebuilding and community dialogue in countries of origin, transit and destination
  • Gender-responsive policies that enable migrant women to travel between the country of origin and destination without jeopardizing work or residency requirements
  • Provision of and access to safe public spaces for migrant women and girls to support social cohesion, peacebuilding, community-building efforts and integration
  • Research and advocacy on the financial and social contributions of migrant women and members of the diaspora
  • Policies that promote and enable the agency and leadership of women in migration
  • Partnerships with migrant women’s organizations to support the political and civil participation of all migrant women and members of the diaspora
  • Promotion of migrant women’s entrepreneurship and access to gender-responsive financial services
  • COVID-19: Provision of assistance to migrants and diaspora communities to be able to continue contributing to sustainable development in all countries during the pandemic.

Checklist

Question Yes Not yet
Does your State have policies in place that enable migrant women to return to their country of origin periodically without losing employment, residence status or earned social benefits?
Does your State have gender-responsive policies and programmes in place that empower returnee migrant women to use the skills they have acquired abroad in their communities?
Has your State established partnerships with migrant women’s organizations?
Does your State provide and ensure access to safe public spaces for migrant women to support community efforts and integration?
Does your State participate in UN Women’s ‘Safe Cities and Safe Public Spaces’ initiative?
Has your State fostered partnerships with migrant women’s organizations to support the political and civil participation of all migrant women and members of the diaspora?
Does your State have policies that promote and enable the agency and leadership of women in migration?
Has your State conducted research and advocacy on the financial and non-financial contributions of migrant women and/or members of the diaspora?
COVID-19: Does your State provide assistance to migrants and diaspora communities to be able to continue contributing to sustainable development in all countries during the pandemic?