Migration of Sri Lankan transnational domestic workers and families left behind: economic benefits vs. social costs

Increasing numbers of Sri Lanka women are migrating for overseas employment as domestic workers. Consequently, transnational families in which mothers are absent for a significant part of the growing up of their children are increasingly common. Although these migrants and the country receive economic benefits, their migration involves social costs such as denounced living and working conditions of women abroad, harmful consequences of the long-term separation of mothers on the well-being of children and other family members and broken marriages due to prolonged separation from their spouses. Therefore, investigation of both economic benefits and social costs of women’s migration and identification of specific strategies that could be used to minimize social costs and maximize economic benefits would be worthwhile. This paper reports the findings of the survey done in 2008 by interviewing 400 migrant families and focus group discussions to investigate the economic and social impact of Sri Lankan transnational domestic workers on families in Sri Lanka. It first explains the background information of migrants and methodology of the study. Next, it examines the economic and social impact of their migration on families. It concludes with some policy recommendations based on the findings of the survey.