Children and COVID-19 Research Library

The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically impacted labour conditions and labour migration across Cambodia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Myanmar and Thailand. This study assesses the socioeconomic impact of COVID-19 on men and women migrant workers and their families in Cambodia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Myanmar and Thailand to inform a migrant-centred approach to socioeconomic recovery from the pandemic with evidence-based recommendations. The research applied a mixed-methods approach including a quantitative survey with a total of 2,187 migrants, 156 employers, and 63 key informant interviews.

This research report explores and critically examines the short- and longer-term gender implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on migration and the well-being of migrants worldwide. This research report aims to inform ongoing policy and programmatic responses to the pandemic and highlights best practices and challenges. The report analyses the gender impacts of COVID-19 on different “groups” of migrants, including health-care workers, agricultural and domestic migrant workers, internally displaced persons and international students, and assesses migrant vulnerabilities as well as the opportunities for gender-responsive migration governance that have been revealed by the pandemic.

Cambodia has seen an increasing trend in migration over the last two decades pushed by better job prospects abroad and closer bilateral cooperation with neighbouring countries. Migrants make immense contribution to the Cambodian economy through regular remittances sent home and by enriching the labour market with skills picked up from abroad. Women are almost equal contributors of these benefits, yet they face disproportionate challenges in their migration journey and when they return. The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the urgent need for an effective reintegration plan to help women transition into their local environment as a starting point in economically empowering them. The main objective of this literature review is to examine the current research materials available and identify key industries and micro, small- and medium-sized enterprises in Cambodia that can potentially provide employment and income-generating opportunities to low or unskilled female migrant workers in a post-COVID-19 environment. The report details the profile and demographics of Cambodian migrant women to design intervention efforts for their economic empowerment. The recommendations put forward in this report call for an effective reintegration path and creation of an enabling environment for migrant women to be economically empowered.