Abstract
Amid increasing irregular flows of Senegalese migrants to Spanish territories, the two countries entered into a bilateral agreement in 2007 for a temporary work scheme that ultimately saw the migration of more than 700 Senegalese women for work in the agricultural sector in Spain. Due to a number of factors, including weaknesses in the recruitment process on the sending side and the nature of the work on the receiving side, many of the women subsequently abandoned their posts in search of domestic work or jobs in personal services in Spanish cities, thus transitioning to irregular status. Using data collected from 525 of these Senegalese migrant women, this chapter examines how they came to form this unintended cohort of unauthorized migrants and their experiences as they strive to live, work, and access various social rights in the context of the current Spanish labour market and economic crisis. Some measures are suggested to strengthen the management of future temporary work schemes and protect Senegalese women migrants in Spain.
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We would like to thank the Groupe d’Etudes et de Recherches sur les Migrations & Faits de Sociétés (GERM) & Faits de Sociétés, the two anonymous reviewers, Giulia Sinatti, Thanh-Dam Truong, and Des Gasper for their valuable support and comments. We would also like to thank Marianne Dobner and Simone Tappert for sharing their unpublished work with us.
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Tandian, A., Bergh, S.I. (2014). 3 From Temporary Work in Agriculture to Irregular Status in Domestic Service: The Transition and Experiences of Senegalese Migrant Women in Spain. In: Truong, TD., Gasper, D., Handmaker, J., Bergh, S. (eds) Migration, Gender and Social Justice. Hexagon Series on Human and Environmental Security and Peace, vol 9. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-28012-2_3
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