Beyond the ‘Productivity’ of Remittance: Gendered Implications of Migration in Nepal

Srijana, an 11-year-old, sees her mother leaving for Dubai, a year after her father left for Malaysia. A few months later, her mother sends money through someone she knows in Dubai, while her father sends money via Western Union. Her mother’s money is used for her school expenses and her grandmother’s prescriptions, whilst her father’s earnings are utilized by her uncle to purchase a tractor and farm inputs. She notes that her father’s profits are visible and acknowledged by society, and that they are extensively invested. In contrast, her mother’s investment are primarily utilized for household expenditures. Srijana’s mother contacts her every other day, offering ideas on how to save and knowledge from her travels overseas, which has broadened Srijana’s worldviews, and her father frequently emphasizes the need to invest. This exemplifies how gendered migration and financial productivity expand in our societies. While the earnings from male migration are often used for immediate economic needs, female earnings are more often utilized for fostering social capital and improving quality of life. However, the short-term benefits offered by financial remittances overshadow the long-term implications on the overall quality of lives, derived from social upliftments.

‘Productivity’ of Remittance in Nepal

Productivity of remittances is often measured through ‘financial remittance’, which focuses largely on access to finance for livelihood purposes. The current remittance inflow in Nepal, as derived from three months of data of FY 2024/25, amounts to NPR 413.1 billion (USD 3.09 billion), rising by 11.5%  compared to the same period in FY 2023/24.  However, these remittances, on micro levels, are primarily observed to be utilized in food consumption followed by health and educational expenditures. This portrays that remittance plays an important role in enhancing household welfare and prioritizing ‘consumptive patterns’ in the economy contributing to human development that enables sustaining consumption. Remittances in Nepal are therefore perceived to be utilized for short-term benefits and supporting the livelihoods of households. It is still not seen as a tool for promoting long-term economic resilience. Considering this, economists often emphasize the need to channel remittances into productive sectors like education, health, and infrastructure fostering long-term economic growth. Despite the economic prospects migration and remittance tend to offer at household and macroeconomic levels, there remain greater implications from social ends that are worth considering while discussing the ‘productivity’ of remittances.

Gendering Migration

Migration dynamics remain widely gendered given its abidance to gendered division of roles. Primarily, migration is often considered a man-led phenomenon, given its association with provider roles. In Nepal, as per the National Census, 2021, about 81% of the absent population is male, while only around 19% of this population represents women. A majority of this represents the migrant population. To further validate this, the Nepal Labor Force Survey, 2017/2018shows that 79.7% of the total migrants are male. This portrays greater gendered differences in migratory practices. Existing systemic gender disparity in the forms of legal hurdles, low-paying jobs, and lack of supportive networks make them vulnerable to exploitation in  the migratory process, leading to lower migratory practices among women. However, a major reason for lower migration among women is largely given their engagements in the domestic arena and abiding by reproductive and care roles. Even when women choose to migrate, 80% of the female migrants engaging in service sectors, primarily in domestic and care spheres. This portrays significant systemic gender stereotypes existing in the society with their abidance to care roles inside and outside the household.

Gendering Remittance Usage

Gendering does not just surround migratory trends, but the remittance acquired as a product of migration as well. It is visible in the families with higher male migration and stay-behind females which has led to greater engagement of female household members in agricultural processes while managing domestic as well as care work. This can be seen as the dual burden of undertaking productive and reproductive roles for women, in exchange of remittances that reduce vulnerabilities of the farming population. Remittance, in this case, becomes a mechanism to supplement the income derived from agricultural sources, promoting the coping mechanism for the economic vulnerability of the population, and also offering short-term economic benefits.

However, with increasing globalization, migration and remittance have been largely feminized, indicated by the overarching growth of migration, and the contribution of remittances by females remain notable. On a wider purview, concerns about the trends of utilizing remittances acquired from different genders have been raised, particularly with the feminization of migration and remittances over the years, particularly in Nepal. It is interesting to note that lower access to finance among female migrants, increases their expenses on transfer fees by 20% as compared to their male counterparts. As a result, female migrants are more prone to utilize hundi, an informal mechanism to transfer money. Furthermore, in terms of utilizing the funds sent by women, it is often perceived to be utilized for supporting families and communities with more investments in healthcare, education, and security needs. This portrays that female migration not only enhances financial remittance, which remains accounted, but also touches upon social remittances that is more focused on social upliftment and awareness on livelihood schemes that measures beyond the ‘productivity’ of remittances. While the productivity of remittances from male migration is indicative through access to finance and resources, directly contributing to livelihood, the productivity of remittances from female migration focuses more on promoting awareness on improving livelihood directed to solving long-term poverty issues and enhancing the quality of life.

Conclusion

The implications of remittances serve the economic and financial dimensions that enhance household income, improving living standards and support economic growth. Yet, the effects of remittances are not limited to the financial aspects, but also transcends to the social aspects. Remittances, evidently foster gender-based social reform and community empowerment through intangible transfers of ideas, skills and values contributing to long-term resilience by challenging gender norms, fostering inclusivity and narrowing gender gaps. Remittances, in short, are not merely about filling wallets, but also about enhancing quality of life and reshaping societies.

Unlocking full potentials of remittances require us to see beyond its contribution in National Accounts or balance sheets. It is important to offer more gender sensitive financial literacy programs to strategically channelize remittances to long-term change, as it fosters in utilizing social remittances in action. It is further more important to consider investing in women economic empowerment and developing inclusive communities to foster equity. Further, as access to finance is a major indicator for productivity of remittances, it is important to indicate the financial accessibility with social remittances that will amplify the impacts of remittances. It is important to acknowledge and internalize that remittances are not just about transactions involving debits and credits but are transformations that foster social change and empowerment. It is important to consider and question: Is productivity of remittance merely financial?