Parental Controls: The Gendered Experiences of Latin American Mothers and Fathers in Canada's Agricultural Guestworker Programs

Abstract

This thesis explores the experiences of transnational agricultural migrant workers in Canada’s guestworker programs. Examined through a gendered lens, it focuses on migrant’s experiences as parents to children whom they must leave behind in their communities of origin when they migrate. Drawing on interview and ethnographic data, this thesis argues that transnational parents, especially mothers, face a unique set of challenges and barriers as participants in these programs. It explores how the injustices that migrants suffer impact parents’ ability to focus on their primary motivation to migrate— their children— thereby limiting their ability to fulfill their roles as parents and hindering their parent-child relationships.