More than a process of cognitive acquisition of skills and competencies, learning to read and write is an important point in the definition of individual and social identities. In contemporary societies, largely referred to as knowledge societies, the generally higher levels of literacy tend to neglect this relevant marker in one’s life, and to treat adults’ inability to read and write as an invisible social phenomenon. Although migrants tend to possess above the average education when compared to the population of their home countries, recent estimates show an increase in the proportions of migrants, in Europe, without or with low levels of formal education and basic literacy (Eurostat, 2019). Women represent most of the world’s illiterate population (UNESCO, 2015), and around half of Europe’s international migration (ILO, 2022). Even though statistics are limited, estimates also reveal that the percentage of illiterate migrant women has been rising in some European countries, tending to equal that of men. Together with language classes, several organizations and institutions are offering literacy courses to those migrants who were not schooled. This raises the interest in understanding how migration, gender and the acquisition of literacy are shaping and reshaping the identities of migrant women who are learning to read and write in the host country.

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