Sibling position, gender, and family networks in Mexican and Senegalese migration

Abstract

This paper examines the gendered roles of sibling position and network-derived social capital in Mexican and Senegalese international migration. We investigate how men's and women's migration decisions are associated with their position within the nuclear family before and after accounting for nuclear family migrant networks. Crucially, we also estimate how sibling network "effects" are gendered. We analyse 2 comparable household surveys in very distinct settings where family obligations may vary: the Mexican Migration Project (1998)(1999)(2000)(2001)(2002)(2003)(2004)(2005)(2006)(2007)(2008)(2009)(2010)(2011)(2012) and the Migration between Africa and Europe-Senegal project (2008). Using discrete-time event history analysis, we find that-without controls for nuclear family migrant networks-younger siblings in Mexico appear more likely to migrate than their older counterparts, whereas the opposite is true in Senegal. After we control for family migrant networks, however, older siblings in both countries and of both sexes are more likely to migrate. Despite these commonalities, migrant sibling networks appear to be gendered differently in the 2 countries. Although Mexican men are most influenced by migrant brother networks and Mexican women are most influenced by sister networks, evidence for Senegal is mixed and destination-dependent. Brother networks motivate Senegalese men's and women's migration to Europe, whereas nearly all sibling networks, regardless of gender, influence Senegalese migration within Africa.

Linking the family context of migration during childhood to the well‐being of young adults: Evidence from the UK and France

“…Although both surveys oversampled individuals with a migration background, when the samples were restricted to youth with similar family migration experiences the sizes were modest. This precluded more nuanced analyses, most notably taking into account origin and destination heterogeneity in migration patterns and family networks (Lui, Riosmena, & Creighton, ). For example, it was not feasible to stratify the analysis by origin, which may have shown different outcomes for young people from regions with distinct family and cultural norms or subject to different immigration regimes in Europe.…”

African transnational families: Cross‐country and gendered comparisons

“…Literature on gender and migration has shown that women and men have different social network characteristics leading to different propensities to migrate, may have different reasons for migrating, and face different conditions overseas (Constable, ; Curran & Rivero‐Fuentes, ; Eremenko & González‐Ferrer, ; Liu, Riosmena, & Creighton, ; Malmusi et al, ; Toma & Vause, ). Yet there has been no systematic comparison of transnational families and in particular of migrant mothers and fathers (Mazzucato & Dito, ).…”

“…Few studies have explicitly compared male and female migrants and their family behaviours (Kraus, ). Yet studies on migration and gender have shown how men and women have different motivations to migrate (Curran & Rivero‐Fuentes, ; Kanaiaupuni, ; Massey, Fischer, & Capoferro, ), migration experiences (Hondagneu‐Sotelo, ; Wong, ), opportunities in destination country contexts (Boyd & Grieco, ; Feliciano, ), social network characteristics (Curran & Rivero‐Fuentes, ; Liu et al, ; Malmusi et al, ; Toma & Vause, ), and transnational practices (Goldring, ; Itzigsohn & Giorguli‐Saucedo, ). Goldring () found that Mexican men in the United States were more involved in citizenship practices oriented towards their country of origin.…”

Prospects for the comparative study of international migration using quasi-longitudinal micro-data

“…Using the MAFE household and MMP surveys, Liu, Riosmena and Creighton (2015) examine the gendered role of family position and network-derived social capital in how international migration experience is distributed within Mexican and Senegalese families and find evidence of family obligations and differential investments in children. A comparative lens and accessible and longitudinal micro-data are essential for understanding the true and complex dynamics of international migration.…”