Gender dimensions of migration in Kerala: Macro and micro evidence

Women follow men in migration from Kerala; men follow women in migration back to that State. Female migrants are better qualified than male migrants, but a lower proportion of them obtain paid employment. Migration causes the separation of wives and husbands. The numbers are the same among both. Wives rarely migrate without husbands, but husbands migrating without wives accompanying them are more the rule than the exception. Men and women both have their own separate gains and losses arising from migration, but women are less capable of handling them without help from their spouses.