The salience of gender in return migration

Return migration warrants special attention as a growing trend in our current globalized environment wherein migration can no longer be assumed to be a one‐way journey. As studies of return migration are burgeoning, this article argues for the salience of taking socially constructed ideas of gender as a central analytical factor in order to understand the complexities of human movement. It is imperative to take up gender both as a category of analysis and as a means to expand our theoretical understanding of migration. The process of return migration is overshadowed by gendered ideologies both in the home and in the host nation, as migrants leave and return to gendered societies. Through a review of recent literature, this paper will argue the multifaceted benefits of incorporating a gendered perspective in return migration research.