| Abstract: | This paper provides an institutional analysis of the use of gender as an organizing principle for labor migration flows. Through a case study of the marketing and recruitment strategies of Philippine government and private institutions, I examine how gendered representations contribute to divergent patterns of male and female labor migrants from the Philippines. Representations, or controlling images, are used by institutions to provide explanations or justification of a policy. Findings indicate that the global marketing of workers is organized around specific gendered assumptions of male versus female occupations. Recruitment strategies are also influenced by gendered representations of occupations, locations, and workers. The use of gender by government and private institutions as an organizing device provides a gendered context in which migrants and their households must subsequently operate. |
