Despite the relevance of the gender dimension of immigration, political engagement of migrant women has rarely been the focus of scholarly research. This article tries to fill this gap. Using secondary data from the “Condizione e integrazione sociale dei cittadini stranieri” [Social Condition and Integration of Foreign Citizens] survey carried out by the National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT) in 2011–2012, we analysed the factors that at an individual level spur or inhibit migrants’ political engagement in Italy in terms of gender differences. We decided to use political interest and political participation separately as dependent dichotomous variables in logistic models that consider structural, situational, migratory, and group-related variables as independent factors. From our analysis, some relevant differences emerged both in terms of gender and in terms of political attitudes and behaviours. Our results confirm the existence of a gender gap in political engagement among migrants in Italy: migrant women are always less likely to be engaged in politics compared to men, both in terms of interest and participation. After controlling for some characteristics, this gap never disappears completely. Our results also suggest that there are some notable differences in the determinants of political engagement. Indeed, family workload inhibits the probability of political engagement only for migrant women. Furthermore, our results cast light on the crucial role of social capital in spurring political engagement for both women and men, thus contributing to reducing the gender gap.
Based on long-term ethnographic fieldwork carried out in Naples (Italy) in the period 2014 to 2020, this article focuses on the rearticulation of the migration–citizenship nexus through a gender perspective. The article questions how migrant women exercise their agency despite the structural constraints that prevent their full inclusion and how they are able to cross and transgress the boundaries of citizenship and national belonging in search of better life opportunities. The data analyzed show the existential paradox linked to the migration–citizenship nexus that affects the lives of migrant women in Italy and their use of citizenship as a strategy to react to a blocked destiny, to follow one’s aspirations, and to rebalance gender relations. The article refines an integrated approach that considers the relationship between agency, aspiration, and capability as a broader theoretical framework within which to jointly study the dynamics of gender, migration, and citizenship as closely related, beyond the boundaries of fixed and opposite categories.
Perseguendo l'obiettivo teorico di contribuire ai dibattiti su cittadinanza e solidarie-tà in senso più inclusivo, l'articolo analizza congiuntamente i concetti di cittadinanza dal basso e solidarietà dal basso applicandoli all'analisi empirica di una particolare pratica di solidarietà promossa dal basso dagli stessi migranti in alleanza con i cittadini durante la pandemia da Covid-19 nella città di Napoli. Il materiale empirico utilizzato è frutto di una ricerca etnografica di lungo periodo sulla partecipazione sociale e politica dei migranti nella città di Napoli. Costruendo reti di relazioni e alleanze trasversali, migranti e cittadini hanno dato vita ad una for-ma di solidarietà inclusiva, capace di sfidare e aggirare le strutture di solidarietà esclusiva, trasgredire i confini della comunità sociale e politica e ridefinire le appartenenze. In particolare, mostrerò come tale pratica di solidarietà sia stata capace di mettere in discussione e trasformare la cittadinanza, sfidando, modificando e rinnovando i modi in cui i soggetti coinvolti hanno definito se stessi e agito come cittadini, valorizzando le loro relazioni sociali. L'analisi degli atti di solidarietà prodotti dall'alleanza di migranti e cittadini può fornire una estensione della teoria degli atti di cittadinanza e rappresentare il punto di partenza per riflettere in maniera innovativa e più inclusiva su solidarietà, alleanze, appartenenze, confini e cittadinanza.
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