A power point presentation given at the Joint Annual Conference of the East Asian Social Policy Network (EASP) and the UK Social Policy Association (SPA) 2012 at the University of York

1. CITIZENSHIP, MIGRATION AND GENDER:
Polish migrant women in the UK and
Poland
Ewa Duda-Mikulin
PhD Student/GTA
Social Policy Department
E.A.Duda-Mikulin@edu.salford.ac.uk

2. The UK and Accession 8 (A8) migration
• Accession 8 (A8) migration to the UK has been studied
extensively over the last few years
• Migration from the new EU member states to the UK
has been one of the most significant social phenomena
of recent times
Ewa Duda-Mikulin

3. Feminisation of Migration
• Evidence suggests that migrant women constitute a
large proportion of international migrants
• When considering migration within the European
context, migrant women already outnumber their male
counterparts
Ewa Duda-Mikulin Picture by Flickr CC, Author: The U.S. National Archives

4. Evidence suggests that characterising women as
passive followers of migrant men is flawed
Ewa Duda-Mikulin Picture by Flickr CC, Author: Richard Loyal French

5. • Gender is one of the oldest, if not the oldest, forces
shaping human life and, accordingly, it influences
migration and migrants’ lives.
• Nonetheless, gender has been regularly sidelined in
scholarly research on international migration over the
past 100 years.
(Pessar & Mahler, 2003, p. 812)
Ewa Duda-Mikulin

6. • Gender and gender roles, in particular in relation
to A8 migration, remain an under-researched
area
Ewa Duda-Mikulin Picture by Flickr CC, Author: Nationaal Archief

7. Aim: to explore the impact of the migratory
process on gender roles of Polish migrant
women
Ewa Duda-Mikulin Picture by Flickr, Author: The Library of Congress

8. • Can migration be a catalyst for change in traditional
gender roles?
• How do Polish migrant women negotiate their gender
roles across time and space in regard to work and
welfare responsibilities when exercising their rights as
EU citizens?
Picture by Flickr, Author: The Library of Congress
Ewa Duda-Mikulin

9. • Are gender roles reconfigured through the
migratory process?
- care
- paid work
Picture by Flickr CC, Author: doc 1, Don O-Brien
Ewa Duda-Mikulin

10. Methodology:
• Feminist methodology
• Qualitative, in-depth, semi-structured interviews
• Research questions:
1. To what extent are Polish migrant women’s lives gendered?
2. Has the migratory process affected Polish migrant women’s gender roles, and if
so, in what way?
3. How, if at all, has migration impacted on Polish migrant women’s roles as carers
and workers? How do they manage their roles over time and space?
• Sample: 2 groups of women:
1) – Polish migrant women in the UK - migrants
2) – Polish migrant women in Poland – returnees
Ewa Duda-Mikulin

11. Ewa Duda-Mikulin
PhD Student/GTA
Department of Social Policy
Email: E.A.Duda-Mikulin@edu.salford.ac.uk
Website: http://salford.academia.edu/EwaDudaMikulin
Twitter: @EwaDudaMikulin
Picture by Flickr CC, Author: woodleywonderworks

12. References & further reading:
• Boyd, M. & Grieco, E. (2003). Women and Migration: Incorporating Gender into International Migration Theory, Migration Information
Source, Retrieved 30 April, 2012, from: http://www.migrationinformation.org/Feature/display.cfm?id=106
• Castles, S. & Miller, M. (2003). Introduction. In S. Castles & M. Miller, The Age of Migration. International Population Movements in the
Modern World, (3rd ed.) (pp. 1-20). Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
• Dwyer, P. (2010). Understanding Social Citizenship. Themes and perspectives for policy and practice. Bristol: The Policy Press.
• Kindler, M., Kordasiewicz, A., Napiera ƚa, J., Szulecka, M., Redondo Toronjo, D. & White, A. (2010). Migracje kobiet: przypadek Polski.
Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Naukowe SCHOLAR.
• Kofman, E. (2004). Gendered Global Migrations: Diversity and Stratification. International Feminist Journal of Politics, 6(4), pp. 643-665.
doi: 10.1080/1461674042000283408
• Kofman, E. (1999). Female ‘birds of passage’ a decade later: Gender and immigration in the European Union. [Electronic version]. The
International Migration Review, 33(2), pp. 269-299.
• Lister, R. (forthcoming). Citizenship and Gender. In K. Nash & A. Scott (eds.) Blackwell Companion to Political Sociology. Blackwell.
• Morokvasic, M. (2004). ‘Settled in Mobility’: Engendering Post-Wall Migration in Europe. [Electronic version]. Feminist Review, 77, pp. 7-25.
• Pessar, R. & Mahler, S.J. (2003). Transnational Migration: Bringing Gender in. [Electronic version]. International Migration Review, 37(3), pp.
812-846.
• Phizacklea, A. (1983). Introduction. In: A. Phizacklea (eds), One Way Ticket. Migration and Female Labour (pp. 1-13). London: Routledge &
Kegan Paul plc.
• Zlotnik, H. (2003). The Global Dimensions of Female Migration, Migration Information Source. Retrieved 9 November, 2011, from:
http://www.migrationinformation.org/feature/display.cfm?ID=109