Women and Migration in Rural Europe

Fundamental societal changes in the globalising European countryside impact women's migration decisions. The chapters in this volume represent diverse attempts to explain women's movements from rural areas, taking prevailing labour market conditions as well as gender relations into account. Utilising empirical findings from countries including Austria, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Spain, this collection particularly aims to build bridges between research following the 'cultural turn' and functionalist explanations which refer to material and practiced ruralities.
The international range of contributors to Women and Migration in Rural Europe focus on societal constructions of gender and rurality, and in doing so, address various female perspectives on rural life. The analysis of the different working and living conditions in different parts of rural Europe reveals distinct obstacles but also prospects for young women. Importantly, the book includes policy implications with respect to the challenges of demographic change, questions of gender equality and women's contribution to rural development.

Karin Wiest is Senior Researcher and Project Manager at the Leibniz Institute for Regional Geography (IfL) in Leipzig, Germany. Her research focuses on socio-spatial processes in urban and rural Europe. She has led and participated in several EU-funded research projects focusing on female migration, demographic change and regional development.