The roads travelled for work - Women Migrant Workers in Singapore and Malaysia
A group of young Indonesian migrant workers take a break to check their phones after getting off work at a nearby hi-tech factory facility where they are employed from 7am-7pm daily, in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia, Tuesday 28 November, 2017. Most of the women migrant workers in the Petaling Jaya neighborhood are employed at one of several factories in the area producing electronic products, they also live in the area, or are support workers, running food stalls or sundry shops catering to the factory workers. Many of these young women have been working here for 2-4 years and are on average about 21-24 years old, earning roughly 1000RM, or $246 per month. While this does not seem like much, it is apparently enough for the women to send money home to their families, and give themselves some purchasing power.
The remittances sent by women migrant workers improve the livelihood and health of their families and strengthen economies. In 2015, international migrants sent $432.6 billion in remittances to developing countries—nearly three times the amount of Official Development Assistance, which totaled at $131.6 billion (source: The Migration and Remittances Factbook 2016, www.knomad.org/ )
Photo: UN Women/Staton Winter