Three-fourth of expats wives remain jobless in Kerala: Study

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: While migration remittances remain one of the key contributors to the states economy, the wives of male expatriates appear to have little workforce participation within the state. A new study by independent researcher Nafeesath K A, to be presented at the Annual International Migration Conference in Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday, found that not even one-fourth of the highly educated women from migrant households are taking part in the states workforce. The study, carried out in collaboration with Prof Archana K Roy of the International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS), Mumbai, ties the reason for this to patriarchy. Based on the data collected from the Periodic Labour Force Survey from 2017-18 to 2023-24, the National Family Health Survey 2015-16, and the Kerala Migration Survey 2018, the study found that only 24.9% of women, with an educational qualification of graduation or above, and their husbands abroad, are employed. The statistics gain gravitas when 42.6% of women of the state attain higher education, while men remain at 35.8%, as of 2023-24. The study also evaluates that this lack of workforce participation exists even when the wives of the NRIs exhibit decision-making skills and financial autonomy. However, this autonomy tends to increase only when the husbands are absent, and diminishes once they return, which makes this study more relevant, said Nafeesath. Suggesting that the gains through remittances come at the expense of womens lack of workforce participation, the study analyses that the womens withdrawal from workforce participation is less of their choice, and more of their domestic duties, and reduced financial pressures due to the remittance inflow. Another common trend we have seen is that some women tend to feel more respected by society when they are educated but not working, she pointed out.