Over the past four decades total numbers of international migrants have more than doubled but the percentage of the world population migrating has remained fairly constant. There are now 175 million international migrants worldwide or approximately 3.5 per cent of the global population -about half of whom are women. Yet internal migration in India and China combined exceeds total international migration globally. Is migration positive or negative for both gender equality and development? In fact it can be both. How can policy and practice foster the positive potential of migration and mitigate the risks? This In Brief hopes to inspire thinking on this question - with a short overview of the connections between gender and migration, an article on UNIFEM's work changing policies and supporting the rights of women migrating from Asia to the Middle East and a piece from the Durbar sex worker collective challenging us to re-evaluate work on trafficking. This In Brief forms part of the Cutting Edge Pack on Gender and Migration.