Female labor migration from Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan to Russia

Female labor migration from Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan to Russia needs a detailed analysis since it is poorly represented in official statistics (migrant women are often employed in the informal sector). In article is based on the data from two sociological surveys of migrant women from Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan carried out in 2015 and 2016. It presents analysis of the dynamics and structure of the spheres of employment of these female migrants, considers various aspects of their rights infringement, as well as positive and negative consequences of migration for female labor migrants themselves. The outcomes of the two surveys show changes in the sphere of employment of migrant women, the present practices of their labor rights infringement, different strategies of behavior on the labor market depending on the specifics of patriarchal way of life in their homeland, knowledge of the Russian language. Part of the female migrant workers from Tajikistan and Kyrghyzstan in Russia work in the shadow economy, and even within the EAEU there are difficulties with legalization of their employment that means their considerable vulnerability to their employers. The present system of hiring with the help of compatriots reinforces the practices of informal employment and preserves the vulnerable position of these women, and protection of their rights is complicated, among other things. In case of conflict situations female migrant workers in Russia have little chance to protect their labor rights through the courts, by the official way. Female labor migration to Russia from Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan differs in the nature of push factors and in the structure of female migration that is conditioned by the historic and socio-economic factors.