Urban Economies Depend On Migrant Women. It’s Time Our Policies Caught Up.

Nearly half of all migrants are women, most of them living and working in cities that power the global economy. They represent extraordinary economic potential, yet too often remain excluded from the prosperity they help create.

As mayors of two rapidly growing cities — Quezon City in the Philippines and Manta in Ecuador — we see this paradox daily. Our economies need workers, yet the very people ready to contribute are systematically excluded, held back by legal barriers, discrimination, informality, or lack of childcare and finance.

This isn’t just inequitable; it’s holding all of us back. The World Bank estimates that increasing women’s participation in the workforce could raise global GDP by more than 20%. The question isn’t whether we can afford to invest in migrant women—it’s whether we can afford not to.

The hidden cost of exclusion

Cities are hubs of migration. Nearly 80% of refugees live in urban areas, and one in every five international migrants lives in just 20 cities. Many are women making proactive choices to build better futures for themselves and their families.

In Quezon City, the Philippines’ largest metropolis, many women migrate from rural areas or return from overseas to work in domestic care. Most find jobs that are informal, underpaid and unprotected — long hours, low wages and little recourse against gender-based violence.

In Manta, Ecuador, displaced women from Colombia, Venezuela, Peru and nearby provinces arrive with skills and determination, only to face educational barriers and caregiving responsibilities that trap them in the informal economy. Currently, 93% of Manta’s employed migrants work informal jobs with no pathway to advancement.

These challenges aren’t unique to the cities that we lead. Globally, women migrants face unique challenges, like discrimination or labor exploitation, and countless migrant women live in fear of violence or even human trafficking. When migrant women can’t access safe, dignified work, entire communities lose.

Local solutions that work

In both of our cities, we are advancing locally designed policies that address migrant women’s economic exclusion while strengthening the broader urban economy.

In Quezon City, we’re establishing the city’s first member-owned, city-supported cooperative made up of domestic workers. Through our QC Cares program, migrant women gain business ownership, credit access and professional training — transforming precarious jobs into stable livelihoods. The initiative not only supports women who arrive in our city, but also encourages those working abroad to return home with dignified opportunities, helping break generational poverty cycles and create opportunities within our borders.

In Manta, our city is supporting migrant women entrepreneurs in the food and textile sectors to form business associations, access to startup capital, and secure legal protections. These programs are helping women transition from informal survival work to small business ownership.

Both of these efforts have been supported through international partnerships, including the Mayors Migration Council’s Global Cities Fund for Migrants and Refugees, which invests directly in mayor-led solutions that bring economic prosperity for all residents.

The economic imperative

This isn’t just about fairness — it’s smart economics. Around the world, cities face aging populations and widening labor gaps, especially in fast-growing sectors like the green economy. A recent MMC-C40 analysis of green jobs finds that closing green labor shortages through inclusive immigration and targeted training could add $280 billion to global growth by 2040.

Migrant and refugee women represent exactly the workforce our cities need. In Latin America, the IMF projects that countries like Ecuador could increase their GDP by as much as 4.5% in the next four years by properly including Venezuelan migrants — many of whom are women — into their economies.

In the Philippines, achieving gender parity in labor participation could add $40 billion to the economy. And globally, UN Women finds that closing the gender gap could give the global economy a $7 trillion boost.

When women can work, cities prosper. Investing in their participation in the local economy is proven to boost GDP, reduce poverty and drive long-term economic growth.

Our call to action

As mayors, our responsibility is to build cities where everyone can contribute and thrive. Through the Global Cities Fund, we are already proving what’s possible. Now we need the political and financial will to scale it.

We call on philanthropists, national governments and international institutions to move resources where they matter most — closer to the leaders and communities driving change.

Half of our migrants are women. It’s time we invest in their potential and unlock prosperity for everyone who calls our cities home.