The Voice of Trailing Women in the Decision to Relocate: Is it Really a Choice?

Abstract

The reasons for migration among highly skilled couples are economic as well as noneconomic. However, our understanding of the motivations of trailing wives remains somewhat limited, especially given their loss of personal, professional, and social resources during the relocation. This chapter explores the motivations of women to relocate for their husband's work. It examines how gender ideologies weave with the decision to relocate, and how women's considerations and preferences are taken into account during this process. This study included depth interviews with 12 trailing mothers in the Netherlands and in the United States during 2015-2016. Interviews were performed faceto-face or by video chat. The study used an interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). Narratives analyses revealed that most trailing wives exerted very limited agency during the decision process and felt that they do not have any realistic alternatives to relocation. This powerlessness was imposed by gender-role ideologies that portray women as the primary care provider and men as the primary breadwinner. Thus, women's motivations to go overseas were primarily centered on family benefits, such as improving the family's financial status or supporting their husband's career. These findings suggest that societal factors, mainly gender, significantly diminish the actual choice options available to trailing wives.

Dual-career expatriate partners' motives for supporting international assignments: evidence from a patriarchal society

“…Conversely, other studies indicated that spouses/partners' professional concerns and career orientations had limited impact on the decision to expatriate (Braseby, 2010;Dupuis et al, 2008). As identified in these studies, because of gender-role forces and ideologies, spouses/partners prioritized family needs and supported IAs because of economic opportunities, to advance the husband's career, to improve family and children's well-being and as a result of work/career dissatisfaction (Braseby, 2010;Gupta et al, 2012;Slobodin, 2017).…”

“…As identified in these studies, because of gender-role forces and ideologies, spouses/partners prioritized family needs and supported IAs because of economic opportunities, to advance the husband’s career, to improve family and children’s well-being and as a result of work/career dissatisfaction (Braseby, 2010; Gupta et al. , 2012; Slobodin, 2017).…”

Home in hardship : Exploring how United Nations professionals negotiate constructions of home in and between hardship settings

“…A desk review of the current literature highlights a number of common themes across the scholarship. Building upon the psychosocial and sociocultural approaches to exploring repeat mobility, the question of identity disruption is widely researched, notably amongst accompanying spouses (see for example Bernard 2014;Slobodin 2019;2017;Suter and Cangià 2020). Similarly, the impact of sociocultural transitions on expatriate children is also broadly investigated (see Gyger Gaspoz 2013; Van Der Zee et al 2007;Warinowski 2019).…”