Coming back and moving backwards: return migration and gender norms in Egypt

ABSTRACT

This study examines how gender norms and household gender dynamics are modified in Egypt as a result of male return migration from other Arab Countries. Data come from the 2006 and 2012 Egyptian Labor Market Panel Survey. For 7,314 married couples in 2006 and 8,992 married couples in 2012, treatment effects regression models of gender norms and household decision-making and return migration are estimated. Egyptian women with spouses who have migrated to an Arab country and returned value more traditional gender norms. Women in households with a spouse who returned also make fewer household decisions compared to women in non-migrant households. Women with spouses who have migrated multiple times also make fewer household decisions compared to women who had a spouse migrate before 2006. The findings suggest transformation of household gender dynamics and reinforcement of traditional gender ideologies by male emigration to and immigration from other Arab countries.

KEYWORDS:

• Return migration
• gender norms
• intra-household power
• family
• Egypt

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Data availability statement

The Egyptian Labor Market Panel data are available by request through the Economic Research Forum.

Notes

1 For the 13 households in 2006 and 37 household in 2012 with return migrants from non-Arab destination countries, distribution of gender norms is 2006: Mean = 3.81, SD = 0.52 and household decision-making is 2006: Mean = 5.00, SD = 1.76; 2012: Mean = 5.70, SD = 3.14.

Additional information

Funding

The research was supported by Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development training program in population studies at the University of Texas at Austin [grant number T32HD007081] and the Population Research Center at the University of Texas at Austin [P2CHD042849]. The content is solely the responsibility of the author and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.