is moving abroad harder for women?

Ciao Going Expat People,

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how are you? Yesterday was women’s day and I haven’t post anything. I took a day off since it was Sunday and decided to take it slow.

In fact one of the ways I wanted to celebrate the day was not feeling the pressure to prove anything. As a woman, a migrant and a business owner.

But today I am back to work and want to discuss about this question: is moving abroad harder for women?

Migration is not gender-neutral.

There is growing academic evidence that women often experience moving abroad differently and in many cases, more complexly than men.

Let’s unpack what the research actually says.

📊 What Research Tells Us About Women and Migration

Over the past two decades, scholars and institutions such as UN Women and IOM have emphasized that migration experiences are shaped by gender.

Key findings across international studies:

Migration risks are gendered. Women migrants are statistically more exposed to:

Gender-based violence during transit
Exploitation in informal or domestic work sectors
Legal and financial dependency when migrating as partners

Labour market integration differs

Across Europe, research consistently shows:
Migrant women have larger initial employment gaps than migrant men
Qualification recognition barriers hit women harder
Care responsibilities slow labour market entry

The “double disadvantage” effect. Female migrants often face:

Discrimination as migrants
Structural inequality as women
This layered experience can make integration more difficult, especially in the early years.

What About the Netherlands?

The Netherlands is often ranked highly for quality of life and social stability. But gender equality indicators reveal nuance.

Gender pay gap

While smaller than in many countries, a pay gap still exists — particularly in leadership and high-income roles.

Care expectations

The Dutch system is progressive, but childcare costs and social expectations around caregiving still disproportionately affect women, including newcomers without extended family networks.