Building a home away from home: housing choices of labor migrants in Thailand

ABSTRACT

This study analyzed the residential choices of labor migrants in Thailand, especially focusing on their social environment. Labor migrants tend to live in close proximity to each other and to their workplace for security reason, and also to re-create an environment where they feel like home – a home-building exercise. Such home-building exercises are traditionally women’s prerogative, and hence they also take initiative in housing choices. However, their traditional gender roles provide little help for them to care for their children or handle reproductive work in the destination. They receive little support from the family, community or State for their reproductive and care work. While developing housing policies for migrants, the study calls for a nuanced understanding of women migrant workers’ multiple roles and their need to manage competing demands at the place of destination and the place of origin.

KEYWORDS:

• Gender
• migration
• migrant housing
• market workers
• Thailand

Acknowledgements

This research was supported by SHAPE-SEA programme funded by SIDA. We acknowledge the help of Aye Chan Myae and Apimuk Wichasorn as well as World Vision Thailand in interviewing workers. We would also like to thank all the migrant workers who sacrificed their time for the interviews.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by SHAPE-SEA programme funded by SIDA.

Notes on contributors

Kyoko Kusakabe

Kyoko Kusakabe is a professor at Gender and Development Studies, Asian Institute of Technology. Her research interest is on gender and labor migration.

Khamnuan Khuenta

Khamnuan Khuenta was a master’s student at Gender and Development Studies, Asian Institute of Technology at the time of study. His research interest is on migration and fisheries.

Tiwaporn Hemsakul

Tiwaporn Hemsakul was a master’s student at Gender and Development Studies, Asian Institute of Technology at the time of study. She now works at Labor Right Promotion Network Foundation, working for migrant workers.

Veena N

N. Veena is a researcher at Gender and Development Studies, Asian Institute of Technology. Her research interest is on migrant domestic workers.