ABSTRACT
This chapter is concerned with gender differentials in the employment consequences of migration. The context for the chapter is the increase in female participation in the formal labour market in the United Kingdom over the last thirty years. By the mid-1990s women comprised nearly half of all employees, and projections point to a continuing increase in the share of total employment accounted for by women. Married women, particularly married women with young children, account for the majority of the increase in female participation. Although many of these women work on a part-time basis, in industries and occupations traditionally characterized by a large share of women employees, increasing numbers of women —particularly highly qualified women-are pursuing careers in industries and occupations which were previously considered overwhelmingly the preserve of men. With more women in work and wanting to work, it is pertinent to examine whether the notion of a ‘trailing wife’ conforms to the current realities of migration behaviour.
