Reflecting complex migration dynamics, gender often determines ‘who stays, who moves, where, why, how often’—and what they do once they get there. Comprising 46 per cent of Germany's ‘foreign-born’ residents, women can no longer be discounted as merely family dependents; however, this is only half the battle regarding their struggles for occupational opportunity. This study explores the experiences of five migrant groups, each of which has undergone a different type of gender-role reconfiguration—owing to divergent legal categorisations and employment rights—resulting in varying opportunities for social integration and political enfranchisement.