This paper examines the causes and dynamics of the shift in the gender composition of migration,and more particularly, in the access of women to migration opportunities and decision making.The context of the analysis is Albania, a natural laboratory for studying migration developmentsgiven that out-migration was essentially non-existent from the end of World War II to the end ofthe 1980s. The authors use micro-level data from the Albania 2005 Living StandardsMeasurement Study including migration histories for family members since migration began.Based on discrete-time hazard models, the analysis shows an impressive expansion of femaleparticipation in international migration. Female migration, which is shown to be stronglyassociated with education, wealth, and social capital, appears responsive to economic incentivesand constraints. Using unique data on the dependency of female migration to the householddemographic structure as well as the sensitivity of female migration to household-level shocks,the authors show that effect of variation in household level constraints and incentives affects maleand female migration differently. Women’s migration behavior appears more directly alignedwith variation in household factors and there is little evidence in our data to suggest that increasedfemale migration signals an increasing behavioral independence of Albanian women.