Gender inequalities and migration: Nepali females from the 1st and 2nd Generations in Portugal

In this study, I will depart from theoretical issues regarding integration (Penninx, 2019), migrations, gender inequalities and gender discrimination (Timmerman, Fonseca, Van Praag and Pereira, 2018; Ruyssen and Salomone, 2018), together with an analysis of Nepali international female migration (World Bank, 2022; Borelli, 2022; Shrestha, 2022; Chaudary, 2020). I will then proceed by introducing my postdoc project’s research question: “How can we define a successful integration and evaluate it by considering specific criteria such as the capabilities of the females, but also by contrasting it with inequalities and discrimination experiences, operationalized and narrated by the Nepali migrants from the two different generations interviewed?”. I will continue by operationalizing the most relevant key-concepts involved – such as the main forms of female migrant discrimination (OECD’s SIGI Index; Honneth, 1992), the competencies and capabilities by the Nepali female migrants (Nussbaum, 2000, 2014) and what I will consider as descriptors of a successful migrant integration (Pereira, 2022). This is a qualitative and interpretative research, combining data from 30 questionnaires and 30 semi-structured interviews to 20 1st generation Nepali female migrants + 10 2nd generation Nepali female migrants with participant observation, the field diary and ethnographic method. I will describe in detail and discuss the results concerning 8 different dimensions analyzed. I will also describe the impacts of my results (introducing a model for short and long-term objectives by the Porticus Foundation, for intervention procedures with “people on the move”). I will conclude by discussing the novelty and future implications of my specific contributions.