Caribbean street vending experiences: Guyanese migrant women in Trinidad and Tobago

This article offers a critical overview of how South-South migration operates in the Caribbean. It represents an intersectional feminist analysis of the experiences of Guyanese migrant women who work as street vendors in Trinidad and Tobago. Via the use of narrative inquiry, the study examines the daily challenges migrant women face as they interact with state officials, police officers, customers, and other vendors. We also provide a summary of the individual and collective tactics migrant women employ to navigate a context in which they are often stigmatised, marked as Other, and experience multiple barriers to be able to make a living. In doing so, the piece details how sexism, xenophobia and racism are mutually constituted and function in a Caribbean context, as well as how interlocking systems of oppression create barriers for migrant women to secure sustainable livelihood. We also illustrate the political agency of Guyanese migrant women by highlighting the ways they co-create safe spaces and build community despite obstacles. This article contributes to critical migration studies from the Global South/Majority World, fosters greater regional consciousness across the Caribbean, and underscores the importance of centring migrant women's experiences in research and scholarship.