The Role of Gender in Peasant Migration: Conceptual Issues from the Peruvian Andes

Abstract

By focusing on a case study from Andean Peru, this article examines the fundamental role played by gender relations in generating, and shaping, characteristics of peasant migration. An analysis of the construction of gender relations and household peasant production provides insights into why women leave at younger ages than men, make more permanent moves to cities and usually terminate migration upon marriage. Intra-household hierarchies of control over resources and labor and patriarchal decision-making restrict women's security in the peasant-economy and release them as migratory labor.