Financing Migration, Generating Remittances and the Building of Livelihood Strategies: A Case Study of Indonesian Migrant Women as Domestic Workers in Singapore

Using the case study of Indonesian women migrating as domestic workers to Singapore, this paper draws on a quantitative survey and qualitative in-depth interviews to examine the migration trajectories of these women — in particular, their experiences of recruitment and placement in Indonesia and Singapore respectively, as well as remittance-sending behaviours — concerning whether or not there are significant discrepancies between the costs of migration and benefits of employment through remittances (both economic and in-kind). It also examines the mediating role of communication technologies in reducing the transaction costs of migration and remittance-sending, as well as contributing to the maintenance of family ties across borders.The paper offers a list of policy recommendations to help reduce the costs and risks of migration for domestic work, whilst increasing its benefits for individual migrants and their families.