Francesca Alice Vianello

International migrations and care provisions for elderly people left behind. The cases of the Republic of Moldova and Romania

International migrations are posing numerous challenges to care systems in both sending and receiving countries. Based on a multi-method research conducted between 2011 and 2013, this article looks at how the care provisions for elderly people are rearranged in two Eastern European countries affected by the care drain phenomenon (the Republic of Moldova and Romania). The author charts and compares how transnational families, but also the other facets of the care diamond, such as the public sector, the market and the not-for-profit sector, provide care to elderly people left to cope at home alone because their close relatives have migrated. The main findings of the article are that transnational families are the principal welfare provider for elderly people left behind, while there is a serious delay in the adoption of specific policies for the elderly.

Fragmented Careers, Gender, and Migration During the Great Recession

In Italy, the economic crisis of 2008 hit migrant workers hard, rattling their already-precarious existence by interrupting their work paths, among other disruptions. Drawing on longitudinal qualitative research based on Moroccan and Romanian migrant workers living in Northern Italy, this chapter analyzes the effects of employment fragmentation on other social-accomplishment lines, such as gender identities and roles, and migration careers. Following the Chicago School’s conceptualization of ‘career’ and adopting the life-course approach, the chapter contributes to the advancement of social-science knowledge on two levels: it develops studies on gendered migrants’ working careers and on migration in times of crisis.

Migration of Ukrainian Nationals to Italy: Women on the Move

The chapter describes the main characteristics of Ukrainian migration to Italy and the major studies of this migratory process, which is characterized by the key role of middle-aged women. Ukrainian migration is analyzed from the gender perspective and contextualized within the social, economic and political transformations involving Ukraine and Italy in recent decades. Furthermore, the main socio-demographic features of the Ukrainian presence in Italy are described from both the statistical and qualitative points of view, drawing on the most detailed and interesting studies of Ukrainian migration. In particular, the most typical profiles of Ukrainian migrant women are illustrated – “the migrant in transit” and “the permanent migrant” – to show the plurality of migration patterns and the role of structural constraints.

Donne migranti e organizzazioni sindacali nella crisi

Devi Sacchetto, Francesca Alice Vianello La scarsa sindacalizzazione delle lavoratrici migranti e sovente ritenuta una conseguenza della loro condizione di debolezza nel mercato del lavoro. Le esperienze delle migranti evidenziano tuttavia la coesistenza di condizioni di vulnerabilita e di forme resistenza. Il saggio analizza le modalita con le quali le donne migranti hanno affrontato la crisi economica e i conflitti di lavoro, delineando il rapporto tra lavoratrici e organizzazioni sindacali. In particolare si indagano le esperienze di due gruppi di lavoratrici straniere che occupano posizioni diverse nel mercato del lavoro italiano: le marocchine e le rumene. Gli autori sostengono che il deficit di rappresentanza delle migranti non e connesso alla loro presunta ‘docilita’, quanto causato dall’incapacita delle organizzazioni sindacali di fornire risposte adeguate a quante si rivolgono alle loro sedi e alla tendenza delle lavoratrici di affrontare in modo individualistico i conflitti legati al lavoro.