Feminized precarity among onward migrants in Europe: reflections from Latin Americans in London

ABSTRACT

Increasingly turbulent forms of mobilities are emerging in Europe as diverse groups of migrants arrive, settle and move on. This paper explores this phenomenon of onward migration arguing that this is underpinned by various forms of feminized precarity. Challenging existing work on the feminization of precarity and migration that usually focuses on specific workers in situ, this paper explores the experiences of onward Latin American migrants (OLAs) who have moved to London from Southern Europe in a holistic manner. It develops the notion of “feminized onward precarity” to capture how female and male migrants experience precarious living and working conditions that reflect devaluation and exploitation in intersectional ways. In highlighting the interdependence of in/mobility and feminized precarity enacted through the relational lens of onward migration, the paper provides important insights into the increasingly complex and feminized lives of migrants as they move (or not) across diverse spatio-temporal contexts.

KEYWORDS:

• Onward migration
• feminization
• precarity
• Latin Americans
• London
• Southern Europe

Acknowledgements

I am grateful to the Trust for London for funding both research projects, as well as to the Latin American Women’s Rights Service, and particularly to Carolina Velásquez, Cate Trejos, Yara Evans, Carolina Cal Angrisani, Ana Carla Ferreira, María Noel Gennè, Luciana Isabel Mansilla Conde, Carolina Patricia Hernández Jamasmie, Jessica María Torres Girón and Paulina Varinia Davagnino Bustos for facilitating and carrying out interviews and to Juan Camilo Cock and Diego Bunge who were the research assistants, as well as to Carolina Gottardo and Lucila Granada as directors of LAWRS. I would also like to thank Anastasia Bermúdez and Laura Oso and the anonymous referees for their useful comments on an earlier draft.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

I am grateful to the Trust for London for funding both research projects, as well as to the Latin American Women’s Rights Service, who were the collaborating partner in the research.