International mobility of skilled women: overview of trends and issues

Abstract

Rural-urban migration in India has accelerated during the last half of the century. Even though migration is primarily undertaken with the objective of a better and secure employment, among interstate migrants only a small minority has been able to find work in the formal sector. This chapter aims to map the living and working conditions of migrant workers who come in search of better opportunities in Kerala from other parts of India. The forces of globalization have brought about large changes in the organization of the production economy, resulting in the emergence of multiple locations of labour and therefore, a plurality of labour capital contradiction. Post-liberalization interstate migration has accentuated in both magnitude and intensity. The local population always view migrants as aliens and interact in a minimum possible way with them. The chapter uses the primary data source: the Inter-state Migrant Survey, Kerala, conducted by the Centre for Development Studies and funded by the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs.