For migration to be governed in a gender-responsive way, gender differences in experiences and needs will be recognized and responded to through policy and programming.

In other words, gender-responsive migration governance refers to the ways in which laws, policies and programs recognize and address the different realities faced by women, men, non-binary individuals, girls and boys at all stages of migration, while upholding their human rights, promoting their empowerment and advancing gender equality.

Gender-responsiveness is one of the cross-cutting and interdependent guiding principles of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM). The different aspects of gender-responsiveness are clearly described in article 15 of the GCM:

Gender-responsive: The Global Compact ensures that the human rights of women, men, girls and boys are respected at all stages of migration, their specific needs are properly understood and addressed and they are empowered as agents of change. It mainstreams a gender perspective, promotes gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls, recognizing their independence, agency and leadership in order to move away from addressing migrant women primarily through a lens of victimhood.

This portal offers a number of ways to learn how to do this. You are invited to:

• Explore the interactive map of gender-responsive practices around the world
• Build your capacity through the resources on this page
• Evaluate your gender-responsiveness through the interactive quizzes and other tools

Want to reflect on how gender-responsive migration governance is in your country? Click here to take the quiz.

In addition to featuring as a guiding principle in the GCM, gender-responsive migration governance is called for in the:

• Sustainable Development Agenda: SDG 5 aims to achieve gender equality by 2030. The elimination of gender inequalities is a cross-cutting theme that underlies all the SDGs. Particularly relevant are Goals 5 and 16 on elimination of trafficking and violence against women, Goal 8 on safe environments for migrant workers, and Goal 17 (data collection on migratory status). The implementation of gender-responsive migration governance is key to the realization of gender equality as called for in the 2030 Agenda.
• Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW): CEDAW is the main international instrument for protecting women’s rights and it applies to all women regardless of citizenship or migration status. The CEDAW Committee’s General Recommendation No. 26 (GR 26), issued in 2008, is the most comprehensive international instrument relating to women migrant workers specifically.
• Other special protections for migrant women