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Female Labor Migration to Russia: Number, Donor Countries, Niches in the Labor Market

  • LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT
  • Published:
Studies on Russian Economic Development Aims and scope

Abstract—

The article presents a comprehensive description of female labor migration to Russia in the late 2010s based on data from various sources—official statistics (Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation), Sample Survey of Migrant Labor (Rosstat, 2019), and a large-scale sociological survey of labor migrants (2017). The share of women in flows from different countries was determined, the main countries that are donors of female labor migration were identified, the annual number of female labor migrants was estimated, the employment spheres of female migrants from abroad in the labor market of the Russian Federation were analyzed. The author estimates the average annual presence of female labor migrants in Russia at one million. Despite the global trend for feminization of labor migration, in Russia, a noticeable increase in the number of foreign women workers should not be expected, since donor countries with an initially high proportion of women in the flow are losing their leading positions.

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Notes

  1. According to the results of the abovementioned project of the Center for Migration Research, only 4% of male labor migrants came to Russia with children; at the same time, about 15% of all women surveyed and 30% of all women having children are in Russia with their children [10].

  2. https://rosstat.gov.ru/free_doc/new_site/imigr18/index.html.

  3. Here and below, if there is no special indication in the text, the statistics data of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, obtained upon request, are implied. Since such data were obtained only once—for 2019—gender statistics are limited to this particular year.

  4. Work permits (except HSP) are only issued to labor migrants from far abroad, and patents to migrants from the CIS countries, with the exception of migrants from the EAEU member states.

  5. https://rosstat.gov.ru/free_doc/new_site/imigr18/index.html as of March 5, 2021.

  6. Socioeconomic situation in Russia – 2020. January. Moscow: Rosstat, 2020. https://gks.ru/bgd/regl/b20_01/Main.htm. April 7, 2021.

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The article was supported as part of the research work within the RANEPA state assignment.

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  1. Institute of Social Analysis and Forecasting, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA), Moscow, Russia

    Yu. F. Florinskaya

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Correspondence to Yu. F. Florinskaya.

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Translated by I. Pertsovskaya

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Florinskaya, Y.F. Female Labor Migration to Russia: Number, Donor Countries, Niches in the Labor Market. Stud. Russ. Econ. Dev. 33, 55–65 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1075700722010075

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