How unpopular policies are made: Examples from South Africa, Singapore, and Bangladesh

In this paper we consider four factors that shaped the development of migration policy intended to protect the rights of vulnerable migrant women. They are: the role players in the policy change process, the debates that shaped the policy change, the role that research played and the political context in which the policy change took place. Based on case studies from Bangladesh, South Africa, and Singapore, we trace the drivers of policy change in these contexts and how the gendered vulnerability of the intended beneficiaries impacted the policy process. Our research showed that policy development is shaped by complex socio-political conditions. Understanding these conditions can help to make policy change advocacy more effective and contextually relevant.