they would also like to acknowledge the participants in the ferdi international conference on international labour mobility and inequality across nations clermontferrand january and to the expert meeting on harnessing knowledge on the migration of highly skilled women coorganised by the international organization for migration and the oecd development centre geneva april the push and pull factors influencing this significant share of migration have typically been explained as a byproduct of male migration female migrants have been assumed to migrate mainly for reasons of family reunification as dependents of male migrants as wives daughters or mothers over the years the body of knowledge on the migration of women seeking better employment opportunities has increased including research on topics such the role of gender discrimination in the workplace