Grandmothers migrating, working and caring: Latvian women between survival and self-realisation

Abstract

This paper describes the circumstances surrounding the migration of older Latvian women and their multi-dimensional lives as economic migrants and as distant carers and supporters of diverse family members who remain in Latvia. In post-Soviet Latvia, especially since the 2008 financial crisis and the austerity measures which took away hope for a decent old-age pension, older women migrate abroad in order to salvage their economic wellbeing and support their multi-generation families, which can run to four generations -their children and grandchildren plus, often, their elderly parents. Migration enables these women to maintain multidirectional flows of care and also to achieve economic and psychosocial independence. Therefore, care practices that reach four generations put the figure of the grandmother at the core of transnational care relations. Research evidence for this paper comprises 50 in-depth interviews with older Latvian migrant women aged from their mid-40s to their late 60s in the UK and elsewhere. The paper demonstrates the complexity and richness of these women's working lives, built around enhanced economic wellbeing, multiple and transnational caring responsibilities, and a new sense of self-worth and empowerment.

Retirement migration and transnational grandparental support: a Spanish case study

“…They can provide support from a distance both through using communication technologies and/or through joining their children for specified periods to provide childcare (King et al 2014;Nedelcu 2009Nedelcu , 2017Nedelcu and Wyss 2016;Purkayastha et al 2012). Exploring a different group, King and Lulle (2016) show that some grandmothers migrate to procure better work for themselves with a view to helping their children, grandchildren, husband and parents, as well as ensuring more economic security for themselves in their old age. The literature also highlights grandparents' abilities to travel to provide care transnationally, for months at a time, with grandmothers often at the centre of these practices (Baldassar and Merla 2013;Ducu 2018;Purkayastha et al 2012).…”

Book Reviews

“…In this regard, the book significantly complements an ample field of studies on migrant domestic workers by bringing to light the case of Ukrainian 'global women'. Migrants or not, middle-aged women are an overlooked generation in the migration research per se (King & Lulle 2016). This generation, in spite of being 'betrayed by the state' and practically 'forced to leave' the country to seek gainful employment elsewhere, continues to wrestle with both family and nation concerns across transnational borders.…”

“…Another missing angle is that women in general, and grandmothers in particular, migrate not only to care for and care about others, but also to escape from the multiple care duties, to live a more independent life they deserve (cf. King & Lulle 2016). Nevertheless, the book is worth to be read by a wide audience, both within academia and beyond, to encourage a critical gaze on the workings of global capitalism and its gendered implications.…”