Harnessing the Potential of Migrant Women for a Sustainable Socio-economic Recovery
Channel: IOM - UN Migration
Date: 2021-10-19

This panel will look into the role of migrant women as major promoters and contributors towards socioeconomic development and will try to address some of the barriers to achieving their role. Women are undervalued but crucial development actors through their domestic work: 8.4 million (73.4%) of migrant domestic workers are women or adolescent girls. Women sent about half of global remittances in 2016, even though they tend to earn less than men. Migrant women are more likely to be in the labour force (64%) than non- migrant women. The pandemic particularly impacted migrant women, some 3/4 of whom work in informal sectors vulnerable to the pandemic's socio-economic impact without strong legal protections. We need to address the barriers they face to enhance their own development and contributions to development (less access to social protection, sexual and gender based violence, work exploitation and the double burden of being in informal work and bearing the brunt of care/parental duties). 

Moderator: 
Laurent de Boeck, Chief of IOM Mission Egypt

Speakers:
* Diana Echeverria, Director of Human Mobility and Attention to Migrants, El Salvador
* Fridah Ntarangwi, Founder & Managing Director of Zidicircle 
* Stakeholder or Member State representative