Achieve gender equality
and empower all women
and girls

How remittance families contribute to the goal

• Women comprise over 40 per cent of migrant workers worldwide (over 70 million in total) and are also primary recipients of remittances in many countries where male outbound migration is prevalent.
• Changes in household structures due to migration and remittances can transform the economic role of women both on the sending side and receiving end, increasing financial independence, autonomy, decision making and better employment opportunities.
• While women remit approximately the same amount as men, women tend to send a higher proportion of their income regularly and consistently, even though they generally earn less than men.

Recommended actions

• Recognize the shift in household composition and dynamics due to migration, where women migrate independently or become de facto head of households and empower them to overcome the traditional bias against financial independence and control
  and use of remittances.
• Support women’s access to financial and agricultural land markets, particularly in rural areas, to allow women to become more economically independent.
• Invest in advisory and training services for women to meet entrepreneurial aspirations, improve income management and ultimately enable family reunification.
• Expand gender-sensitive financial services and gender-disaggregated data to identify opportunities and underpin policies and innovation.