Conference paper

Migrant Women as a Neglected “Minority”

Lydia Sklevicky ; Institute of History of the Labour Movement in Croatia, Zagreb, Croatia

Abstract

The author, having claimed that research has up till now unjustifiably neglected the importance of women in migration, presents some data/interpretations derived from the history of Yugoslav overseas immigration that speak of the relevance and the diversity of roles taken on by women in the migration situation. In this framework, she discusses the role of women in preserving the national identity of immigrants, the employment of women in their new milieux, and immigration itself as a road for female emancipation. In the later context, some mention is made of the participation of women in the workers' movement, in humanitarian societies and in the anti-fascist struggle. At the end the author suggests some possible directions for future research: a broader definition of culture as a way of life could stimulate research into family life and women's subculture, changes in the perception o sex roles could serve as indicators of the process of acculturation, and finally, an analysis of personal feelings (alienation, nostalgia, illness) could provide a human dimension in migration history research.

Keywords

migrant women; national identity; labour movement; emancipation

Hrčak ID:

128328

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/128328

Publication date:

31.10.1988.

Article data in other languages: croatian

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