Immigration, Welfare and Care in Portugal: Mapping the New Plurality of Female Migration Trajectories

Abstract

The role of migrant women as domestic and care workers is a main characteristic of the feminisation of migration to southern Europe. This article aims to understand how and why current patterns of female migration to Portugal are a key element, driving increased flows of domestic workers. The article focuses first on the path followed by Portugal in the fields of immigration, employment, welfare-state developments and care arrangements, and then presents results of a qualitative study on Brazilian immigrant women. Findings show that the new plurality of female migration trajectories is an important factor in explaining the rapid integration of immigrant women in the domestic sector. This does not mean, however, that a predominant ‘migrant in the family’ care model has emerged in Portugal. In contrast with other southern European countries, different policy perspectives and outcomes over the last three decades have made for a more diversified care model. National contexts in southern European countries must therefore be taken into account, since they provide particular conditions for the main forms and features of migrant domestic work.