Up the Down Staircase: Redefining Gender Identities through Migration and Ethnic Employment in Germany

Reflecting complex migration dynamics, gender often determines ‘who stays, who moves, where, why, how often’—and what they do once they get there. Comprising 46 per cent of Germany's ‘foreign-born’ residents, women can no longer be discounted as merely family dependents; however, this is only half the battle regarding their struggles for occupational opportunity. This study explores the experiences of five migrant groups, each of which has undergone a different type of gender-role reconfiguration—owing to divergent legal categorisations and employment rights—resulting in varying opportunities for social integration and political enfranchisement.