Families in migration through the gender lens : a study of Polish transmigrants in Ireland

Abstract

This thesis tries to determine the impact of transnational family migration on the gendered division of labour and power dynamics between the couples either entrenching inequalities and traditional roles, or challenging and changing them. It shows also how ideas about gender shape transnational family migration patterns, and affect the individual family life of transmigrants. And eventually, it examines the social and family-related consequences of these processes. The research questions have been formulated as follows: How do gender role beliefs and family gender arrangement (gender practice, family gender organization) affect transnational family migration? And how are gender role beliefs and family gender arrangements affected by transnational family migration? It is crucial to stress that the answer to these questions will shed light on potential gender transitions, its directions, circumstances and social and familial consequences of transnational family migration. In order to explain the research problem from a dynamic perspective and distinguish various transnational family phases, I introduce three stages which I call pre-transnational, transnational and post-transnational family stage. The pre-transnational stage refers in retrospect to the time of decision making process about migration, the transnational family stage is about the time of transnational family separation due to migration and the nature of family life during this time while the post-transnational family stage considers the time after family reunification which in my thesis is limited only to the reunification in Ireland.An important part of the thesis is a chapter that is dedicated to the role of Polish Church in Ireland and the correlation of migrant’s religiosity and their gender roles.