A/HRC/41/38 creating a chain effect, and thereby reinforcing the pre-existing gender role of women in the home society that sees them as the primary caregivers for their families. As a result, the ability of the next generation of women to benefit from economic or education opportunities may become limited.47 49. In other contexts, however, the migration of women may result in a stricter observance of traditional norms and values 48 to preserve social norms when they “appear under attack”. The change in roles that men may experience or their inability to adjust to them or to properly provide for their families may increase their desire to strengthen their patriarchal role, which could lead to more violence against their wives and other members of their families.49 3. Migration and economic empowerment of women 50. In his opening remarks at the Intergovernmental Conference to Adopt the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, the Secretary-General emphasized how important migration was for the functioning of economies, as migrants performed vital roles, such as in health care and care for elderly persons. 50 Migration can fill critical gaps in labour markets in countries of destination, with a positive impact on employment, production and the country’s gross domestic product. 51. In that respect, the significance of remittances should not be underestimated, as they contribute to national development and the international economy. In 2015, migrants from developing countries sent home an estimated $440 billion in remittances. 51 Those remittances often facilitated access to education and health care for family members and communities in the migrants’ countries of origin, 52 and made important contributions to their local economies and household incomes. 53 52. Remittances sent home by migrant women are quite significant, although the amounts remitted each time tend to be smaller than the amount remitted by men, mainly because women often get paid less. Women remit a higher proportion of their earnings and do so more frequently. For example, a study conducted in 2000 showed that Bangladeshi women working in the Middle East sent home 77 per cent of their income on average. 54 53. The enjoyment of the benefits of remittances, however, depends on who receives and controls them. According to UN-Women, women are more likely to receive remittances regardless of the sex of the remitter. 55 As an example, in a survey conducted in the Dominican Republic in 2004, 57 per cent of those receiving remittances were women, and 58 per cent of those sending remittances were women. 56 Studies in the Dominican Republic, Guatemala and Honduras have shown that migrant women change the recipient 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 Ibid., p. 6. Ibid. See Susan Forbes Martin, “Women and Migration”. Paper presented at the consultative meeting on “migration and mobility and how this movement affects women” held in Malmo, Sweden, 2–4 December 2003. See www.un.org/sg/en/content/sg/speeches/2018-12-10/remarks-intergovernmental-conferenceadopt-the-global-compact-for-migration. Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, International Migration Report 2017, p. 29. Ibid. O’Neil, Fleury and Foresti, “Women on the move”, p. 5. See Naila Kabeer, “Footloose” Female Labour: Transnational Migration, Social Protection and Citizenship in the Asia Region. Working Paper on Women’s Rights and Citizenship, No. 1 (Ottawa, International Development Research Centre, 2007). See Allison Petrozziello, “Feminised financial flows: how gender affects remittances in Honduran-US transnational families” in Gender and Development, vol. 19, No. 1 (2011), pp. 53–67. See Multilateral Investment Fund, “Remittances and the Dominican Republic. Survey of recipients in the Dominican Republic, survey of senders in the United States” PowerPoint presentation at Columbia University, New York on 23 November 2004. Available at https://slideplayer.com/slide/4771178/. 13