The social construction of gendered migration from the Philippines

THE SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF GENDERED MIGRATION 5 8 9

DISCUSSION NOTE

The Social Construction ofGendered Migration

from the Philippines*

Internal Migration in Thailand

Patterns of Spouse/Fiance Sponsorship to Australia

Changing Occupational Characteristicsof U.S. Immigrants*

The Social Construction of Gendered Migrationfrom the Philippines

Migrant Workers and Labor MarketSegmentation in Japan

DISCUSSION NOTE

The Social Construction ofGendered Migration

from the Philippines*

James A. Tyner

University of Southern California

Despite a considerable amount of research conducted on Asian labormigration, decidedly little attention has focused on the vulnerability andexploitation of women overseas contract workers. This article examineshow the social construction of gender influences the migration of Filipinaoverseas workers and contributes to the increased vulnerability and ex-ploitation of women migrants. In particular, direct and indirect socia-lization processes, as well as gendered and racial stereotypes, are manifestwithin the labor recruitment process, helping to channel women migrantsinto the domestic services and entertainment sectors of this migration flow.

A growing, and too often neglected, global issue in migration studies isthe exploitation of women overseas contract workers (OCWs). Conside-rable research has focused on contemporary Asian labor migration patterns(Arnold and Shah, 1986; Gunatilleke, 1986; Abella, 1992; Battistella andPaganoni, 1992; Huguet, 1992; Skeldon, 1992). Research has also examinedthe costs and benefits of labor migration for countries (Stahl, 1988; Agos-tinelli, 1991; Vasquez, 1992) as well as individuals and families (Cruz, 1987;Cruz and Paganoni, 1989). Decidedly less research has examined the vulne-

Asian and Pacific Migration Journal, Vol. 3, No. 4, 1994 5 9 0

* Research for this article was funded by a Fred H. Bixby Fellowship for PopulationResearch. The author thanks two anonymous reviewers for their comments on an earlierversion of this paper.

rability and exploitation of women overseas contract workers (Orozco,1985;de Guzman, 1984; Sancho and Layador, 1993). Most information on theexploitation of migrants is scattered throughout the literature, found insocial commentaries, journalistic reports or descriptive accounts of particu-lar types of migrants such as domestic workers or entertainers (David,1991; Palma-Beltran and de Dios, 1992; Sancho and Layador, 1993). Current-ly, there is no explicit attempt to provide a theoretical basis to our under-standing of the vulnerability and exploitation of women overseas contractworkers.

It is very difficult to provide a universal explanation for the variety ofexploitative practices—double-charging of fees for labor contracts, falsecontracts, physical and sexual abuse—that are prevalent in the migratoryprocess. Some practices are readily explainable and generalizable, e.g.the deception by illegal recruiters for quick and easy profit is made at theexpense of unwary migrants. It is questionable, however, whether a holisticexplanation for the exploitation of migrants exists (or is even desirable,given the place-specificity of many migration flows), since all types of wor-kers are susceptible to various forms of exploitation. Some, however, aregender specific and, in fact, have important policy considerations.

The purpose of this article is to examine how the social construction ofgender influences migration and how this contributes to the increased vul-nerability and exploitation of women migrants. Building on recent deve-lopments in social construction theory (Ng, 1986; Aguilar, 1989; Jackson,1989, 1994; Jackson and Penrose, 1993), my central thesis is that underlyingsocial structures—while only partially responsible for migration1—play asignificant role in shaping gender differences in international labor migrationflows. Employment opportunities (i.e.“men’s” work and “women’s” work)are not biologically determined, but socially constructed. Specifically,women’s labor in overseas contract work has been largely relegated to ser-vice sectors, such as domestic work and entertainment. These positions areusually independent, in the sense that workers often perform their dutiesalone and in private. Additionally, these positions place women in subser-vient roles, where the very job description is either to “serve” or to “enter-tain.” Combined, these two conditions contribute to women’s increasedvulnerability and exploitation in overseas contract work. Empirically, thisthesis is supported by a case study of contemporary Philippine internationallabor migration. Using interviews with government officials, private

1 The literature reflects an effort to move away from traditional determinants of labor export(e.g. poverty, overpopulation) to more institutional considerations such as labor recruitmentmechanisms, policies, and capital investment. See Shah and Arnold (1986); Abella (1992, 1993);Alegado (1992).

5 9 2 ASIAN AND PACIFIC MIGRATION JOURNAL

recruiters, and non-governmental organizations, I document the causes(social construction of gendered migration) and consequences (increasedvulnerability and exploitation) of this migration flow.

The intent is not to imply that only women, or Filipinas, are exploitedas migrants, but rather to highlight how the social construction of genderedmigration increases the vulnerability of many women migrants by confiningthese workers into more marginalized occupational niches. As Jackson andPenrose (1993: 2) attest, if we can learn how “specific constructions haveempowered particular categories, we can disempower them or appropriatetheir intrinsic power, to achieve more equitable ends.” And to this end, wemay be in a better position to identify viable policies and programs for theprotection of overseas contract workers (Tyner, forthcoming).

The Social Construction of Gender and Gendered Migration

Chant and Radcliffe (1992: 19) observe that "although sex has long beenrecognized as a variable in migrant selectivity, female migration has onlyrecently been included within the rubric of general migration theories."Since the late 1970s, but especially in the late 1980s and early 1990s, therehas been an increasing number of studies on gender and migration (Phi-zacklea, 1983; Fawcett, Khoo, and Smith, 1984; Orozco, 1985; Simon andBrettel, 1986; Radcliffe, 1990, 1991; Chant, 1992a; Palma-Beltran and deDios, 1992; Sancho and Layador, 1993). In general, the study of women inmigration has paralleled advances made within the larger field of women’sstudies, shifting from an emphasis on the documentation of patterns, to theexplanation of patterns (see Bowlby et al., 1989: 158). Early work identifiedbiases in previous studies, such as methodological problems of interviewingonly “male heads of households”; interviewing women when their spouseswere present; discounting women’s labor force participation, thus ignoringeconomic motives for female migration; and assumptions that womenmigrate predominantly with men (husbands) or to join husbands.

One area that is lacking in gender and migration research is theorybuilding (Thadini and Todaro, 1984; Radcliffe, 1990; Chant, 1992a, b; Chantand Radcliffe, 1992). Some migration theories preclude a priori the study ofwomen while others are modified to explain the participation of women,albeit as a residual or aberrant phenomenon. Considerably fewer theoriesor models have directly addressed gender and migration simultaneously.This discussion contributes to theory building of gender and migration byadapting recent work in social construction theory to the study of genderedmigration. This is parallel to developments in contemporary feministscholarship, as McDowell (1992: 400) identifies:


[T]he shift of emphasis in feminist scholarship away from womentowards gender, allow[s] issues about the social construction of,and geographical variations in, masculinity as well as femininity tobe raised.

The Social Construction of Gender

Social construction theory represents a fundamental attack on the imposition,and continuance, of social categories previously conceptualized as naturally-occurring and immutable. It is a perspective which is “concerned with theways in which we think about and use categories (e.g. class, gender, race)to structure our experiences and analysis of the world” (Jackson and Pen-rose, 1993: 2). Specifically, a social construction perspective challenges thesexist ideologies embedded within biological determinism. The basicpremise of biological determinism, as it applies to occupational differencesbetween the sexes, is that women and men perform different kinds of jobsbecause they have different biologically based abilities (Curthoys, 1986:320). Thus, women are perceived to be naturally skilled at domestic work(e.g. child-rearing, cooking, and cleaning). In fact, most societies, acrosshistorical periods, have tended to assign females to infant care and to theduties associated with raising children because of their biological ability tobear children (Amott and Matthaei, 1991:14).

Proponents of a social construction perspective, conversely, maintainthat differences between women and men result from the development ofsexist ideologies which confuse biological differences with sociological dif-ferences. In particular, the beliefs about “male” work and “female” workstem from a sexist ideology that is transmitted through a socializationprocess (Curthoys, 1986). Socialization refers to a lifelong process wherebychildren grow up and develop as socially-defined men and women: thebiological sexes are assigned distinct and often unequal work and politicalpositions (Amott and Matthaei, 1991: 13). Support for this argument iswell-founded (Jackson, 1989; Radcliffe, 1990, 1992). Radcliffe (1990, 1992),for example, finds that Peruvian women are socialized from an early ageto perform domestic tasks. In fact, “patterns of gender subordination ...influence the consolidation of a pool of domestically trained, undervaluedpeasant girls before their entry or supply to the labour market as domesticservants” (Radcliffe, 1990: 382). Ironically, the prevalence of women in thepaid domestic sphere may even prevent the socialization of other membersto perform household tasks. Duarte (1989: 199) argues that:

the very presence of the domestic worker discourages thecollaboration of male household members, children, and teenagers.


The fact that domestic service is available, therefore, reaffirmsmachismo and patri-archy in the heart of the family.

This is correct—to a point. The fact that the domestic worker is pre-sumed to be female reinforces patriarchy. The ability of a woman to hirea domestic worker to assume responsibilities for reproductive tasks maystill be seen as liberating, in the sense that these women are able to enter thepaid work force. However, since patriarchal structures relegate domesticwork to the confines of other, often ethnically or racially different, women,this process does, in fact, reinforce existing social relations. Indeed, socialconstructions of gender cannot be considered separate from socialconstructions of class, race, or even nationality (Amott and Matthaei, 1991;Glenn, 1992; Jackson and Penrose, 1993). This is particularly evident whenmigration brings individuals from diverse cultures into contact. In Peru,migrant domestic workers are “looked upon by their employers as ahomogenous inferior group, because of their [the employees] peasantorigins” (Radcliffe, 1990: 384). Glenn (1992: 33) demonstrates how “theracial division of labor [within the United States] bolstered the genderdivision of labor indirectly by offering white women a slightly moreprivileged position in exchange for accepting domesticity.” Duarte (1989:199) finds in the Dominican Republic that “the fact that [the female em-ployer] is in a position to employ a domestic worker reinforces, rather thanchallenges, patriarchy and the subordination of women in the society.” Atthe international level it becomes clear that “ethnic” and “nationality”differences are equally privileging. For example, Filipina maids are lookeddown upon by Hong Kong or Singaporean employers (Tan and Deva-sahayam, 1987; Amarles, 1990). Indeed, the liberation of native women indeveloped countries frequently results from the oppression of migrantwomen, often of color.

The Social Construction of Gendered Migration

A social construction perspective has important implications for migrationresearch. Through a sensitivity to how concepts of gender are sociallyconstructed, it is possible to examine how these influence the migration,employment, and even exploitation of women and men. As Guest (1993:224) writes, “to understand the determinants of gender differences in mig-ration flows it is necessary to recognize that, within a society, sex roles,although not immutable, are historically determined.” It should come as nosurprise, therefore, that previous research found that women often did notmigrate independently of men. In many cultures throughout history,socially-constructed norms and values have impinged on the migration


behavior of women. For example, the independent migration of womenin Bangladesh has historically been constrained by patriarchal structuresand purdah (Pryer, 1992: 141). Pittin (1984: 1312) likewise finds that themigration of Hausa women in Nigeria has been constrained by “socialimpediments designed to control women.” Similar constraints are foundthrough Latin America, Asia and the Middle East (Wilkinson, 1987; Rad-cliffe, 1990, 1991).

The social construction of gender channels women into specific roles.First, because of direct socialization to perform household tasks, manywomen may genuinely be limited to domestic-service oriented occupations;they may not have the skills required for other employment opportunities.Clearly, when women are precluded from obtaining higher education, oreven vocational training, they are effectively prevented from higher skilledand higher paying occupations. In Peru, for example, “peasant familieshave tended to favour their sons’ education and training, whereas daugh-ters continue to face parental unwillingness to fund formal education orskills development" (Radcliffe, 1990: 382). In Thailand, as well, the son’seducation is commonly perceived as more important than the daughter’s.In fact, the son’s education is often supported not by his parents, but by adaughter who had previously migrated (Singhanetra-Renard and Prabhud-hanitisarn, 1992: 163).

Second, women may have greater opportunities for factory employmentbecause of perceived benefits to employers. Women are specifically recrui-ted because of sexist (and racist) stereotypes: these include dominantimages of women as cheap, docile, temporary, and being predisposed tofactory work, such as having nimble fingers and good eyesight (Floro, 1991;Eviota, 1992). Other times migrant women are in demand because indige-nous women are not allowed to work. Women in some Middle Easterncountries, for example, are not allowed or encouraged to perform householdtasks, thus creating a huge demand for domestic workers (Eelens andSpeckmann, 1990). Moreover, as standards of living have risen in thesecountries, there has been a simultaneous increase in the demand for domes-tic work. The number of Sri Lankan domestic workers employed in the GulfStates, for example, increased from 4,898 to 41,912 during the period 1986-1991. In Hong Kong and Singapore also, the entry of indigenous womenworkers into waged labor has necessitated a rapid influx of domesticworkers from less developed countries (Skeldon, 1992).

The Gendered Nature of Philippine Labor Migration

Despite early recognition that women predominate in flows of domesticworkers and entertainers, migration research has neither adequately


examined, nor critically questioned, this situation. Chiengkul (1986: 312),for example, discusses the labor migration of Thai workers to the MiddleEast and writes:

Almost all Thai workers in the Middle East are male. The conditionsin the labor-importing countries have discouraged the migrationof female workers. Most of the job opportunities for females are confinedto domestic service. (Emphasis added)

Within Sri Lanka, likewise, Eelens and Speckmann (1990: 300) note thatit is becoming more difficult for men to find employment overseas:

The reason for this sex discrepancy in migration opportunities isthat the recruitment of male laborers, who are mainly active indevelopment projects, is highly dependent on the economic trendsin the Middle East, while that of housemaids relates to the livingstandards in Middle Eastern households.

These two statements vividly illustrate that international labor migrationis not gender-free, but highly differentiated based on social constructionsof gender. More important, however, they illustrate the uncritical accept-ance of observed patterns, without addressing the causes or consequencesof this imposed gendering of migration. In neither case is it questioned whyjob opportunities for females must be confined to domestic services. Havemigrants been socialized into accepting certain roles? Are these sexualdivisions of labor regulated by policy? What are the consequences of thisgendered migration? To better address these questions, I provide an over-view of the Philippine labor-export policy to examine how social cons-tructions of gender contribute to: (1) patterns of gendered migration; (2) thesocial construction of gender in the Philippines; and (3) the social constructionof Philippine labor migration. This is followed by an examination of thesubsequent vulnerability and exploitation of Filipina overseas contractworkers.

Trends in Philippine Overseas Labor Migration

Within overseas labor migration, men and women from the Philippinesmigrate in near equal numbers. In 1987, for example, of the 382,229deployed Philippine contract workers, 47 percent were women.2 However,occupational patterns reveal significant gender differences (Table 1).

2 Throughout this article I primarily utilize 1987 data. These data are the most complete andrecent data supplied by the POEA during the writing of this article.


TABLE 1 DEPLOYED PHILIPPINE OVERSEAS CONTRACT WORKERS

BY OCCUPATION AND SEX, 1987

Occupation Total Male Female

Professional,Technical 71,614 40,393 31,221(56.4%) (43.6%)

Entertainers 33,924 2,345 31,579(6.9%) (93.1%)

Administrative, 1,503 1,372 131Management (91.3%) (8.7%)

Clerical 13,694 9,888 3,806(72.2%) (27.8%)

Sales 3,722 1,773 1,949(47.6%) (52.4%)

Services 128,704 21,904 106,800(17.0%) (83.0%)

Agriculture 2,215 2,202 13(99.4%) (0.6%)

Production, Construction 126,853 121,911 4,942(96.1%) (3.9%)

TOTAL 382,229 201,788 180,441(52.8%) (47.2%)

SOURCE: Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (1987).

Specifically, Filipinas are underrepresented in higher level positionsand overrepresented in lower level positions, as reflected by their dominancein both service and entertainment sectors. These do not, however, appearto be reflective of the skill levels of Philippine women in general. During the1980s, for example, Filipinas made up 55 percent of all professional andtechnical positions in the Philippines, but only 44 percent of all professionaland technical Philippine workers deployed overseas (Tables 1 and 2).Simultaneously, Filipinas comprised 44 percent of all sales and serviceworkers in the Philippines, yet represented 82 percent of all Philippine salesand service workers deployed overseas. In fact, women comprised 98 per-cent of all domestic workers deployed, and these numbers are hidden in thegeneral category of “services.”

Because of the significant interrelation between occupation type andgeographic destination, it is possible to further discuss gender differencesexhibited in Philippine labor migration patterns based on major world


TABLE 2FILIPINO WORKERS 15 YEARS AND OVER IN THE PHILIPPINES

BY OCCUPATION AND SEX, 1990

Occupation Total Male Female

Professional, Technical 1,434,070 634,633 799,437

(44.3%) (55.7%)

Administrative, 920,493 549,951 370,542

Management (59.8%) (40.2%)

Clerical 763,048 298,013 465,035

(39.1%) (60.9%)

Sales & Services 954,647 537,025 427,622

(56.3%) (43.7%)

Agriculture 6,589,176 6,055,725 533,451

(91.9%) (8.10%)

Production, Construction 3,204,981 2,629,100 575,881

(82.0%) (18.0%)

Elementary Occupations1 3,765,793 2,144,271 1,621,522

(56.9%) (43.1%)

Non-Gainful2 15,474,331 3,442,305 12,032,026

(22.3%) (77.7%)

Unclassified 3,465,859 1,882,033 1,583,826

(54.3%) (45.7%)

SOURCE: National Statistics Office (1990: Table 16).1 Elementary occupations include market stall vendors, domestic helpers, caretakers,

miscellaneous laborers, and so forth.2 Non-gainful occupations include housekeepers (own home), pensioners, and students.

regions. The Middle East region has continually received the largest pro-portion of Philippine OCWs since the late 1970s and into the early 1990s. In1987, of 382,229 Philippine labor migrants deployed worldwide, 272,038(71 percent) were deployed to this region. This migration system is com-posed primarily of men engaged in the production/construction sector. Ofthe total number of Philippine OCWs deployed to the Middle East, 68 per-cent were men. Women overwhelmingly found employment in two sectors:services (56 percent) and professionals (32 percent). The Asian region, asopposed to Middle Eastern destinations, is characterized by a predomi-


nance of female labor migrants: 92 percent of Philippine OCWs to thisregion are women. Within Asia there are distinct occupational patterns ofPhilippine OCWs. Both Hong Kong and Singapore import women domesticworkers from the Philippines (Table 3), whereas Japan imports women towork in the entertainment industries. In 1987, of the 46,790 workers dep-loyed to Hong Kong and Singapore, 99 percent were women, engagedprimarily as maids and other servants. The phenomenal demand for Fili-pina domestic workers in Hong Kong and Singapore has been explainedprimarily by the large number of indigenous women entering the paidlabor force, thus necessitating a demand for foreign maids to providefamily care (Skeldon, 1992).

The predominance of women engaged in the entertainment industriesin Japan is even more pronounced (Table 4). In particular, Japan accountsfor the largest share of all deployed women migrant entertainers from thePhilippines. In 1987, out of a total of 31,579 Filipina migrant entertainersdeployed worldwide, 31,292 (99 percent) were destined for Japan. Viewedfrom another perspective, of the 33,791 deployed Philippine OCWs toJapan, 93 percent were Filipina entertainers. Bear in mind these numbersreflect only legally admitted labor migrants; when illegal entrants andoverstayers are included, estimates of Filipinas working in the entertainmentindustries in Japan range from 60,000 to 150,000 (David, 1991; de Dios,1992).

Similar to the Asian region, labor-importing countries of Europe (e.g.Greece, Italy, and Spain) and the Americas (e.g. Canada and the UnitedStates) predominantly employ women. Of the 5,643 workers deployed toEurope in 1987, nearly 83 percent were women; over 91 percent of the Fili-pina OCWs destined to Europe were domestic workers. Occupationalpatterns to the Americas are comparable to Europe, in the sense that a largeproportion (31 percent) of all Philippine OCWs deployed are femaledomestic workers. This situation is unlike Europe, however, in that boththe United States and Canada also import a large proportion of women (53percent) engaged in professional sectors (e.g. doctors, nurses).

Two final regions—Africa and the Pacific—reflect a predominance ofmale Filipino OCWs. The majority of these workers are engaged in produc-tion/construction occupations, reflecting an emphasis on the developmentof infrastructure throughout Africa and the Pacific. However, there is asmaller, but socially important, number of professionals deployed to theseregions (especially in Nigeria; see Saliba, 1993).

To what extent are these observed patterns reflective of institutionalregulations, or underlying structural conditions that influence, but do notdetermine, deployment practices?


TABLE 3TOP TEN DESTINATIONS OF LEGALLY DEPLOYED PHILIPPINE

DOMESTIC WORKERS BY SEX, 1987

Destination Total Male FemaleDeployed

Hong Kong 30,152 318 29,834(1.1%) (98.9%)

Singapore 16,638 26 16,612(0.2%) (99.8%)

Saudi Arabia 9,090 285 8,805(3.1%) (96.9%)

United Arab Emirates 8,561 132 8,429(1.5%) (98.5%)

Qatar 2,243 87 2,156(3.9%) (96.1%)

Malaysia 2,125 0 2,125(0%) (100.0%)

Brunei 2,067 62 2,005(3.0%) (97.0%)

Kuwait 1,683 10 1,673(0.6%) (99.4%)

Greece 1,679 33 1,646(2.0%) (98.0%)

Italy 1,668 168 1,500(10.1%) (89.9%)


TABLE 4TOP FIVE DESTINATIONS OF LEGALLY DEPLOYED PHILIPPINE

ENTERTAINERS BY SEX, 1987

Destination Total Male FemaleDeployed

Japan 33,249 1,957 31,292(5.9%) (94.1%)

Hong Kong 254 197 57(77.6%) (22.4%)

Italy 99 6 93(6.1%) (93.9%)

United Arab Emirates 60 26 34(43.3%) (56.7%)

Korea 34 27 7(79.4%) (20.6%)



The Social Construction of Gender in the Philippines

The Filipino household is commonly viewed as egalitarian (Javillonar,1979; Green, 1980) and the relatively high position of women in thePhilippines is thought to date back to the pre-colonial era.3 This socialstructure is evidenced by the many gender-neutral kinship terms in theTagalog vocabulary (Medina, 1991: 23-24), including asawa (spouse), anak(son or daughter), apo (grandchild), bata (child) and siya (he or she). Andeven though men are generally recognized as the head of the household,women are thought to control the household through budget managementand resource allocation. However, studies have increasingly indicated thatthe Filipino household is not as egalitarian as once thought (Aguilar-SanJuan, 1982; Eviota, 1986, 1992; Aguilar, 1989; Floro, 1991). Indeed, themajority of Filipino couples follow the traditional division of labor or taskallocation, with the husband as the breadwinner and the wife as thedomestic (Medina, 1988: 123). Aguilar (1989: 543), for example, suggeststhat “egalitarianism is merely a tag that has been foisted upon a set ofrelations it really does not fit.” Specifically, she argues that the wives’ roleas household manager does not translate into an increase in power or statuswithin the household. Bulatao (1984: 352), in a survey of nearly 1,600women, concludes that wives seldom make decisions by themselves in anyregion throughout the Philippines—a conclusion supported by Floro (1991:109). Moreover, over 90 percent of the women in the Bulatao studyindicated that they needed their husbands' permission to either go out withfriends or to lend money to relatives. This latter finding, in particular, raisesdoubts as to Philippine women being in control of their households andhousehold resources.

Philippine society thus reveals distinct gender roles, resulting from alifelong socialization process. This process occurs in two different, yetsimultaneously and mutually reinforcing guises: direct socialization andindirect socialization. Direct socialization results when the child is expli-citly and directly taught standards, values, and proper behavior for boysand girls (Medina, 1991: 48). This form of socialization often results fromfamily interactions and schooling. In Philippine society, for example:

The binatilyos (adolescent males) participate in many affairs of thecom-munity with more freedom, tolerance and understandingfrom their parents, while the dalagitas (adolescent females) generallystay at home to take care of the siblings and other “womanly”

3 More detailed accounts of the social construction of gender in the Philippines are found inAguilar-San Juan (1982); Aguilar (1989); Medina (1991); and Eviota (1992).


chores like washing clothes, cooking the meals, and other workactivities connected with the upkeep of the house (Medina, 1991:123-4).

Although both parents play an active role in socialization, the motherassumes the bulk of childcare responsibility because it is she who spendsmore time at home and has a more intimate relationship with the child.This fact reinforces the Filipino stereotype of the woman playing the do-mestic role (Medina, 1991: 196).

In school, girls are often channelled into home economics courses (sew-ing, cooking, vegetable gardening), while boys learn woodworking, knot-tying, and agricultural techniques.4 Textbooks also reflect gender biases.Aurora de Dios and her colleagues (1987) find, for example, that althoughnegative images are not as prevalent as in other media venues, women arestill shown in very limited activities, mostly confined to domestic roles.Women are also defined, in general, by their relation to men (as wives,sisters, or mothers). The most prestigious roles for women found in thestudy were those of teachers and nurses. Moreover, not only are roles limi-ted, but the behavior of women is conditioned to an inferior, or dependentposition. Women are routinely portrayed as passive, obedient, submissive,and docile (de Dios et al., 1987), relying on the more successful or forcefulmale figurehead.

Indirect socialization, conversely, refers to the process whereby thechild learns cultural values and norms from his or her observations andexperiences (Medina, 1991: 48). Media, in particular, have been influentialin reenforcing images of women and men. A five-month survey undertakenin the Philippines during 1985 revealed some particularly relevant resultsregarding the social construction of gender roles. Traditionally, the perceivedrole of Filipino wives, according to Sevilla (quoted in Medina, 1991) is thatof “a loving and loyal mate to her husband”; one who is “responsible forkeeping the marriage intact by her patience, submission, and virtues.”Furthermore, she is a “diligent housekeeper” and the family treasurer whobudgets the money for the various family needs (quoted in Medina, 1991:123). Azarcon-dela Cruz (1988) discusses how television shows reinforcethese images of motherhood, beauty, docility, subservience to men. Womenin radio serials are most often “portrayed as wife, mother, mistress ordomestic helper”(p112). Indeed, television shows often portray men as“the main breadwinner who must support the family at all costs”(p. 95).

4 Gender biases in education are being challenged, albeit slowly. Home economics classesare now referred to as “Home Technology and Livelihood Education,” with both boys and girlsparticipating in these classes.


Radio and television ads likewise portray women as the epitome ofbeauty, docility and household efficiency. Women are more likely toappear as mothers, wives and household help, while men are rarelypresent. These reinforce the image that home and household are solely awoman’s domain. Other common images portrayed women as girlfriends,dates, and sex objects. Print ads as well “have persisted in reinforcing thestereotyped images of women as less important, less intelligent, of lessconsequence and weaker than men”(p. 38). Many advertisements alsoimply that women buy products, not so much for personal satisfaction, butrather for male approval and acceptance. For impressionable children,these ads could easily be the source of role models and future expectations.

The Social Construction of Philippine Labor Migration

Historically, racial and sexual stereotypes have been institutionalizedwithin labor markets (Glenn,1992; Ng, 1986; Hossfield, 1994). Ng’s (1986)study of an employment placement agency reveals the process by whichimmigrant women were commodified into specific locations in the Cana-dian labor market. Glenn (1992) likewise identifies the channelization ofimmigrant women into certain jobs, such as domestic work. Within thePhilippine labor migration industry, however, there are no institutional orofficially sanctioned policies restricting Filipinas to employment in domesticservices and entertainment sectors. Neither are men or women specificallychannelled or counselled into these sectors. Guidelines and regulations ofthe Philippines Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), for example,do not specify any distinction in employment contracts; thus (at least in thecountry of origin) there seem to be no restrictions on male/female employ-ment. Additionally, an examination of Standard Employment Contractsprovided by the POEA reveal no specificity regarding the sex of domesticworkers. Indeed, some contracts repeatedly make reference to “he/she”and “his/her” when outlining employment parameters. In the case ofSingapore, however, the contract only makes reference to women, as in:

The worker is expected to commence her daily duties by ensuringthat reasonable morning requirements of the Employer and his/her family are met and prepared on time and shall ensure that herday’s chores are fulfilled before retiring to bed.

However, while not officially endorsing a gender-based policy, themarketing strategies of the POEA may unintentionally contribute to thesocial construction of gendered migration. The cover of a pamphlet lauding


the virtues of “Filipino manpower”5 distributed by the POEA, for example,reveals six Filipinos, dressed according to their job. Of the three women,one is dressed as a nurse, a second as a maid, and the third as an entertainer(wearing a mini-skirt and holding a guitar). Of the three men, one is holdinga t-square (an engineer perhaps?), a second is dressed as a constructionworker, and the third as a ship-based officer. Inside, the text reveals thatFilipinos are “properly educated and well-trained, proficient in Englishand of sound temperament” (emphasis added). This last statement might beread as implying the docility and subservience of all Filipino workers.

Although not officially sanctioned, underlying social constructions ofgender are manifest within policies and programs of international labormigration. This manifestation is most evident in specific recruitmentpractices. When foreign principals submit “manpower” requests, they arerequired to specify the skills needed and qualifications desired. For manyoccupations, such as domestic services and entertainment work, employersoften request potential employees based not on skill, but rather personalcharacteristics (e.g. young, attractive, or happy). “Help-wanted” adver-tisements placed in various Hong Kong newspapers read: “Cheerful, live-in Filipina maid/cook wanted” or “Temporary Filipina maid wanted formonth ... clean, tidy appearance” (Mission for Filipino Migrant Workers,1983).

In effect, women OCWs are commodified to fit pre-existing and exter-nally-imposed images of what women/women-migrants should be andshould perform. The social construction of female maid, in particular, ref-lects a mixture of gender and racial stereotypes. Moreover, hiring practicesreveal the existence of racist hierarchies as to the most desirable, or accep-table, nationality. In Italy, for example, “Filipino women [as opposed toAfrican women] ... appear at the top of the hierarchy as determined by thepreferences of Italian families for domestic workers” (Andall, 1992: 45).Hornziel (1990, quoted in Andall, 1992: 45) states that "in middle-upperenvironments Filipino domestic workers, with their knowledge of the Eng-lish language, also offer an element of cultural prestige."

In Jordan, also, maids are ranked according to skin color, commu-nication abilities, beauty and fashionable appearance (Humphrey, 1991:56). Hierarchies such as these have translated into relatively higher wagesfor better educated, light-skinned, English speaking Filipinas, as opposedto poorly educated, dark-skinned, non-English speaking Sri Lankan women.

5 Official terminology used by government and private agencies for labor export is“manpower.” While recognizing the sexism inherent in this term, I nevertheless have chosento retain usage according to Philippine practice.


Women migrants are no longer viewed as individuals, but rather asproducts to be exported and imported. In Japan, Filipinas are often order-ed through catalogues just as one might order office supplies. Tono (1986:71) relates that in the Philippines:

[A]fter a woman is targeted, her picture is taken and filed in a cata-logue. Promoters exchange their catalogues and show them tocustomers, such as bar managers. “This girl is a 17-year-old highschool student. She’s got a terrific body, but is a drug addict,” is atypical comment by the promoter when he shows the women’s pic-tures in the catalogues.

Entertainers are doubly exploited because of race and sex. As Duenas(Philippines Free Press, April 4, 1987) writes of Filipinas:

[She] is a downgraded woman in Japan. In that country where sexdominates the preoccupation of men and is a billion-dollar in-dustry, the image of the Filipina is that of a shameless “Japayuki-san” whose only purpose in coming to Japan is to sell her body forJapanese yen. In the booming, countrywide sex trade, which inJapan is not looked down on as dirty business, the “Japayuki-san”is treated as merchandise, a commodity to be listed in the buy-and-sell catalogues.

In Hong Kong, Filipinas and domestic service have become so mergedin the popular culture that a doll sold widely in Hong Kong is called simply"Filipina maid." Indeed, the word "Filipina" in Hong Kong has come tomean amah, a term for maidservant (Aguilar, 1989: 10). A sample of adver-tisements placed by recruitment agencies in Hong Kong read: “Availablewith videotapes. Excellent Filipina babysitters, housekeepers,” “A brandnew selection! Filipina and Sri Lankan Maids,”“A wide selection of Filipinamaids with colour TV viewing” (Mission for Filipino Migrant Workers,1983).

Notice also the selling points used by recruitment agencies to attractcustomers. They boldly proclaim “wide selections” to choose from. In fact,this preview is often vital. Within some labor-importing countries, the abil-ity to employ a Filipina maid is seen as a status symbol. Similar to “owningthe right car” and “living in the right area,” it has become essential toemploy the proper maid. Humphrey (1991: 56), for example, finds that inJordan, “domestic servants are essentially an item of consumption withsymbolic value.”

The private sector is often compliant with these requests. When foreignemployers specify “provincial girls,” believing them to be better “trained”in domestic skills (i.e. cooking, cleaning, and childcare), labor recruiterscontinually leave the confines of Manila in search of better “products.” Pro-vincial girls, it is assumed, are less likely to be attracted by “bright lights”and thus more willing to remain isolated as live-in maids.


The recruitment of women in the provinces is, however, partially aresponse to supply. Some recruiters are finding that larger cities such asManila are “tapped out.” Many of the women residing in Manila, for ex-ample, have fallen prey regularly to illegal recruiters and have lost consi-derable sums of money; therefore they are less able to pay the processingfees for overseas employment.6 Conversely, if recruitment is conducted inthe provinces, recruiters often find pools of fresh applicants that potentiallyhave the financial resources required for overseas employment.

Entertainers, likewise, are specifically recruited in provincial areas;this counters a common-sense assumption that entertainers are recruitedin the entertainment districts of Manila. According to the recruiters, “oncethe girls work in [Philippine] nightclubs, they are hard to control.” It isthought that these women have already been exposed to difficult and dif-ferent situations; foreign employers, therefore, would no longer be able toimpose discipline on the entertainers.

In short, employment opportunities are not deliberately or intention-ally separated according to sex by the POEA and the private sector. Womencan, and do, find employment as doctors, nurses, engineers, as well asdomestic workers and entertainers. Men likewise find overseas employmentas domestic workers and entertainers. However, global assumptions ofmen’s work and women’s work are manifest within the dominant flows ofmigrant workers from labor-exporting to labor-importing countries.Additionally, labor recruiters do employ social constructs about “provincial”girls when approaching applicants for overseas employment. Moreover,requests by foreign employers indicate that these constructs are widelyknown and accepted. Not only do these constructs influence the recruitmentwithin the Philippines, but also the specific selection of “the Philippines”as opposed to other labor-exporting countries.

The Exploitation of Women Overseas Contract Workers

All labor migrants are susceptible to some forms of exploitation. Financialfraud is probably the most common, resultant from unscrupulous recruitersovercharging worker-applicants. However, I suggest that the imposedgendering (occupational channelization) of international labor migrationhas placed women in significantly more vulnerable positions, vis-a-vistheir male counterparts. This is most evident in the domestic and enter-

6 This is not to imply that prospective labor migrants who have lost considerable sums ofmoney to fraudulent recruiters cease in the attempt for overseas employment. Indeed, worker-applicants often go into debt, borrowing from families, friends, and loan sharks to pay recruit-ment fees (see Lindquist, 1993).


tainment sectors where job requirements have placed women in subservientpositions, catering to domestic needs or sexual pleasures. The StandardEmployment Contract for Filipino household workers in Singapore, forexample, describes the employees’ duties:

The Worker undertakes to perform diligently and faithfully allduties of a domestic nature such as but not limited to laundry,cooking, child or baby care, general cleaning and housekeeping ofthe residence of the employer and other relevant household choreswhich the Employer may from time to time require.

The Worker is expected at all times to observe proper decorum andshall be courteous, polite and respectful to her Employer andmembers of his/her family. She shall also observe the Code ofDiscipline for Filipino Workers and abide by the laws of Singaporeand respect its customs and traditions.

Entertainers, especially, are in vulnerable positions; their very jobdescription is to provide “entertainment.” The Philippine Senate evenrecommended that Filipino entertainers be provided hazard pay! Accordingto de Dios (1992: 49), these women are “selling a particular brand of femalesexuality that caters to the needs and satisfaction of male clients and custo-mers.” Entertainers are thus simply sexual objects, or products, to be usedat the convenience of customers.

Why is this so? In 1990 the Philippine Senate questioned why areFili-pino migrant women concentrated in the lowly-paid servicesectors such as domestic helpers, chambermaids, entertainers,prostitutes, and nurses all over the world although most of themare in fact college graduates or professionals? (Philippine Senate,1990: 37).

The previous section indicates that other overseas employment oppor-tunities (e.g. professionals), according to the rules and regulations governingthe deployment of Philippines OCWs, are open to women. However, thecurrent global demand reflects a desire for Filipinas as servants. Theireducation and professional skills are not desired, but rather their "beauty,cheerfulness, and hospitality."

The commodification of women migrant workers has, in part, contri-buted to the widespread exploitation of overseas workers across cultures.Simply put, when migrants are not viewed as individuals, but by thefunctions they perform, they become nonentities: products. Employers canselect applicants through catalogues, order them through the mail (through


the POEA), and have them delivered. Foreign workers arrive with a con-tract and instruction manual (job description). For some employers, theirnewly-purchased workers represent a considerable investment. In Singa-pore, for example, employers are required to deposit a S$5,000 deposit toensure the good behavior of foreign domestic workers (Tan and Devasa-hayam, 1987; Amarles, 1990). Good behavior means, in part, that domesticworkers are not allowed to marry Singaporeans, get pregnant, or engagein any employment other than that contracted. Rather than risk losing thisdeposit, draconian measures are emplaced to provide for the “good” beha-vior of domestic workers. As a result, domestic workers are under constantsurveillance.

Nevertheless, women still enter into overseas employment contracts;they are the ones who ultimately sign the contracts. Does this indicate thatwomen willingly engage in these vulnerable occupations? Are they willingpartners in a process of commodification? To answer these questions, wemust look closer at the process of migration.

The act of migration may be seen as liberating: an exercise of free choiceto escape a negative situation. According to African-American feminist bellhooks (1984:5), however, being oppressed means the absence of choices.We can thus examine the gendering of migration, and the act of migration,from the standpoint of choices. Existing studies have consistently revealedthat women (and men) undertake overseas work because of a lack of em-ployment opportunities within the Philippines (Cruz and Paganoni, 1989;Ballescas, 1992; Palma-Beltran and de Dios, 1992). I contend that the re-duction of choices to either service sector jobs or entertainment relatedoccupations represents an absence of choices: the lack of opportunities inthe Philippines, coupled with limited opportunities based on subservienceand sexuality, reflects an institutionalized system of oppression. Thisoppression is often exemplified by a private sector that claims they areproviding a valuable service. According to members of the private sector,women “choose” to engage in occupations that native workers shun (e.g.those jobs which are dirty, dangerous, and demeaning) because no otherjob is available in the Philippines. But choice in this context is illusory. Theacceptance of lower-wages, the tolerance of contract violations, the threatof physical and sexual abuse—these are not conditions which migrantswillingly accept. Rather, oppression within the Philippines, combined withglobal demands for housemaids and dancers, is why women are “willing”to leave their families while caring for other people’s families in foreigncountries. In short, when migration becomes the only option, it is no longera choice. Orozco (1985) refers to these women as economic refugees.


Conclusions

Current patterns of international migration, especially contract labormigration, are changing. The rapid industrialization of capital-rich butlabor-short countries of the Middle East (notably Saudi Arabia and Kuwait)and Asia (Hong Kong, Japan, and Singapore) stimulated new and majorflows of temporary labor migration. Concomitantly, the origins of temporarycontract workers shifted from predominantly Mediterranean and Europeancountries toward South and Southeast Asia (e.g. Indonesia, the Philippines,Sri Lanka, and Thailand). Linkages between labor-sending and labor-receiving countries are now more likely to reflect capital-linkages ratherthan colonial or post-colonial linkages.

Coincident with changes in international migration patterns have beensignificant theoretical advances in migration research, especially inconsideration of women migrants (Radcliffe, 1990, 1991; Chant, 1992a,b;Chant and Radcliffe, 1992). Previous work has shown that women do notmigrate predominantly in association, or in conjunction with men. None-theless, many aspects of gendered migration, such as exploitation, remainunexplored. Indeed, current migration research reflects an uncriticalacceptance of the sexual division of labor of overseas contract work. Whengender differences are discussed, aggregate patterns are revealed at best,thus contributing little to our understanding of the conditions leading tothese patterns, and outcomes resultant from these flows.

In part, this lack of awareness mirrors the “invisibility” of female mi-gration. In countries such as Italy and Japan, for example, female migrantshad been arriving in large numbers before any significant inflows of malemigrants. However, it was not until the latter began to arrive that the “mi-grant invasion” generated any public response. On one hand, this is a re-flection that women are not perceived as a threat, which according toAndall (1992: 42) “suggests that a paternalistic form of sexism may [be] atplay.” Women migrants also predominantly find employment in thedomestic sphere, previously vacated by indigenous women workers.Thus, in the example of Italy, women migrants “have not essentially beenperceived as representing a threat on the labour market, but rather are seenas filling a vacuum left by Italian women” (Andall, 1992: 43). In Japan, also,migrant women are seen as filling voids created by the occupationaladvancement of Japanese women. Indigenous women are less willing towork in the domestic services or entertainment sectors. These changes havecreated “labor” shortages, thus necessitating large influxes of foreignwomen. On the other hand, the lack of concern surrounding the import ofwomen’s workers is related to their employment niches. As Andall (1992:42)


correctly observes, the concentration of women in the domestic sphere hasmeant that they “have literally been hidden from view.”

Drawing on recent developments in social construction theory, I haveexamined how the social construction of gender and gendered migrationchannels women toward selected occupations within the internationaldivision of labor: domestic workers and entertainers. These occupationalniches, in turn, place women in far more vulnerable positions, thus exacer-bating exploitative practices.

Two findings are particularly relevant. First, the social construction ofwomen in the Philippines may predispose women to take the roles ofdomestic helpers or entertainers. Early socialization processes reinforcethe expectation that women are to excel in reproductive tasks. However,while occupational roles are significantly influenced by the social con-struction of women's roles, these roles are neither deterministic nor immu-table, and should not be viewed as such. Further research is clearly needed.Are women socialized into the belief that they are only qualified to performservice-oriented functions? Are women more likely to comply with abusesbecause of continued messages of docility, subservience, and maintainingtheir proper place?

Second, gendered migration is not formally instituted within Philippinelabor-export policy; rather, patterns of gendered migration reflect theacquiescence to global demands predicated on racist and sexist assumptions.Although regularly criticized for the deployment of women in both do-mestic services and entertainment sectors, the POEA maintains that theyare merely responding to the global demands for labor, demands whichcurrently reveal a shift from a predominance of construction and productionto that of services. These trends are evidenced by data obtained from theClient Referral Assistance (CRA) system of the POEA. Beginning in 1985the POEA established this system to facilitate and assist new foreignemployers (principals) hiring Filipino workers by locating reputable privaterecruitment agencies in the Philippines. As such, the CRA system providesa unique glimpse into current demands and future trends of global laborrequests. In 1991 skills in high demand included medical workers (47 per-cent of new job orders); service workers (23 percent); operation and mainte-nance workers (18 percent); and entertainers (11 percent). For 1992, 82 per-cent of new employers requested domestic helpers. Private recruiters alsohave also been continuously criticized for preying on women. And like thePOEA, the private sector maintains that they are simply responding tomarket demands. Moreover, the private sector sincerely believes that it isproviding a much needed service to an ailing country; through recruiters’efforts, employment is provided to hundreds of thousands of individuals,


something the government has not been able to do. However, the acquies-cence on the part of the POEA and the private sector does, in fact, indicatethat these institutions are willing cater to an international and sexual divi-sion of labor which confines women to vulnerable occupations.

In all fairness, the POEA does go to great lengths in an attempt toprotect Filipino overseas contract workers. These attempts are primarilyevidenced by the introduction of complex and highly regulated proceduresfor the deployment of workers (especially entertainers). Unfortunately,however, rules and regulations may lead to greater vulnerability. Recentguidelines pertaining to the deployment of entertainers, for example, areoverly concerned with certifying that only “reputable” and “legitimate”entertainers are deployed (see Tyner, forthcoming). These policies representa faulty identification of the problem: that only illegal or non-skilled enter-tainers are subject to abuse. The newly implemented solution, therefore, isto increase the number of testing and training requirements for potentialmigrant entertainers. These guidelines, however, overlook the observationthat all Filipinas engaged in the entertainment sectors, legal or illegal,trained or untrained, are employed in a vulnerable occupational niche.Moreover, increased costs accrued by potential migrant entertainers mayultimately place these individuals in a greater position of debt-bondage;research on the conditions of Filipina migrant entertainers reveal thatmany women, legal or otherwise, are coerced into illegal and dehumani-zing acts because of debt-bondage (Iyori, 1987; de Dios, 1992; Ballescas,1992). The POEA also routinely sends Marketing Missions overseas; oftenthe function of these meetings is not marketing per se, but to address welfareproblems. Admittedly many of these missions and policy guidelines followsensationalized reports of abuses overseas.7 However, the POEA has res-ponded to potential sites of exploitation. In 1992, for example, a Canadianclub attempted to hire a group of Filipina entertainers; however, deploymentwas denied when the POEA found out that the dancers would be requiredto dance nude on table tops. The POEA would also like to deploy a higherpercentage of skilled professionals, and not just domestic workers andentertainers. This is evidenced by long range agendas. However, the POEAmust also simultaneously respond to both global market demand anddomestic considerations in the Philippines. The Department of Health, forexample, informally reminds the POEA that rural areas are suffering froma lack of qualified health-care workers. Thus, while there is no official pol-icy or memorandum on the deployment of skilled professionals, the POEAis acutely aware of internal pressures.

7 Many policies were formulated and implemented following the highly publicized deathof Maricris Sioson, an entertainer deployed to Japan, in 1991.


The messages embedded within this article are not to imply passiveacceptance of exploitation on the part of women migrants, nor to deny theautonomy of these women. And though the literature reveals examples ofresistance on the part of abused women (Ballescas, 1992), there is alsoevidence that these women may more likely defer to the demands of theiremployers (de Guzman, 1984; Tan and Devasahayam, 1987; Amarles, 1990;Ballescas, 1992; Battistella and Paganoni, 1992). In Japan, for example,entertainers who have been physically abused by customers often toleratetheir plight in silence; managers do not want to antagonize future customers(de Dios 1992: 49) and risk losing business. Live-in domestic workers areoften isolated, indeed held prisoner, and are thus unable to find assistance(Amarles, 1990; Battistella, 1992). Further research is clearly needed on theresponse and resistance of migrant workers. Insights derived from thisunderstanding of the social construction of migration patterns may,however, better lead to actual policy considerations. As Glenn (1992: 35)observes, “If race and gender are socially constructed rather than being realreferents in the material world, then they can be deconstructed and chal-lenged.” To accomplish this, additional research is also required to under-stand how institutions translate underlying structural conditions to influencethe “gendering” and even “racialization” of migration flows.

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The social construction of gendered migration from the Philippines

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