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Environment, transnational labor migration, and gender: case studies from southern Yucatán, Mexico and Vermont, USA

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Abstract

Gender shapes the migration–environment association in both origin and destination communities. Using quantitative and qualitative data, we juxtapose these gender dimensions for a labor migrant-sending location of Mexico’s southern Yucatán with those for a labor migrant-receiving location in Vermont (USA). We illustrate how in the southern Yucatán, circular transnational migration alters pasture, maize and chili production in a peasant field–forest system. Gender norms condition the land-use decisions of migratory households to keep women out of agricultural fields, but in turn may be modified in unexpected ways. With men’s migration, more women assume aspects of land management, including in decision-making and supervision of hired farm labor. In comparison, in Vermont a largely male migrant labor force helps maintain an idealized, pastoral landscape with gender deeply embedded in how that labor is constructed and managed.

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Notes

  1. Though see Mitchell (1996) for California and Duncan and Duncan (2003) on suburban spaces.

  2. Much of the research was carried out as part of the Southern Yucatán Peninsular Region Land Use/Cover Change project (see Turner et al 2004). See Schmook and Radel (2008) for full details on the 2003 survey and methods.

  3. The ethnic composition of these communities was largely mestizo (mixed European and indigenous ancestry).

  4. For migrant households, we distinguished between households in which the male head of household was the international migrant and those in which another household member (such as an adult son) was the international migrant. For analyses comparing households with male migrant heads to those without, we excluded six households with no male head (due to death or partnership dissolution).

  5. Comparisons between households with and without male migrant heads were made, as well as comparisons between households with and without any migrant member.

  6. Only a minute proportion (about 5%; E. Shea, pers comm. 7/14/09) of migrant farm workers from Latin America, working in the Vermont dairy industry, originate from countries other than Mexico.

  7. See McCandless (2010) for full details on interview methods.

  8. We allowed for this lag time from 2005 to 2007, as it often takes migrants more than a year to make and realize the decision to travel north.

  9. We discuss some of the early gendered impacts of male out-migration in Radel and Schmook (2009), particularly with respect to women’s agricultural labor and decision-making.

  10. Many households borrow the money needed, which, if the migrant is undocumented, can be around $2000 US.

  11. Based on the field research, McCandless estimates that hired farm hands are required for the operation of farms with more than 70 cattle, with one additional worker per 100 milking cattle.

  12. The year-round nature of the work makes dairy labor ineligible for H2A visas available to seasonal agricultural workers.

  13. The Vermont Migrant Education Program reports an average wage of $6.00 to $7.50 an hour.

  14. Vermont Migrant Education Program staff member.

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Acknowledgments

Research in Campeche, Mexico was carried out in 2007 with the generous cooperation of the interviewed men and women, whom we thank profusely. We also thank various ECOSUR-Chetumal personnel who assisted in the research, especially Dalia Hoil Villalobos. At Utah State University, Danielle Babbel assisted with data collection and Anne Winters assisted with data entry. Funding was provided by a Utah State University New Faculty Research Grant and an Association of American Geographers’ Anne U. White Research Grant. Collection of the 1997 and 2003 Mexican data was part of the Southern Yucatán Peninsular Region project (1997–2009), with core funding provided by NASA’s LCLUC program and NSF’s BCS program. For the research in Vermont, USA, we extend our thanks to the many farmworkers, farmers, service providers, and other community members who provided invaluable access, insight, and analysis in the development of the larger project from which the case study is drawn. Funding was provided by an NSF Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grant, a Robert & Patricia Switzer Foundation Environmental Leadership Fellowship, and a Ford Foundation Community Forestry Doctoral Research Fellowship. We thank Holger Weissenberger, of ECOSUR-Chetumal, for his assistance with the map for this research brief. Lastly, we thank the anonymous reviewers for their helpful suggestions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ecology Center & Department of Environment and Society, Utah State University, 5215 Old Main Hill, 84322, Logan, UT, USA

    Claudia Radel

  2. El Colegio de la Frontera Sur, Av del Centenario Km 5.5, Chetumal, Quintana Roo, C.P. 77000, México

    Birgit Schmook

  3. Department of Geography, 200 Old Mill, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, 05405, USA

    Susannah McCandless

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  1. Claudia Radel
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Radel, C., Schmook, B. & McCandless, S. Environment, transnational labor migration, and gender: case studies from southern Yucatán, Mexico and Vermont, USA. Popul Environ 32, 177–197 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11111-010-0124-y

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