Women migrants in Aotearoa/New Zealand – the ‘go-getters’ of the Pacific

119,100. A number comprising non-New Zealand citizens who are staying in the country according to a February 2023 data. Similar to this large statistic, a broad spectrum of conditions also make up the list of reasons why people decide to come to this country – may it be for higher education or just to spend weeks in the picturesque mountains of this island nestled in the Pacific. But beyond these, overseas employment remains to be the primary basis of migrating to New Zealand; and with this comes different challenges faced by workers, especially women. 

Among the thousands of migrants entering New Zealand, women take up a significant number as they attempt to find better opportunities in a foreign land. Mostly coming from the Pacific Islands, Southeast Asia, and South Asia, many women migrants engage in temporary or seasonal work such as fruit picking to earn for their families at home. In some cases, women are also involved in healthcare work as nurses and caregivers.

To further understand the plight of women migrants in New Zealand, we talked to Antonia Lilii of the First Pasefika Fono Network, an organization sitting under FIRST Union. where she shared on-ground stories of women facing challenges and rising against their current conditions.

Layers of adversities confronting women migrants in New Zealand

A common trend experienced by women in most workplaces is being subjected to discrimination, sexism, and low wages. Coupled with the difficulty brought about my labor migration, our interview with Antonia re-exposed the reality that women migrants also lack access to support from both host and home country governments and disconnection with families. Because not much assistance is given by states, seeking out information about jobs and their rights puts an additional burden on them. Antonia added that the language barrier injects another layer of stress to women migrants.

“Unless they are referred to a union, the migrants wouldn’t get any information where to get assistance because they are not entitled or they don’t get any support from the government.” Antonia lamented when asked about the challenges faced by women migrants in New Zealand.

In addition to social services that are deprived of them, women migrants are also not considered priorities under New Zealand’s healthcare system. Primarily, information on reproductive health is not streamlined according to cultural differences. Many times, child services for women who have offsprings do not holistically address issues related with migration, making it hard to seek reliable care for kids.     

Meanwhile, for those women who have been living in New Zealand for quite some time already, “the challenge is that there are no jobs for them,” mentioned Antonia. She expressed that there is little work allocated for female migrants as most employment opportunities are structured for men. Furthermore, when women wish to apply for ‘male-oriented’ jobs, they are not given any priority, disregarding the skills and capacities they can offer. 

Antonia adds that when women migrants end up with jobs, they are mostly forced to engage in agricultural work as fruit pickers where wages are low and working conditions can be hazardous at times. During the pandemic, many women migrants from the Pacific experienced degrading conditions and low wages as they continued to work amidst a global health crisis. Due to lack of regulations and security, a lot of them got sick while simultaneously burdened by the need to carry on with supporting their families back home 

Back in 2020, FIRST Union already called on agricultural employers to increase wages as many workers, both male and female, receive less than what is required by the law. 

Silver linings for women migrants

Amid several challenges hounding women migrants in New Zealand, migrants themselves and their organizations have come up with a lot of ways to overcome difficulties. Antonia pointed out how it is a big help that specific organizations are actively engaging with trade unions. For instance, through FIRST Union and the First Pasefika Fono Network, women are given the chance to organize themselves, create effective communication channels, and foster partnerships at the grassroots level.  

As a collective, Antonia happily shared as well how women migrants are ‘go-getters’ in terms of seizing opportunities toward attaining better social conditions through solidarity work and in speaking up against various issues that limit their freedoms.

With such a positive attitude, and tireless campaigning and alliance building, women are able to rise against the many hardships thrown at them. “They come together, they will campaign, they will seek assistance and we do industrial action through union organizations and through their networks that support women in particular”, shared Antonia. 

Notably, campaigns for and by women do not only exist within New Zealand. Networks in their home countries are similarly active in lobbying to their respective governments to ensure that policies and sufficient support are being cascaded to where the most marginalized are concentrated. With such commitment to their cause, women migrants are able to foster and strengthen unity across all ranks in pursuit of a better life for them and for their families.  

A dream for the future  

While women migrants in New Zealand continuously work towards better working and migrant situations, they also continue to dream for a more ideal future where they do not have to worry about receiving livable wages, work benefits, and recognition. 

When asked about the dream future she envisions for women and women migrants across the region, Antonia unapologetically asserts the need for security and safe migration for women. She also mentioned, “our women migrants [should be able to access] support from host countries and their home countries” particularly by institutionalizing liaisons in their destinations that would readily assist migrants, especially women, in navigating life abroad. She also wished for migrant women to have better access to communication channels that can connect families despite the distance.

Policy-wise, Antonia shared that governments must set more stringent standards regarding safe migration for women as they are more prone to discrimination, exploitation, and sexual abuses overseas compared to their male counterparts. Currently, policies on safe migration remain tokenistic despite calls from civil society on establishing gender-sensitive and migrant-oriented regulations that truly respond to the needs and demands of women.

Just like Antonia, who is a migrant (from Samoa) herself, thousands of women migrants in New Zealand dream of similar things. As aspirations continue to flow, the fight towards better opportunities, no matter how steep the climb, continuously strengthens across seas – and no one is daring to stop, especially women.

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