Researching the agency of older migrant women: the potential of intersectional approaches
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
The paper explores the agency of older migrant women using intersectional approaches. It provides an overview of existing research on the migration-ageing nexus in the social sciences. Based on this, it highlights the need to focus on the multifaceted challenges and potentials of older migrant women, considering the intersectional dynamics of gender, migration and age. The concept of intersectionality is discussed in relation to how it illuminates the discriminatory experiences and agency of older migrant women. Putting the concept of agency at the centre, the article highlights the importance of understanding agency from a gender, migrant, and ageing perspective. Finally, it argues for an expanded understanding of agency that takes into account the intersecting categories and diverse forms of expression.
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Since 2020 the International Journal of Ageing and Later Life uses a Creative Commons: Attribution license, which allows users to distribute the work and to reform or build upon it without the author's permission. Full reference to the author must be given.
References
Arora, S., Straiton, M., Rechel, B., Bergland, A. & Debesay, J. (2019). Ethnic boundary-making in health care: Experiences of older Pakistani immigrant women in Norway. Social Science & Medicine 239: 112555. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2019.112555
Bakewell, O. (2010). Some reflections on structure and agency in migration theory. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 36(10): 1689–1708. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2010.489382
Bartig, S. (2022). Alter(n) und Migration in Deutschland: Ein Überblick zum Forschungsstand zur Lebenssituation älterer Menschen mit Migrationsgeschichte in Deutschland (DeZIM Research Notes No. 9). Berlin: Deutsches Zentrum für Integrations- und Migrationsforschung (DeZIM).
Bilge, S. (2013). Intersectionality undone: Saving Intersectionality from Feminist Intersectionality Studies. Du Bois Review: Social Science Research on Race 10(2): 405–424. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1742058 X13000283
Bourdieu, P. (1972/1979). Entwurf einer Theorie der Praxis. Auf der ethnologischen Grundlage der kabylischen Gesellschaft (Original work published 1972). Berlin: Suhrkamp.
Calasanti, T. & Giles, S. (2018). The challenge of intersectionality: Intersecting inequalities influence how we age, through dimensions such as income and health. Generations 41(4): 69–74.
Calasanti, T. & King, N. (2015). Intersectionality and age. In J. Twigg & W. Martin (eds.), Routledge Handbook of Cultural Gerontology (pp. 193–200). New York: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203097090.ch25
Calasanti, T. & King, N. (2021). Beyond successful aging 2.0: Inequalities, ageism, and the case for normalizing old ages. The Journals of Gerontology. Series B, Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences 76(9): 1817–1827. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbaa037
Cho, S., Crenshaw, K. W. & McCall, L. (2013). Toward a field of intersectionality studies: Theory, applications, and praxis. Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society 38(4): 785–810. https://doi.org/10.1086/669608
Ciobanu, R. O. (2023). Super-diversity and intersectionality. In S. Torres & A. Hunter (eds.), Handbook on Migration and Ageing (pp. 57–66). Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781839106774.00012
Ciobanu, R. O., Fokkema, T. & Nedelcu, M. (eds.). (2019). Ageing as a Migrant: Vulnerabilities, Agency and Policy Implications. London, New York: Routledge.
Ciobanu, R. O., Nedelcu, M., Soom Ammann, E. & van Holten, K. (2020). Intersections between ageing and migration: Current trends and challenges. Swiss Journal of Sociology 46(2): 187–197. https://doi.org/10.2478/sjs-2020-0010
Collins, P. H. (2017). Intersectionality and epistemic injustice. In I. J. Kidd, J. Medina & G. Pohlhaus (eds.), The Routledge Handbook of Epistemic Injustice (pp. 115–124). Routledge Handbooks in Philosophy. New York: Routledge.
Collins, P. H. (2019). Intersectionality as Critical Social Theory. Durham: Duke University Press. https://doi.org/10.1515/9781478007098
Côté-Boucher, K., Daly, T., Chivers, S., Braedley, S. & Hillier, S. (2024). Counter-narratives of active aging: Disability, trauma, and joy in the age-friendly city. Journal of Aging Studies 68: 101205. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaging.2023.101205
Crenshaw, K. (1991). Mapping the margins: Intersectionality, identity politics, and violence against women of color. Stanford Law Review 43(6): 1241–1299. https://doi.org/10.2307/1229039
Dannefer, D. & Huang, W. (2017). Precarity, inequality, and the problem of agency in the study of the life course. Innovation in Aging 1(3): 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1093/geroni/igx027
Davis, K. (2013). Intersektionalität als “Buzzword”: Eine wissenschaftssoziologische Perspektive auf die Frage “Was macht eine feministische Theorie erfolgreich?” In H. Lutz, M. T. Herrera Vivar, L. Supik & M. T. H. Vivar (eds.), Geschlecht & Gesellschaft: Vol. 47. Fokus Intersektionalität: Bewegungen und Verortungen eines vielschichtigen Konzeptes (2nd ed., pp. 59–73). Wiesbaden: VS Verl. für Sozialwiss.
Davis, K. (2024). Who owns intersectionality? Some reflections on feminist debates on how theories travel. In K. Davis & H. Lutz (eds.), The Routledge International Handbook of Intersectionality Studies (pp. 319–331). New York: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003089520-30
De Certeau, M. (1984). The Practice of Everyday Life. Berkley, Los Angeles, London: University of California Press.
De Silva, M. (2020). Beyond the ‘age’ lens: Older migrants’ negotiation of intersectional identities over the lifecourse. In S. Huang & K. N. Ruwanpura (eds.), International Handbooks on Gender. Handbook on Gender in Asia (pp. 275–291). Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar Publishing. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781788112918.00025
De Tavernier, W. & Aartsen, M. (2019). Old-age exclusion: Active ageing, ageism and agency. Social Inclusion 7(3): 1–3. https://doi.org/10.17645/si.v7i3.2372
Debesay, J., Nortvedt, L. & Langhammer, B. (2022). Social inequalities and health among older immigrant women in the Nordic countries: An integrative review. SAGE Open Nursing 8: 23779608221084962. https://doi.org/10.1177/23779608221084962
Dhawan, N. & do Mar Castro Varela, M. (2024). Intersectionality and Its Critics: Postcolonial-Queer-Feminist Conundrums. In K. Davis & H. Lutz (eds.), The Routledge International Handbook of Intersectionality Studies (pp. 71–85). New York: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003089520-8
Dyring, R. & Blonk, L. (2024). Phenomenologies of aging: An introduction. Continental Philosophy Review 57(4): 537–546. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11007-024-09663-1
Eurostat. (2024). Persons at Risk of Poverty or Social Exclusion by Group of Country of Birth (Population Aged 18 and Over) – EU 2020 Strategy [Data file]. 12 June. https://doi.org/10.2908/ILC_PEPS06
Ferrer, I., Grenier, A., Brotman, S. & Koehn, S. (2017). Understanding the experiences of racialized older people through an intersectional life course perspective. Journal of Aging Studies 41: 10–17. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaging.2017.02.001
Giddens, A. (1984/1997). Die Konstitution der Gesellschaft: Grundzüge einer Theorie der Strukturierung (3rd ed.). Frankfurt/Main: Campus-Verl. (Original work published 1984)
Gilleard, C. & Higgs, P. (2010). Aging without agency: Theorizing the fourth age. Aging & Mental Health 14(2): 121–128. https://doi.org/10.1080/13607860903228762
Gilleard, C. & Higgs, P. (2021). Social Divisions and Later Life: Difference, Diversity and Inequality. Bristol: Bristol University Press. https://doi.org/10.46692/9781447338611
Gubernskaya, Z. & Dobreva, T. (2023). Older migrants and socio-economic inequalities. In S. Torres & A. Hunter (eds.), Handbook on Migration and Ageing (pp. 241–250). Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing.
Green, M. A., Evans, C. R. & Subramanian, S. V. (2017). Can intersectionality theory enrich population health research? Social Science & Medicine 178: 214–216. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2017.02.029
Grenier, A. & Phillipson, C. (2013). Rethinking agency in late life: Structural and interpretive approaches. In J. Baars, J. Dohmen, A. Grenier & C. Phillipson (eds.), Ageing, Meaning and Social Structure: Connecting Critical and Humanistic Gerontology (pp. 55–79). Bristol: Policy Press.
Higgs, P., & Gilleard, C. (2017). Rethinking Old Age: Theorising the Fourth Age (Bloomsbury Collections). London: Bloomsbury Academic. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-137-38400-3
Holman, D. & Walker, A. (2021). Understanding unequal ageing: Towards a synthesis of intersectionality and life course analyses. European Journal of Ageing 18(2): 239–255. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10433-020-00582-7
Honkaniemi, H., Juárez, S. P., Katikireddi, S. V. & Rostila, M. (2020). Psychological distress by age at migration and duration of residence in Sweden. Social Science & Medicine 250: 112869. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2020.112869
Itzin, C. & Phillipson, C. (1995). Gendered ageism: A double jeopardy for women in organisations. In C. Itzin & J. Newman (eds.), Gender, culture and organizational change. Putting theory into practice (pp. 84–95). London: Routledge.Kainradl, A., Kukovetz, B., Pupic, D., Sprung, A. & Wegleitner, K. (2024). Social participation of older people with migration experiences through the lens of active citizenship and caring communities. Österreichisches Jahrbuch für Soziale Arbeit 1: 37–58.
Kainradl, A.-C., Kukovetz, B. & Sprung, A. (2023). Lebensweltorientierte Bildungsarbeit mit älteren Teilnehmenden in prekären Lebenslagen. Magazin erwachsenenbildung.at. Das Fachmedium für Forschung, Praxis und Diskurs 2025(54): 18.
Kameraj, A., König, H. & Hajek, A. (2024). Migration background and use of preventive healthcare services: Findings of the German Ageing Survey. BMC Public Health 24: 2442. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-024-19927-3
Katz, S. (1992). Alarmist demography: Power, knowledge, and the elderly population. Journal of Aging Studies 6(3): 203–225. https://doi.org/10.1016/0890-4065(92)90001-M
Katz, S. & Grenier, A. (2023). The life course and migration: The social position of ageing. In S. Torres & A. Hunter (eds.), Handbook on Migration and Ageing (pp. 14–24). Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing.
King, R., Lulle, A., Sampaio, D. & Vullnetari, J. (2017). Unpacking the ageing–migration nexus and challenging the vulnerability trope. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 43(2): 182–198. https://doi.org/10.10 80/1369183X.2016.1238904
Knapp, G. A. (2013). “Intersectional Invisibility”: Anknüpfungen und Rückfragen an ein Konzept der Intersektionalitätsforschung. In H. Lutz, M. T. Herrera Vivar, L. Supik & M. T. H. Vivar (eds.), Geschlecht & Gesellschaft: Vol. 47. Fokus Intersektionalität: Bewegungen und Verortungen eines vielschichtigen Konzeptes (2nd ed., pp. 243–264). Wiesbaden: VS Verl. für Sozialwiss.
Kobayashi, K. & Khan, M. (2020). Precarity, migration and ageing. In A. Grenier, C. Phillipson & R. A. Settersten (eds.), Precarity and ageing: Understanding insecurity and risk in later life (pp. 115–146). Ageing in a global context. Bristol: Policy Press.
Kobayashi, K. & Khan, M. (2023). Older migrants and access and usage of care. In S. Torres & A. Hunter (eds.), Handbook on Migration and Ageing (pp. 311–321). Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing.
Krekula, C., Nikander, P. & Wilińska, M. (2018). Multiple marginalizations based on age: Gendered ageism and beyond. In L. Ayalon & C. Tesch- Römer (eds.), Contemporary Perspectives on Ageism (Vol. 19, pp. 33–50). Cham: Springer International Publishing.
Laslett, P. (1991). A Fresh Map of Life: The Emergence of the Third Age (Harvard University Press pbk. ed.). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
OECD/European Commission. (2023). Indicators of Immigrant Integration 2023: Settling In. OECD Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/1d5020a6-en
Olmos, D. (2019). Racialized im/migration and autonomy of migration perspectives: New directions and opportunities. Sociology Compass 13(9): e12729. https://doi.org/10.1111/soc4.12729
Phillipson, C. (2015). Placing ethnicity at the centre of studies of later life: Theoretical perspectives and empirical challenges. Ageing and Society 35(5): 917–934. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0144686X14001032
Raithelhuber, E. (2008). Von Akteuren und agency – eine sozialtheoretische Einordnung der structure/angecy-Debatte. In W. H. G. Homfeldt, W. Schroer & C. Schweppe (eds.), Vom Adressaten zum Akteur: Soziale Arbeit und Agency (pp. 17–45). Opladen: Budrich.
Ramachandran, N. & Vathi, Z. (2022). Agency in waiting? Everyday tactics of asylum seekers and refugees in Glasgow. European Journal of Social Works 25(6): 1104–1116. https://doi.org/10.1080/13691457.2022.2117135
Rebughini, P. (2023). Agency. In P. Rebughini & E. Colombo (eds.), Framing Social Theory. Reassembling the Lexicon of Contemporary Social Sciences (pp. 20–38). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781 003203308
Reus-Pons, M., Mulder, C. H., Kibele, E. U. B. & Janssen, F. (2018). Differences in the health transition patterns of migrants and non-migrants aged 50 and older in southern and western Europe (2004–2015). BMC Medicine 16(1): 57. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12916-018-1044-4
Sagbakken, M., Spilker, R. S. & Ingebretsen, R. (2018). Dementia and migration: Family care patterns merging with public care services. Qualitative Health Research 28(1): 16–29. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732317730818
Scheel, S. (2015). Das Konzept der Autonomie der Migration überdenken? Yes, please! movements. Journal für kritische Migrations- und Grenzregimeforschung 1(2): 2414. https://doi.org/10.64081/mvmnts-1.2-2414
Smarika, K. C. (2024). The untold stories of resilience, reworking and resistance of ageing non-European migrant women. European Journal of Social Work 28(2): 354–365. https://doi.org/10.1080/13691457.2024.2368255
Sontag, S. (1972). The double standard of aging. Saturday Review of Literature 39: 29–38.
Stierl, M. (2018). Excessive migration, excessive governance. Border entanglements in Greek EU-rope. In N. De Genova (ed.), The Borders of “Europe”: Autonomy of Migration, Tactics of Bordering (pp. 210–232). Durham, London: Duke University Press. https://doi.org/10.1515/9780822372660
Stypińska, J. & Gordo, L. R. (2018). Gender, age and migration: An intersectional approach to inequalities in the labour market. European Journal of Ageing 15(1): 23–33. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10433-017-0419-2
Torres, S. (2019). Ethnicity, race and care in older age: What can a social justice framework offer? In S. Westwood (ed.), Ageing, Diversity and Equality: Social Justice Perspectives (pp. 167–180). New York: Routledge.
Torres, S. & Hunter, A. (eds.). (2023). Handbook on Migration and Ageing. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing.
Tunçer, M. (2024). An intersectional life course approach to explore the narratives of ageing migrant women. Journal of Aging Studies 71: 101267. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaging.2024.101267
Tungohan, E. & Tormos-Aponte, F. (2024). Social movements and intersectional solidarities. In K. Davis & H. Lutz (eds.), The Routledge International Handbook of Intersectionality Studies (pp. 290–303). New York: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003089520-27
Twigg, J. (2004). The body, gender, and age: Feminist insights in social gerontology. Journal of Aging Studies 18(1): 59–73. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaging.2003.09.001
Van Dyk, S. (2014). The appraisal of difference: Critical gerontology and the active-ageing-paradigm. Journal of Aging Studies 31: 93–103. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaging.2014.08.008
Van Dyk, S. (2020). Soziologie des Alters (2., aktualisierte und ergänzte Ausgabe). Bielefeld: transcript Verlag/UTB.
Vullnetari, J. (2023). Older people’s contribution to development through carework: The role of childcare by grandparents in migration and development. Progress in Development Studies 23 (4): 444–460. https://doi.org/10.1177/14649934231195511
Wegleitner, K., Sprung, A., Kainradl, A. C., Pupić, D., Kukovetz, B. & Kriebernegg, U. (2026). Social participation and active citizenship of older adults in caring neighbourhoods: Insights from the inter-and transdisciplinary project Caring-Living-Labs Graz. Berliner Journal für Soziologie 35: 651–672. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11609-025-00585-0