Migration and Employment: A Study of Bangladeshi Male Migrant Workers in Malaysia

This study concerns Bangladeshi male migrant workers in Malaysia. It examines the living and working condition of these migrants and how they adapt to the blurring of gender roles in Malaysia. A total of 400 Bangladeshi male migrant workers were interviewed through a questionnaire covering the causes of migration, the problems they face, and their perceptions toward gender roles and household tasks in the family. The results show that: (a) there are varieties of factors which compel men to migrate to Malaysia; earning more money and improving their standard of living is the most common reason given and (b) they face numerous problems in their everyday lives in the work and living environment. The study highlights that migration occurs as a household livelihood strategy. Besides that migration also contribute toward a negotiated transnationalist identity because of the circumstances that require them to transcend normative gender roles. Patriarchal norms remain strongly normalized in them despite the blurring of gendered roles in the migration process.