Moral Geographies of Care across Borders: The Experience of Migrant Grandparents in Australia
Abstract
Literature on transnational grandparenting rarely focuses on how migrant grandparents contribute to the work/care reconciliation of their adult children, how they provide and receive care in contexts of mobility and precariousness, and the ways in which this is shaped by migration and social policy regimes. Drawing on the concept of moral geographies of care, this study reveals how idealized norms of care interact with Australian migration and work/care regimes in complex and contradictory ways to produce configurations of care in migrant families. We conclude that migration and work/care regimes are poorly aligned, compromising migrant families’ well-being and economic security.
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Many migrant parents are either initially or permanently ineligible for work/care reconciliation policies available to non-migrant families.
“In addition, many migrant parents are either initially or permanently ineligible for work/care reconciliation policies available to non-migrant families (Hamilton, Hill, and Kintominas 2022).”
From Conditioning grandparent care-labour mobility at the care-migration systems nexus: Australia and the UK (2024) · cites this paper as Hamilton, Hill, and Kintominas 2022
As a result, migrant parents such as Hao look to grandparents, in particular grandmothers, for childcare, and encourage them to travel from the home country to provide care so that the parents (especially mothers) can work.
“As a result, migrant parents such as Hao, look to grandparents, in particular grandmothers, for childcare, and encourage them to travel from the home country to provide care so that the parents (especially mothers) can work (Hamilton, Hill, and Kintominas 2022; Nguyen, Baldassar, and Wilding 2023).”
From Conditioning grandparent care-labour mobility at the care-migration systems nexus: Australia and the UK (2024) · cites this paper as Hamilton, Hill, and Kintominas 2022
Since the migration policy changes to a temporary skills focus from 2000, grandparent migration has been increasingly framed in Australia as an economic burden.
“Empirical studies and policy analyses indicate that since the migration policy changes to a temporary skills focus from 2000, grandparent migration has been increasingly framed in Australia as an economic burden (Askola 2016; Hamilton, Hill, and Kintominas 2022).”
From Conditioning grandparent care-labour mobility at the care-migration systems nexus: Australia and the UK (2024) · cites this paper as Hamilton, Hill, and Kintominas 2022
Cites
Transnational Families and Aged Care: The Mobility of Care and the Migrancy of Ageing
Baldassar, L. (2007) · Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies · doi:10.1080/13691830601154252 · Cited by 452 · see citing works
Plaza, D. (2000) · Social Indicators Research · doi:10.1023/a:1007022110306 · Cited by 101 · see citing works
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Kilkey, M., & Baldassar, L. (2024) · Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies · doi:10.1080/1369183x.2023.2279732 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
“…intergenerational family power dynamics and individual circumstances, including grandparents ’ ability to speak the receiving-country language (Hamilton, Hill, and Kintominas 2022), mediate experiences and help shape the opportunities and constraints grandparents have to develop strategies to…”
BackgroundTransnational grandparent migration and care-giving: a systematic scoping review
Nguyen, H. T., Stevens, C., & Baldassar, L. (2025) · Ageing and Society · doi:10.1017/s0144686x24000436 · Cited by 14 · see citing works
- Authors
- Hamilton, M., Hill, E., & Kintominas, A.
- Affiliations
- The University of Sydney (AU)
- UNSW Sydney (AU)
- Corresponding author
- Hill, Elizabeth
- Venue
- Social Politics: International Studies in Gender, State & Society
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 2021-08-27
- Volume
- 29
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 379-404
- ISSN
- 1072-4745 (ISSN-L)
- 1468-2893
- OpenAlex
- W4253340163
- Cited by
- 26
- References
- 2
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 2
- FWCI
- 4.16
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- academic.oup.com/journals/pages/open_access/funder_policies/chorus/standard_publication_model (vor)
- Locations
- Social Politics International Studies in Gender State & Society (publishedVersion)
- Project Muse (Johns Hopkins University) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Australian Research Council Discovery Project (DP160100175)
- Markets, Migration and the Work of Care in Australia
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Intergenerational Family Dynamics and Caregiving
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Migration and Labor Dynamics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Work-Family Balance Challenges
- Keywords
- care work, migration regimes, social policy regimes, precarity, immigrant families, family well-being, economic security, Australia
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