The Key Role of Gender in Migration Governance

Gender significantly shapes migration experiences and governance, influencing how men, women, and LGBTQI+ individuals migrate and integrate into societies. Likewise, cultural, territorial, and historical contexts influence migration and shape different experiences for men, women, and individuals with diverse gender identities, making migration a non-uniform experience.

Before the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) Summit in September 2025 in Riohacha, Colombia, the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung brought together civil society representatives from around the globe to foster a cross-regional discussion on issues around gender and migration. Based on a series of articles, the discussion brought forward recommendations by civil society actors across the world on gender-sensitive, inclusive, rights-based policies in migration governance. The recommendations where published in a policy brief presented in this article.
 

Perpetuating gender inequalities

With women constituting 48% of all international migrants and the number of migrants growing, gender is not a peripheral issue but a central political concern for rights-based development and migration policies. Gender and sex impact every stage of migration —from pre-departure, transit, entry, arrival in destination countries, to return— shaping opportunities, vulnerabilities, affecting jobs, wages, remittances, and societal integration. Gender-blind migration policies propagate inequalities, precaritize labor options, and reinforce vulnerabilities of women and LGBTIQ+ persons.

In the face of a global rise in conservatism and xenophobia —which curtails resources and fosters a discriminatory climate for migrants—the effective governance of migration is hindered by a critical lack of institutionalized gender perspectives, insufficient funding, and the exclusion of those most affected. To overcome these barriers and dismantle narratives of victimization, the GFMD must advocate for a fundamental shift toward community-focused models that empower women and LGBTIQ+ persons as central agents in their own development.
 

Key recommendations by civil society

To effectively improve the gender perspectives in migration policies, different recommendations were put forward to the GFMD summit. Recommendations that are, however, mostly valid beyond the space of the GFMD.

• Firstly, the GFMD Steering Group should establish a permanent Thematic Group on Gender and Sexual Diversity. This group should develop an action plan to mainstream gender across all GFMD mechanisms (Civil Society, Business, Mayors).
• Further, it should address the chronic lack of data on LGBTIQ+ migrants by creating a centralized, ethical database. This kind of record will enable the development of evidence-based policies and provide visibility to this vulnerable population.
• All GFMD mechanisms should design local development plans and municipal laws with an explicit gender perspective, prioritizing critical migration corridors.
• The mechanisms of Civil Society and Mayors should forge alliances with unions, banks, and chambers of commerce to simplify the processes to be qualified to access the labor market and promote financial inclusion for migrants.
• The Civil Society mechanism in conjunction with universities and educational centers with which it manages to develop secure mobile applications for geolocating safe services (i.e. legal, medical), and educational resources.
• In parallel, the GFMD Secretariat should collaborate with states to standardize definitions of migratory status with a humanitarian focus, ensuring that strategies are grounded in the needs of individuals rather than restrictive categories.

By adopting these measures, the GFMD can empower women and LGBTIQ+ migrants as agents of development, overcome narratives of victimization, and bridge the damaging gap between policy discourse and effective implementation.

To read the full version of the policy brief, click here: