ABSTRACT
Feminization of migration is one of the main characteristics of current migration flows. Population ageing and increasing women labour force participation in developed countries create huge demand for female migrants to fill gaps at their care services. The concept of global care chains has widely been used as an explanation of transnational links between developed countries with care deficits and under-developed countries exporting their women labour. There are considerable studies exploring care services and gendered migration links. However these analyses often neglect the changing nature of care services based on welfare transformation and its effects on care deficits. This study argues that welfare state transformation and the lack of adequate public care services are one of the main determinants of demand for women migrants. Depending on welfare regimes types, female migrants make a considerable contribution to welfare provision in receiving countries. On the basis of these assumptions, this study aims at analyzing the role of women migrants in the process of welfare state transformation and exploring linkages between characteristics of Turkish welfare regime and demand for female migrants under the increasing irregular migration flows to Turkey and ongoing process of social security reforms. This study indicates that contribution of irregular female migrants to welfare provision in Turkey is not an appropriate and sustainable option to compensate the lack of adequate public social services under the current socio-economic and welfare conditions of large low- income population groups.
Keywords : Welfare state transformation, global care chains, care services, female migrants labour