Migrant women

Both from the administration and from the whole of civil society (and as well reflected in the various reports and studies that have tried to address the inclusion of migrant groups in general), it has been stressed that migrant women suffer double discrimination; by their origin and by their gender. Migrant women perceive discrimination because they are foreigners and, in addition, because they are women; This discrimination is therefore twofold in areas such as the workplace. That is why the integration of migrant women faces a particular challenge within this great challenge that is inclusion, having to offer more specific responses and actions aimed at women, whose arrival, reception and integration processes are more affected and complicated by their female status.

Today, this group (migrant women) accounts for around five percent of the population in Spain (more than two and a half million people), being also one of the most vulnerable. According to data from the National Institute of Statistics (INE), between 2017 and 2022 alone, 497,000 women arrived in Spain.

When we talk about the feminization of migration, we talk about the significant increase of women leaving their countries of origin in search of new opportunities, to reunite with their families or to flee violence. Discrimination and gender-based violence are two of the main reasons why many of these women decide to emigrate to Spain and, without a doubt, gender significantly affects migration reasons. Despite the above, immigration in our country continues to be based on the reproduction of gender inequalities, which include and perpetuate multiple and varied types of violence. For example, returning to the world of work, we find that job opportunities tend to reinforce the gender roles that society assigns; carers, domestic workers, or even women who are sentenced to work within the scope of prostitution and/or trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation.

As can be seen, in most cases, the academic training or work experience of these women in their countries of origin is not taken into account, so the jobs to which they have access are lower paid and often place them in a situation of severe isolation and overexploitation, especially when they are in an irregular situation, when they reside in the house where they work as interns and / or when they are victims of trafficking.

In 2023, 58 women were killed by gender-based violence in Spain, 25 of whom were born outside Spain. Violence against women does not understand origins, so there are laws, protocols and remedies available to victims with a universal approach, including for those in an irregular situation. One of the most common fears faced by women who suffer gender-based violence and who are in an irregular administrative situation is the possibility of being opened a sanctioning procedure or being expelled directly from Spanish territory; however, from the Administration they indicate that the administrative/migratory situation will not be taken into account when reporting a situation of gender-based violence and, in fact, after the complaint, migrant women in an irregular situation, who have a protection order in their favor or to whom a report has been prepared that recognizes signs of violence, will be entitled to a provisional residence and work authorization, also extendable to their children. Once the criminal proceedings have been concluded, if the court decision confirms the situation of violence, a residence and work permit is granted for a period of five years.

On the other hand, it is important to emphasize that all the problems that migrant women face in accessing decent work are accentuated when they are mothers, since conciliation is considered a utopia. In addition, those who have their children in the country of origin experience intense feelings of guilt and irresponsibility, which are accentuated by the issuance of judgments that start from ignorance, for not having an intercultural and gender perspective. These types of accusations have a great impact on the personal management of the migratory duel they face, as they can make it difficult to accept the decision taken and cause the purposes of integration and adaptation in Spain to be set aside.