Gender and Migration: West Indians in Comparative Perspective

Emigration has a long history in the West Indies. Its roots go deep – traceable to the legacy of slavery, the distorting effects of colonial rule, the centuries-long domination of the islands’ economies by plantation agriculture, and, in recent years, continued dependence on world powers, lending institutions, and corporations. Over the years – from the end of slavery to the present – West Indian women as well as men have been part of various migrant streams as the search for a better life has taken them all over the globe, to Central America, Britain, Canada, and the United States.1 It is only in recent decades, however, that women have come to dominate major West Indian migrant flows, so that questions pertaining to gender and migration have taken on special relevance in contemporary studies of West Indian migration. This article explores gender issues in West Indian migration by taking a comparative – cross-national – perspective. The focus is on the three major West Indian migration movements of the mid- and late-twentieth and early twenty-first centuries – to the United States, Britain, and Canada. A comparative approach has a number of benefits for the study of West Indian migration (Foner, 2005). It not only points to similarities and contrasts in gender-related patterns among West Indian migrants in the United States, Britain, and Canada but also forces us to try to account for them. It brings out, in an especially dramatic way, the role of the context of reception and the receiving country’s immigration policies in shaping male-female differences in West Indian migration flows as well as immigrant adaptation. The comparative analysis of the three migrations in this article explores the reasons for and patterns of West Indian migration as they relate to gender, including the practice of leaving children behind in the Caribbean, as well as aspects of the labour market incorporation of West Indian men and women when they have arrived and settled in the migrant destination. More specifically, the comparisons raise some intriguing questions. Why, for example, did West Indian women comprise a greater proportion of the migrations to the United States and Canada than to Britain? Why were West Indian women more likely to work in caregiving jobs in private homes in the United States and Canada than in Britain? And have the dynamics of transnational motherhood differed in the North American and British contexts? The three migration movements, taken together, have involved hundreds of thousands of people. The mass inflow to Britain began after the end of World War II, lasting from the early 1950s to the 1960s. In 1951, the West Indian immigrant population was tiny, only a little over 17,000; by 1966, it had grown to 269,000, with more than half living in London. The movement had slowed to a trickle by the late 1960s, after passage of restrictive immigration laws in Britain; by 1974, the whole cycle of primary migration from the Caribbean was basically over, and, after that, the Afro-Caribbean population grew through increases in the number of British-born. Just as West Indian migration to Britain was ending, it began to take off in North America, most notably in the United States, where the 1965 amendments to the Immigration and Nationality Act made it possible. After several decades of heavy migration, the West Indian immigrant population of the United States stood at about 1.1 million in 2000, with about half living in New York State, and many thousands have continued to arrive since then (in 2007, 18 per cent of the Jamaican immigrants in the United States – 101,000 people – had arrived between 2000 and 2007) (Camarota, 2007). Canada, too, opened its doors to West Indian migration in the 1960s, following reform of racially discriminatory immigration policies; between 1961 and 1996, according to 1996 census data, 271,000 West Indians immigrated to Canada, with Toronto the most popular destination (Darden, 2006: 152). What follows draws heavily on the secondary literature on West Indian migration but it is also based on my own research among Jamaican migrants in London (in the 1970s) and New York (in the 1980s) as well as in Jamaica itself (in the 1960s) (Foner, 1973, 1978, 1986, 1987, 2001, 2005). For this reason, but also, in many cases, because of data availability, I often use material on Jamaicans who are, it should be noted, the largest West Indian nationality group in all three countries. The spotlight in this article is on first-generation immigrants in the periods of mass immigration, which is why I focus on the 1950s and 1960s in the British case and the decades of the late twentieth century in Canada and the United States. For much of the past, West Indian migration was dominated by men who left their home islands to work, often on agricultural and construction projects abroad. The late nineteenth and early twentieth century movements to Panama and other Central American countries, to other parts of the Caribbean (including Cuba), and to the United States were heavily male – as one scholar has put it, remarkably so (Senior, 1991: 108). In Barbados, fully 70 per cent of the total net emigration over the 1861–1921 period was of males (Senior, 1991: 108).2 Overall, external migration from Jamaica between 1888 and was with much greater proportion of males than and In the to the Panama in the of the Jamaican male population of to After World War many thousands of Jamaicans to work in an per cent of them male – some women were by in and work per cent of early twentieth century migrants to the United States were men This continued after World War II, the migration to Britain, but it the to the United States and Canada in the late 1960s. the to a in West Indian migration flows in recent years that the for leaving the Caribbean have also The is and for – have long West Indian men and women to for better living and to and In the decades, – with and – have continued to migration West Indian islands the of and patterns that people at all of And they to as the of the of as well as and from migrants In this it should be that in the West have long had a deep on women as well as in the Caribbean have to the of slavery when women on the in the West Indian women have been involved in the they have of than men In the late women about per cent of the Jamaican labour they had more than the of male a that had not by the late when women were per cent of the labour they have West Indian women have to work for This has been a part of their one that male-female patterns be in the British and North American This in not the In Britain the years of the mass West Indian men were in the The in the often by and it, following their of the mass movement to Britain in the 1950s and early 1960s be West Indian migration to Britain was from the by a of they men in a years of the In study of migration from the of that migration to Britain was labour movement in which women in to Overall, however, for West Indians in the years of the migration, between and the proportion of men was than for women in all about 70 per cent of West Indian migrants in were and to per cent in and After the of immigration in Britain in and the of the 1960s, the migration of as children but also a many women 1961 and 1966, was a with net of West Indian women for men in 1966, males dominated West Indian immigrant population – males per among Jamaican males per among other West Indian immigrants this migration that West Indian men more and than West Indian for parts their This is the West Indian women have and to work and be a number of have noted, the for is a of West Indian women and a of their (Senior, 1991: has that the West Indian as much as males of the has a migration because of for and some of Just as work is and for women in West too, is women from and to a in Britain a in why men often the way, since were for men and women in it should be noted, contrasts with the migrations a century to Panama and Central America, where the were for male on and In most cases, was not for the whole to to Britain together, and as the in the to for the The for men to for Britain as the of is part of about the of labour on gender among West Indian that the in Britain the migration of West Indian men more than the women in many who had the the proportion of men but with the of the West Indian it is the movement to the United States and Canada of the West Indian not have dominated the migration, and women on their their In the United States and Canada, the of immigration – the that who the United States and Canada in to the immigration from the West to Britain to – in with were for this the of the in 2000, per cent of West Indian immigrants in the United States were women In since West Indian women in the to the United States have The proportion of women was in the years of the immigration, in the case of Jamaicans as as and per cent for and – and off in the as well as in the and to between and per cent The 1965 immigration and in as well as of and In the early years of the immigration, it was for women than men to for labour to the for labour in American for Jamaicans that the of total who were as private in the years that the of women migrants was so in per cent of total Jamaican were as private in per also as and in about of Jamaican immigrants as between and were decades between and according to Immigration and data, per cent of the and immigrants from Jamaica were the migration and a proportion for immigrant on the of than women were as likely as men to have in the United States to them – a major why the gender in of women after the three years of the and of the over Jamaican immigrants to the United States, per cent the through of immigration the per cent who through the were in the by which was by immigration in and of the gender of the not but women have made a because of their to jobs in private as and to the West men and women have the United States on and then the The Immigration and that in 2000, Jamaicans and in the United States This was a according to the Jamaicans and in the United States. It was in the period for women to to the United States often by their women in the Jamaican I in the late 1960s left their to take jobs in New York (Foner, for example, a on a behind the where I after I left I that had to New York as a Jamaican women in New they and for children and as A Jamaican women I in New York in the they had been to but were to the for because than their an immigrant Jamaican migrants for their at and a number of women I had to New York to about a The New York migration has many West Indian women – – in the United States at the often as private The of this of work well have women to come to the United States in the in West Indian also part of the at about half more of the women in West Indian in have to men in have been through In the the role of immigration more the 1960s, women have men in the West Indian migration according to 1996 census data, women immigrants from the Caribbean the number of men by for all periods between 1961 and 1996 (Darden, 2006: to put it way, among West Indian immigrants in the 1996 women made per cent in Canada in the period (Darden, 2006: The gender is to immigration What is often is the role of in which West Indian women were the they to work as In the the West the largest for in Canada and West Indian women arrived in Canada from the to 1960s the Caribbean a that and women between and with and at an to to Canada as immigrants on that they in for at one and an of three West Indian a were to Canada, the number to one a between and 1965 (Darden, 2006: West Indian continued to arrive in the the this on work them to in Canada as long as they for a In with the of the West Indians to Canada on for after they had been in the for per cent of the this between and were from the the the number of Caribbean women Canada as had and a to had to with in the and the of a more labour – a I in more It should be noted, too, that West Indian as well as through the on the of often have the for as well as to on the of This to the of West Indian women left the Caribbean to work – and they they the in In Britain in 1966, when most West Indian women were first-generation were in London and the West in per cent of Jamaican women and over in the United States were in the labour and in more than per cent of West Indian women years and in Toronto were in the In all three – and in the three major of West Indian New – West Indian immigrant men and women to in in a number of the of the for West Indian immigrant women has been in I did my research in London and New for example, West Indian immigrant women were often in the as and in in various of and and in West Indian women often work in as West Indian immigrant men in London often in – on the and – as many in New York A of West Indians with them – especially in this – and in the destination as about and jobs through in the immigrant on the of the West Indian in in New York This is one part of the is differences in West Indian immigrant patterns in the receiving The of with patterns in the labour account for the This in a of New York and London. In London of the for example, many West Indian women were – a they did not in New York where West made other more and on the number of arrived and other for the reason, West Indian immigrant women in New York did not go the – an for and immigrant women – a number of their in London in and other jobs when they arrived the West Indian migration to New and in the United States, in the decades has a many men and women with a also why a in various and as to Britain in the period of mass migration when the proportion in the was and the migration (Foner, The context of reception has in to labour market This has to with the of in the three countries. In the United States, in the of as well as often have been by the of In my New York I that West Indian women – the benefits – often in and in to for their (Foner, and other benefits to all British (including West to a in London and in Canada as where is to in Toronto after a And then is the West Indian a by many West Indian women in New York but in London and in The involved come in an of the major for West Indians in the three countries. In New York West Indian women a proportion – more than one of – of the that work is part of the New York West Indian West Indian immigrant women at some in their work in New York – at the – had a as a and in and New York the for a the an is often West New has that as and a from the Caribbean likely be the many of them have in where West Indians have been in private In Canada, according to various the of the West Indian is a of the In New a number of the of this – has a long In the early twentieth West Indian migrant women were as in other jobs – in this of West Indian women in labour as well as of American women immigrant women and after World War I were to work in New York and as and Caribbean migrant women were from In New it was for most to to work the end of the twentieth from other jobs was this of as for women It should also be that has not been an to that some to – and they to them than – New have a long with has been – for and and to the In the decades, caregiving jobs have grown in number as more women with children the labour often often not and in In many New as and the and of after their children at the other end of the life for has with the number of the that be the home living and which home than has been American women have from the in the they have been to take jobs with and and many of the better have taken of in The of immigrant has for The in work by the proportion of women in this have of Caribbean women The number of immigrants for work in New York has made more by them and has West Indian immigrants an over immigrants in for jobs for children and the many more than jobs that have of and immigrant For West Indian by their immigration work has the to work where not not at West Indian women arrive on and their In the United States, especially in the late 1960s, and a that many West Indian women – through on the – for immigrant their it has been the West Indian women who have been to take they to the United States on their own – in because they of the of private on their own have been to than with because jobs them a to when they arrive West Indian women a in and as about to jobs in the and with and in study of from and only is it – an – but they and to after their children an through from they The of an it in as in this to among about and – with for who have in a many New and West Indian the have their with from the West for a caregiving Why did this not in of in the years of the mass migration, male-female migration and the context of colonial migration, I go a long in the the male-female migration among West Indians in the 1950s and early 1960s, arrived West Indian women were often their – and not to many of their in New York who arrived after of was a about in when most West Indians to Britain, they as of the British colonial leaving for Britain, in had to about a that to an immigrant – an why many to work in jobs in New York and were the in the The too, that – dominated the work in London. In the of colonial rule, British in the West have women to their children – a legacy of from the of slavery – but in Britain itself is of In the 1950s and 1960s, for their children women to their to from they had long on for work – women from from the – than Caribbean with their and The is that London West Indians did not with I did research in London in the not one Jamaican in the I then in a private had so since to not one I a West Indian Jamaican women I had but they in the late and early twenty-first when West Indian immigration had long West Indian and in had other and to take on the role in the homes of in New in for and for that many Caribbean women in the 1960s, and were and in their history of immigration the to Caribbean to as immigrants in the 1950s when it that not the This so that it was in the following the end of the twentieth however, the had the major of in Canada, for per cent of all in the (Darden, 2006: were also the the in the of a and of in a to the in Canada as a (in the to of for the It is likely that the and Caribbean In the 1950s and 1960s, Caribbean were as and but according to and after Caribbean began to for their the as and with to their as migrants the only after as a for at it should be noted, also the of and in the A has to with transnational motherhood – and to in the receiving as well as patterns of The similarities in the three they for Britain, Canada, the United States, at migrants often left children behind with in the of West Indian for and the of their role as from children has had a much greater on them than on In one this of leaving children with be as the of a West Indian of by leaving children with a the in the to work in an has long been an many migrant women left children behind because they they had early 1960s study of Jamaicans who had been living in for years that per cent of the children of the migrants and were in Jamaica In Britain, according to reasons – including of to the – were major in leaving children in were also and, in some cases, to an for the on the In the United States and Canada, issues not to in many but also often the that and children were In the United States, because many women arrived with – and them to – they were to their children with them. For who their children of immigration involved a after the In Canada, too, for a role in as in the case of the various in a recent immigration of West Indian women to from their as and in their own and to that in Britain, a role in Canada and the United States in that many women to children some in the Caribbean, at at because they long and often because they to on the of when they were In the United States, women children were to in who not have their own children and In Canada, the Caribbean of the to the women to be so that some about children (Darden, 2006: in New York that some that their children be by in New York and have to and in the in which they the – and the roots of – transnational has often for the women In British were many of by the their children and they to the in the of a In London in the 1960s and – and New York in decades – children left behind and often about the they were receiving home they in in For women who for other children in the United States Canada the of were by the of their that West Indian to their in New York often more when they were from their own them one I of them as my Just because I was I them all I also And who children behind of in New York – as they were in London – and on the women to to in the West for their studies in the Caribbean that and to the children in their they that when the children in New York the of be In some cases, this has to try to the many of the children left behind have their is an In British only about a of the migrants with children in Jamaica to them to a were and half had of them. well have their since the only years their and since to to Jamaica – a major why many to children – not have as some of the children were settled in Jamaica with a other and in a the so living in that did not to them over children did their the often to For the the from who for them in the West – many the they grew with was often a Jamaican living in was left with at the of three when to Canada. for to in Canada, from a and and come to when about to this children the of in an with people they dynamics have been in New York and as also many in the children often their with a so that they not only had to with but also had to to a – and – as well they were with an and and life their were long and often to the children much I to New York in the early and the one did the who had been at on was so that leaving for the was to take to the of and own – was to and a better – that was to much with For their have often been their children were of for the which to about to over children they had little with often had not for over years often This comparative analysis of West Indian migration the role of the receiving immigration and context of reception in shaping patterns of migration and I have on the United States, Britain, and Canada, but West Indians have for New and London the most popular and where the of research on West Indian migrants has been as three are, too, have of West Indian and one is and gender-related patterns – including and gender – among in In the United States other of for and in Canada, and and in Britain, and In the role of the and context I not to that transnational as my of transnational motherhood is in a of transnational and that West Indians they have only West Indian migrants often to their home as they – for example, in the home home and and – but many also with and who have to other countries. The is it that and transnational and – London and for than New York and research is on this but one that should be is and have made the world a and the of transnational for West Indians they greater to the Caribbean from the United States as to is to have an only on the to more home – which women than men among other West Indian to between in the also transnational and A practice has been between West Indians in Toronto and New The a from has to a for some West Indian and them with other West Indians in the Toronto who to for the to and and who take to and in New York and This York a of the that West Indian transnational and in on the and context of for research and the children of I have at the but a for comparative is the role of gender among and West Indians and in Britain, the United States, and in much on research What be at this is that a comparative approach on West Indians in has much to It us to better the that migration and gender and in the West Indian case and, in this way, also a to a of migration and gender in perspective.