She has come full circle. Issues and challenges When Chato first arrived in Italy, there were only some 15,000 migrant Filipino workers there. Today, that number has ballooned to 50,000, easily making the Filipinos the fourth biggest migrant group in the country. Italy is a popular destination for migrant workers because work conditions, particularly for domestic helpers, are generally better compared with other countries and basic workers' rights, such as unionisation, are guaranteed. The role of the family in the migration process to Italy is well established.
Most new migrants have relatives who are already working there.
Women make up nearly half of Filipinos working overseas since the mid-1980s. In Italy, about 70 percent of the Filipinos are women, most of them domestic helpers. In fact, unemployment among Filipinas in Italy is unheard of, says Chato. This is not the case with men, most of whom come to Italy because their wives, sisters or daughters sponsored their entry. However, there is a significant number of Filipino men who used to work in the Middle East but moved to Italy after the Gulf War.