The Migration-Development-Nexus from a gender-sensitive perspective: The Case of Colombian Women in Catalonia

This article focuses on analyzing the transnational activities of Colombian women living in Catalonia in order to determine if this migrant collective can be defined as transnational agent of development and social change. The research is based on the theoretical debates held on the Migration-Development-Nexus and the transnational migration paradigm. According to this paradigm, migrants create transnational social fields that link together their society of origin and destination through multi-stranded relations like the sending of remittance to their families, the creation of businesses and networks or the exchange of ideas and skills. Those elements can thus promote the development in both societies. In order to conduct the research, the article takes two key components into account that are crucial to understand the linkage between migration and development in the Colombian case: a) The armed conflict, that has lead to the forced and voluntary displacement of millions of Colombians as well as the post-conflict settings and their impact in the creation of transnational fields; b) The role that gender affects the situation and condition of migrants, as the Colombian migrant collective is characterized by a high degree of feminization.