Gender, remittances and migration: Latin Americans and Caribbeans in Europe

Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) migrations to Europe have grown rapidly and in the past few years partially replaced those to North America. Spain is the preferred destination of LAC migrants with about 840,000 LAC-born residents in 2001, a large increase over previous years. This migration is highly feminised and is likely to result in long-term settlement. It is also generating high levels of remittances. Whilst considerable work exists on the effect of remittances on households and communities in countries of origin, a gendered approach to these issues has only recently been developed. Yet, given that a high proportion of remittances in Europe are sent by and back to women, remittances are effectively circulating through transnational gendered networks. This paper examines remittances in the context of gendered migration from LAC countries to Europe and argues that policies concerning remittances need to incorporate a gender dimension. In particular we need to challenge the unproductive dichotomy between „productive‟ and „unproductive‟ activities, and recognise the significance of remittances for social reproduction, if we want to bank the unbanked. We also need to consider the effect of remittances on the lives of migrants in countries of destination.