Thesis review : Gender, migration and communication networks : mapping the communicative ecology of Latin American migrant women in New Zealand /Aotearoa

Abstract

In this thesis, the author investigates the role of communication networks in the pre-and post-migration process of Latin American women resettled in New Zealand. This well researched and skilfully written thesis begins from the premise that while the process of migration and resettlement is complex and challenging for all migrants, it is more demanding for women. Because of socially constructed biological and social differences, which usually portray women as subordinate to men, the conventional perception is that women are dependent on their husbands and less active in the migration decision and process.

This view is negated in this thesis. Latin American women in this study voluntarily migrated as skilled migrants and/or for professional reasons. The author also discusses how women use formal and informal communication networks to integrate, to maintain their culture and language, and for personal development. The narratives of Latin American women migrating to New Zealand and their communication networks were, however, absent in literature and this thesis sets out to address this gap.