Return migration and women's empowerment: the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic in return migrant households

The return of migrants, including migrant workers, has come under the spotlight during the COVID-19 pandemic with massive repatriation operations of nationals carried out by countries worldwide. Migrant workers in countries of destination were often faced with challenges related to employment and financial security, in addition to the mounting effects of the pandemic, including lockdowns, high rates of infection, and the prevalence of ill or deceased family members, both voluntary and involuntary returns home were rampant during the pandemic. Mass reparations and the return of migrant workers overall have implications for migrant worker households and gender dynamics in countries of origin, including, for instance as it relates to family breadwinners and decision-making. The issue of gender equality and women’s empowerment in the context of return migration however remains less explored. In efforts to bolster research to better support returning migrant workers and their households, especially through more gender-responsive reintegration programmes, this chapter describes the interlinkages between women’s empowerment and return migration, sex-disaggregated data of return migrants during COVID-19, and the implications of return migration across three dimensions of women’s empowerment, that is socioeconomic empowerment, violence and discrimination against women, and health impacts.