Colombian women in Chile: Discourses and migration experiences from the perspective of intersectionality

Abstract

The article inquires into the characteristics of the migration experiences of Colombian women in Chile in the 2010s, with an emphasis on their motivations and arrival in Chile, their job placement and financial management process, the sphere of care and family, and their experiences of discrimination and violence. The analysis is carried out on the basis of the concept of intersectionality, applied to the dynamics of the migrant women themselves, whose discourse constitutes the empirical material. The research approach is qualitative, based on interviews and focus groups with migrant women from the six countries with the largest migration flow to Chile in the last decade (Colombia, Dominican Republic, Bolivia, Peru, Argentina, and Venezuela) and currently residing there. In particular, the analysis contrasts the experiences narrated by Colombian women with those of female migrants from other Latin American countries, who arrived in Chile in the 2010s. On the one hand, this research confirms what has been pointed out by other studies regarding the relevance of the economic factor in the decision to migrate, the importance of family dynamics for these women (care, long-distance mothering, and remittances), and the presence of diverse types of discrimination. On the other hand, specific findings emerge in the case of Colombian women in Chile, such as escaping from gender violence as an important cause of migration; the job segmentation that pigeonholes them in the retail and services sectors; their greater awareness of rights and their proactive attitude in the face of abuse (work-and non-work-related); and the presence of a discriminatory pressure that does violence to them for being women and migrants, which is exacerbated when they are black women. Intersectionality complicates the understanding of discrimination processes associated with the international division of reproductive labor by gender and with racist cultural elements, given that the findings of the study show that in Chile these take place in more complex and heterogeneous forms, together with racialization and sexualization processes.