During the course of my ethnographic research at Indian associations in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), both men and women often described their migration to me as a means to “make India modern.” This description of migration often references the ways in which the financial benefits of working in the Gulf and the skills learned in the Gulf help improve migrants’ local communities in India. However, women are often excluded from these dreams of development, as they face barriers to migration. Drawing on ethnographic research in India and the United Arab Emirates, this chapter examines how gender, class, caste, and religion shape one’s experience of migration and one’s reasons for migrating. In particular, this chapter explores how Indian women living in the Gulf describe their work, particularly raising children and volunteering, as contributing to India’s development and its future.