The University of the West Indies

Dr. Natasha Kay Mortley

Dr. Natasha Kay Mortley is a Senior Research Fellow at the IGDS - RCO.   She has a B.Sc in Sociology;  MPhil in Sociology of Development and PhD in Migration and Diaspora Studies.  Her Doctoral research focused on Migration of Nurses and the Impact on Caribbean Health Care Systems.  In 2010 she was one of five recipients of the Global Development Network Award for Migration and Development.

​Dr. Mortley has been engaged in a multi-disciplinary approach to key developmental challenges of relevance to the Caribbean region.  Her disciplinary focus has been dedicated to integrating a gender perspective to Caribbean social development and policy issues and her research work has focused on migration & development; diaspora studies; gender & political leadership; gender & climate change; sexual and reproductive health; gender-based violence and contemporary Caribbean masculinities.  

 

Research Interests: 

Research Areas:

  • Migration and development
  • Diaspora studies 
  • Gender-based violence
  • Sexual and reproductive health rights 
  • Caribbean masculinities
  • Gender and climate change
  • Gender and leadership

​Current Research Projects:

  • IOM Jamaica: Mainstreaming Jamaica's Migration and Development Policies at the Local Levels
  • UNAIDS: Obstetric Violence and Women Living with HIV in the English Caribbean 

Book project

  • Reconceptualizing Caribbean Migration: Contemporary and Critical Perspectives. Palgrave Macmillan Publication 

Outreach Projects:

  • Handbag project 
  • Female and youth empowerment

 

Publications: 

Books

  • St. Lucian Women on the Move: The Impacts of Gender Relations on Migration Decisions.  November 2009. VDM Verlag Publishing House Ltd.

 

Chapters in Books

  • Mortley, N. (2025). Caribbean migration and the family: Women’s transnational agency. In Noxolo, P. Rhiney, K. and Cummings, R. (Eds.) Routledge Handbook of Caribbean Studies.  April 2025. Routledge (19 pages). 
  • Mortley, N. (2023). Fathering for cohesive families and safer communities: A qualitative study of Jamaican men and masculinities.  In Bailey, C., McCree, R. and Lazarus, L. (Eds.) The Routledge Companion to applied qualitative research in the Caribbean, (pp 97-111). Routledge: Taylor and Francis Group.
  • Mortley, N. & Keino Senior.  (2022). Jamaican realities and masculinities and sexualities: Where have we come since Michel Foucault? In Nelson, K. and Fernandez, N. (Eds.) Gendered lives: Global issues, (pp. 267-286).  New York: Suny Press.  https://milnepublishing.geneseo.edu/genderedlives/chapter/chapter-14-jamaican-realities-of-masculinities-and-sexualities-how-far-have-we-come-since-michel-foucault/
  • Mortley, N. (2010). Strategic developmental opportunities from diaspora tourism: The Jamaican perspective.  World Sustainable Development Outlook 2010 edited by Allam, Ahmed and Gale Rigobert. November 2010, pp 413-428.
  •  Mortley, N. (2009). Nurse Migration and the Impact on the Health Care System: Focus on St. Lucia and Jamaica.  In Thomas-Hope, E. (Ed). 2009.  pp 315-329.  Freedom and Constraint in Caribbean Migration.  Kingston: Ian Randle Publications.  

 

Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles

  • MORTLEY, N. & Neil Lunt. (2022). Covid 19 and the Implications for Migration in the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS).  Caribbean Conjunctures: The Caribbean Studies Association Journal.  Vol. 1, Nos. 1 & 2, December 2022, pp 67-89.
  • Baldwin, A. & NATASHA MORTLEY. (2020). Caribbean Women and Reparatory Justice: Reclaiming, Rebuilding, and Restoring Communities through Migration. International Journal of Africana Studies, Vol 21, Nos. 1-2, 2020, pp 43-64.
  • Mortley, N. (2019). More than dollars and cents: Leveraging the multiple roles of Caribbean migrant women within the diaspora for sustainable development.  Caribbean Review of Gender Studies: A Journal of Caribbean Perspectives on Gender and Feminisms, Issue 13, June 2019 pp 69-92.
  • Mortley. N. (2017). The impact of nurse migration on Caribbean health care systems: A Phenomenological Approach. Sage Research Methods Cases Online Journal. January 2017.  (22 pages).
  • Baldwin, A. & MORTLEY, N.  (2016). Reassessing Caribbean migration: Love, power and rebuilding in the diaspora. Journal of International Women Studies. Vol. 17, Issue 3. Women and Gender: Looking Toward Caribbeanness.  2016 pp 164-176.
  • Mortley, N. (2011). Strategic opportunities from Diaspora Tourism: The Jamaican perspective.  Canadian Foreign Policy Journal.  Vol. 17, Issue 2. November 2011, pp 171-185.

 

Technical Reports

  • UNICEF and PIOJ. Multiple Indicator Cluster (MICS) Plus Data to Action Workshop Report. February 2025. (33 pages).

  • CARICOM Secretariat and UN-IOM. Regional Glossary for harmonization of Free Movement of Persons and Migration Data for CARICOM. December 2024. (37 pages).

  • ALINEA INTERNATIONAL.  Attitudes of Health Leaders towards Sexual and Reproductive Health Services to Adolescents and Vulnerable Populations: A Study of Jamaica’s two Health Regions.  Strengthening Access, Inclusion and Leadership for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SAIL-SRHR) Project.  November 2024. (71 pages)
  • UN-IOM and OECS.  Enhancing Data Collection on Free Movement of Persons within the OECS. April 2024. Online Publication. (45 pages)
  • UN Women. Violence Against Women and Girls: Causes, Impacts and Support Services in Jamaica. Spotlight Initiative, Jamaica.  August 2021. (52 pages).
  • Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ).  Gender and Human Mobility in the Context of Climate Change: Case Studies from Antigua and Barbuda, St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. June 2022. (68 pages). 
  • UNESCO Caribbean Cluster Office. Caribbean Sheroes: Transforming Mentalities for Gender Equality, Development and Advocacy. December 2022. (15 pages).
  • UNDP Jamaica Office.  Legislative Reform to Eliminate Violence Against Women and Girls and Family Violence in Jamaica.  Jamaica Spotlight Initiative. July 2023. (56 pages)
  • UNAIDS. Obstetric Violence Against Women Living with HIV in the English Caribbean. April 2024. (49 pages).
  • UN Women and United Nations Sustainable Development Goal Fund Joint Programme.  “Programme of Advancement through Health and Education (PATH) Gender Aware Beneficiary Assessment” in the Modernizing Social Protection System in Jamaica. March 2024. (37 pages). 

Training Manuals:

  • Suhku, Raquel and NATASHA MORTLEY. UNESCO Caribbean Office and IGDS-RCO. A Knowledge Kit for Civil Society Organizations (CSOs): Advancing Gender Equality in the Eastern Caribbean.  November 2022.
  • DeShong, Halimah. and NATASHA MORTLEY.  University of the West Indies (UWI).  Training Manual for the UWI Gender Policy.  August 2022.
  • Mortley, N. Caribbean Development Bank (CDB).  Gender mainstreaming for natural disaster risks and climate change: A Guide for Shelter and Deputy Shelter Managers. July 2020.

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