Women’s return migration in Poland and Morocco: introducing the adaptive return migration concept model (ARM) for return and re-adaptation

This paper critically examines women’s return migration through its theoretical underpinnings and regional variations. It situates individual agency within diverse structural variables while exploring return decision-making and re-adaptation of women returnees through a comparative investigation of chosen regional contexts. Drawing on case studies in Poland and Morocco, and with a specific focus on women’s experiences, the article examines motivations to return and challenges of re-adaptation within which returns are taking place. It addresses gaps in migration theories that marginalize return – particularly women's transnational experiences and evolving state attitudes – and synthesizes theory and regional contexts to deepen understanding of women's return migration. Based on these findings, the paper proposes the Adaptive Return Migration Concept Model (ARM), portraying return as a negotiated, multi-layered process shaped by structural constraints, relational agency, and individual aspirations. This offers insights for gender-sensitive reintegration policies and questions whether ‘women's return migration’ remains a fixed category amid shifting mobility patterns and care dynamics.