Abstract
Within current research on African health worker emigration, relatively few studies have explored how health workers themselves see international migration and its impact on their lives, and how gender norms influence these perceptions. This article draws on research aiming to examine these issues, conducted between June and August 2008. Ghanaian nurses’ views of migration are highly influenced by gendered notions of women prioritising family responsibilities over personal desires. However, these ideas are being called into question by the growing numbers of women who may consider migrating as skilled professionals, and attach considerable importance to their professional interests.
Notes
1. It should be noted that several participants had multiple (and at times conflicting) responses. At times their responses suggested a more traditional perception of the relationship between migration and gender, while at other times their responses seemed less traditional. Nevertheless, for the purposes of this paper their responses were classified into three general categories. Future research could examine how gender norms related to migration may be changing in certain spheres (i.e. career), while remaining relatively stable in others (i.e. family life).
2. There have been exceptions to this focus on low-skilled female workers in the literature, most notably in terms of studies on Filipina nurses, as well as highly educated female engineers and graduates from South Asia (Aminuzamman Citation2007; Dumont et al. Citation2007; Purkayastha Citation2005).