Vol. 10, Issue 6, Part D (2024)

A notable trend in the developing world in the past few decades is the rising numbers of internal female labour migration. Globalization and related processes have had a strong impact on female mobility patterns changing the major impetus for female migration from social to economic reasons. However, women migrants are more vulnerable than their male counterparts in the place of destination, because of their sexuality, gender-based division of labour proving risky for their physical safety, health, child care and meeting daily basic amenities.

Despites all this significance, women’s migration is not sufficiently recognised by sociologists in their studies on migration. The domination of existing economic theories viewing women as family dependents or accompanying husband after marriage is one and prominent reason for this. Such gender bias in the analysis of migration patterns, their contribution and dynamics of migration have significant sociological insights critical for measuring overall development.

This paper argues that women’s internal migration is a matter of much significance in understanding the socio-economic development, its scope in poverty reduction, promotion of social transformation in the household and broader society. Greater participation by women in the urban workforce also adds pace to the achievement of many Developmental Goals. An attempt is made here to present a few critical observations based on insights from a study of immigrant construction labourers from Kalyana Karnataka in Bengaluru city.