End Violence, Discrimination Against Women Migrant Workers!

Migrant Women Forum

On the occasion of the 2025 International Women’s Day, the Migrant Women Forum (MWF) celebrates all women migrant workers and recognize their contributions to the economic, social, cultural and political well being of both countries of destination and origin. 

We celebrate women migrant workers who have left have to leave their countries due to poverty, impacts of climate change, and who, despite many challenges continue to provide for their families. We celebrate the women migrants employed in care work who have sacrificed many years to care for others, away from their families. We celebrate the women migrant domestic workers who are now union leaders in countries of destination and continue to fight for recognition of domestic workers as workers and their right to organize 

There are currently about 281 million migrants worldwide, comprising 3.6 per cent of the global population. Migration is gendered with about half of the global migrants women and majority coming from the Global South. The ILO estimated that in 2022, there were 167.7 million migrant workers in the global labor force. 102 .7 million were men and 64.9 million were women.

Poverty, climate change, and escaping violence continue to be major drivers for women’s migration. Women bear an unequal share of unpaid care work, and many are placed in vulnerable situations where access to financial services is restricted, further deepening the financial barriers they face. 

For many women, mobility offers opportunities to challenge traditional gender roles and norms, empowering them to assert their independence and pursue their aspirations. However, many women migrant workers continue to face gender-based discrimination and violence at all stages of migration. Women migrants face social and legal restrictions on mobility in countries of origin (e.g. age, country, occupation bans), are forced to undergo pregnancy testing prior to departure, experience significant gender pay gaps, have limited access to social protection, and are exposed to violence in the work place. Many women migrant workers also continue to work in countries where there is active armed conflict. 

Migrant Women Forum recognizes the continuing challenges faced by women migrant workers and call for the following:

• End gender-based discrimination, abuse, violence, exclusion of women migrant workers, particularly migrant domestic workers;

• Repeal policies that are anti-women such as mandatory pregnancy testing, “restrictions to mobility on the basis of age, occupation and even destination

• Promote progressive taxation and urge countries to conduct gender impact assessments of tax policies, directing them towards gender-transformative public services

• Advocate for the active participation of migrant women in policy development, decision-making, and peace -building.

• Uphold the right to organize, freedom of association and assembly, social dialogue and decent work for migrant workers

• Uphold the rights of women migrant workers to social protection irrespective of migration status

• Recognize Domestic Workers as workers under labour laws

• Ratify and comply with ILO and UN treaties and recommendations particularly: C87 (freedom of association/right to organize); C98 (right to organize); C157/C102 (social protection); C189 (domestic work); C190 (violence and harassment); C181 (private employment agency); the UN 1990 Migrant Workers Convention; Convention for the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).