Do transnational mothering and fathering practices differ? A case study of recently arrived immigrants in France

A growing literature is focusing on the lives and practices of transnational families, particularly those with children. This study is based on the French context where despite a long history of immigration, the topic has been relatively overlooked. Even if numbers of transnational families based in France seem to have been decreasing in the last two decades, they have also changed in nature and are more often headed by female migrants. In this context, we aim to understand whether the migrant parent’s gender has an impact on the practices and migration projects within these families with some previous studies pointing to gender specific parental responsibilities. Our results point to the fact that in order to understand the differences in transnational fathering and mothering practices, it is necessary to take into account the characteristics of the transnational family. Integrating this dimension into the analysis reevaluates the role of gender on these practices.