Obstacles to socioeconomic integration of highly-skilled immigrant women

2016 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carol-Anne Gauthier
Keyword(s):  
Immigrant Women ◽  
Diversity Management ◽  
Immigrant Integration ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Skilled Immigrants ◽  
Socioeconomic Integration ◽  
The Social ◽  
Highly Skilled ◽  
Integration Of Immigrants ◽  
Skilled Immigrant

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of obstacles to socioeconomic integration faced by highly-skilled immigrant women (HSIW) to Quebec, followed by a discussion of Quebec’s socio-political context and interculturalism, in an effort to better situate these obstacles. With these in mind, implications for diversity management are discussed. Design/methodology/approach – The paper is largely based on a review of the immigrant integration, interculturalism and diversity management literatures pertaining to the socioeconomic integration of highly-skilled immigrants. It focusses on the socioeconomic integration of HSIW in the Quebec context. Findings – The authors find that researchers should continue to examine aspects of the social and political contexts in which immigrant integration and diversity management take place when conducting studies in these areas. The authors also encourage continued research pertaining to specific groups, as these may bring to light-specific dynamics that can lead to exclusion. Practical implications – This paper includes implications for diversity management in organizations seeking to foster inclusive practices with regards to ethnic minorities and immigrants in general, and HSIW in particular. Originality/value – The paper sheds new light on immigrant integration and diversity management in Quebec by bridging the gap between three areas of study that are interconnected but seldom discussed together: socioeconomic integration of immigrants, interculturalism and diversity management in organizations.

scholarly journals Skilled Migrants in the Swedish Labour Market: An Analysis of Employment, Income and Occupational Status

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 3428
Author(s):  
Nahikari Irastorza ◽  
Pieter Bevelander
Keyword(s):  
Labour Market ◽  
Descriptive Analysis ◽  
Occupational Status ◽  
Division Of Labour ◽  
Skilled Immigrants ◽  
Highly Educated ◽  
Highly Skilled Migrants ◽  
Highly Skilled ◽  
Integration Of Immigrants ◽  
Employment Rates

In a globalised world with an increasing division of labour, the competition for highly skilled individuals—regardless of their origin—is growing, as is the value of such individuals for national economies. Yet the majority of studies analysing the economic integration of immigrants shows that those who are highly skilled also have substantial hurdles to overcome: their employment rates and salaries are lower and they face a higher education-to-occupation mismatch compared to highly skilled natives. This paper contributes to the paucity of studies on the employment patterns of highly skilled immigrants to Sweden by providing an overview of the socio-demographic characteristics, labour-market participation and occupational mobility of highly educated migrants in Sweden. Based on a statistical analysis of register data, we compare their employment rates, salaries and occupational skill level and mobility to those of immigrants with lower education and with natives. The descriptive analysis of the data shows that, while highly skilled immigrants perform better than those with a lower educational level, they never catch up with their native counterparts. Our regression analyses confirm these patterns for highly skilled migrants. Furthermore, we find that reasons for migration matter for highly skilled migrants’ employment outcomes, with labour migrants having better employment rates, income and qualification-matched employment than family reunion migrants and refugees.

scholarly journals Skilled immigrant women's career trajectories during the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Luciara Nardon ◽  
Amrita Hari ◽  
Hui Zhang ◽  
Liam P.S. Hoselton ◽  
Aliya Kuzhabekova
Keyword(s):  
Job Search ◽  
Immigrant Women ◽  
Work Experiences ◽  
Career Trajectory ◽  
Market Outcomes ◽  
Family Responsibilities ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Work From Home ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Skilled Immigrant

PurposeDespite immigrant-receiving countries' need for skilled professionals to meet labour demands, research suggests that many skilled migrants undergo deskilling, downward career mobility, underemployment, unemployment and talent waste, finding themselves in low-skilled occupations that are not commensurate to their education and experience. Skilled immigrant women face additional gendered disadvantages, including a disproportionate domestic burden, interrupted careers and gender segmentation in occupations and organizations. This study explores how the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic impacted skilled newcomer women's labour market outcomes and work experiences.Design/methodology/approachThe authors draw on 50 in-depth questionnaires with skilled women to elaborate on their work experiences during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.FindingsThe pandemic pushed skilled immigrant women towards unemployment, lower-skilled or less stable employment. Most study participants had their career trajectory delayed, interrupted or reversed due to layoffs, decreased job opportunities and increased domestic burden. The pandemic's gendered nature and the reliance on work-from-home arrangements and online job search heightened immigrant women's challenges due to limited social support and increased family responsibilities.Originality/valueThis paper adds to the conversation of increased integration challenges under pandemic conditions by contextualizing the pre-pandemic literature on immigrant work integration to the pandemic environment. Also, this paper contributes a better understanding of the gender dynamics informing the COVID-19 socio-economic climate.

Assessing the Socioeconomic Mobility and Integration of U.S. Immigrants and Their Descendants

2014 ◽  
Vol 657 (1) ◽  
pp. 108-135 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian Duncan ◽  
Stephen J. Trejo
Keyword(s):  
Labor Market ◽  
Immigrant Integration ◽  
Supplementary Information ◽  
Socioeconomic Mobility ◽  
Socioeconomic Integration ◽  
Difficult Time ◽  
Integration Of Immigrants ◽  
Low Levels ◽  
American Society ◽  
The U.S

Over the last several decades, two of the most significant developments in the U.S. labor market have been (1) rising inequality and (2) growth in both the size and the diversity of immigration flows. Because a large share of new immigrants arrive with very low levels of schooling, English proficiency, and other skills that have become increasingly important determinants of success in the U.S. labor market, such immigrants and their descendants may be a poor fit for the restructured economy and consequently have a difficult time integrating into American society. In this article we discuss some of the issues that arise when investigating the socioeconomic integration of immigrants and their U.S.-born descendants, and we selectively review research on these topics. In addition, we consider what kinds of supplementary information might be valuable to collect to improve our understanding of immigrant integration and of the intergenerational mobility experienced by immigrant families.

scholarly journals Performing to secure cultural hegemony: mediators' impact on the integration process

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Agneta Moulettes
Keyword(s):  
Labor Market ◽  
Diversity Management ◽  
Cultural Adjustment ◽  
Cultural Hegemony ◽  
Dominant Culture ◽  
Cultural Stereotypes ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Integration Of Immigrants ◽  
Point Of Departure

PurposeThe article takes its point of departure in the current labor market debate on immigration policy and attempts to explore the way private labor market mediators involved in the integration of immigrants contribute to reproducing cultural stereotypes reminiscent of colonial ideas.Design/methodology/approachFindings are based on respondent-driven interviews with nine labor market mediators (seven women and three men) from eight private labor market agencies in Sweden.FindingsThe findings showed that the private labor market mediators put their trust in the neoliberal system and rely on the colonial discourses when convincing immigrants to assimilate into the dominant culture. At the same time, the findings also show that there is no evidence that the assimilating activities they offer will lead to long-term employment.Research limitations/implicationsGiven that migration across national borders has become a common phenomenon, the author suggests a call for critical reflections on the taken-for-granted notions of both self and others and the influences colonial discourses have on integration.Practical implicationsThe author would suggest a shift of focus from immigrants' cultural adjustment to society's and employers' responsibilities and readiness to adjust to prevailing conditions.Originality/valueThe study contributes to the labor market literature and the diversity management literature by adding insights from public labor market mediators' experiences of the help they offer immigrants to enter the labor market. It shows how mediators make use of dominating discourses to secure cultural hegemony.

scholarly journals Welcoming communities and immigrant integration in Newfoundland and Labrador

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natasha Clark
Keyword(s):  
Social Integration ◽  
Immigration Policy ◽  
Newfoundland And Labrador ◽  
Social Inclusion ◽  
Immigrant Integration ◽  
Immigration Studies ◽  
The Social ◽  
Integration Of Immigrants ◽  
Policies And Programs ◽  
The City

The term 'welcoming community' has arisen within the field of immigration studies as a concept that seeks to address ways in which communities welcome and integrate immigrants. This paper explores the concept of a welcoming community and its impact on the social integration of immigrants to smaller centres, specifically to the City of St. John's in the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador, using a social inclusion framework. Through an examination of the integration policies and programs undertaken in the Province and how immigrants interact with these services. I find the elements of a welcoming community exist in St. John's and that immigrants' frequency and intensity of contact with institutions that directly support settlement is high in St. John's. However, it is premature to conclude, given the recent implementation of the immigration policy in the Province and low numbers of contacts made with other institutions, that St. John's is a welcoming community and that this translates into successful social integration.

scholarly journals Welcoming communities and immigrant integration in Newfoundland and Labrador

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natasha Clark
Keyword(s):  
Social Integration ◽  
Immigration Policy ◽  
Newfoundland And Labrador ◽  
Social Inclusion ◽  
Immigrant Integration ◽  
Immigration Studies ◽  
The Social ◽  
Integration Of Immigrants ◽  
Policies And Programs ◽  
The City

The term 'welcoming community' has arisen within the field of immigration studies as a concept that seeks to address ways in which communities welcome and integrate immigrants. This paper explores the concept of a welcoming community and its impact on the social integration of immigrants to smaller centres, specifically to the City of St. John's in the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador, using a social inclusion framework. Through an examination of the integration policies and programs undertaken in the Province and how immigrants interact with these services. I find the elements of a welcoming community exist in St. John's and that immigrants' frequency and intensity of contact with institutions that directly support settlement is high in St. John's. However, it is premature to conclude, given the recent implementation of the immigration policy in the Province and low numbers of contacts made with other institutions, that St. John's is a welcoming community and that this translates into successful social integration.

Racism and White privilege: highly skilled immigrant women workers in Australia

2020 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vassilissa Carangio ◽  
Karen Farquharson ◽  
Santina Bertone ◽  
Diana Rajendran
Keyword(s):  
Women Workers ◽  
White Privilege ◽  
Immigrant Women ◽  
Highly Skilled ◽  
Skilled Immigrant

“I am from nowhere”: identity and self-perceived health status of skilled immigrants employed in low-skilled service sector jobs

2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 253-264
Author(s):  
Rajendra Prasad Subedi ◽  
Mark Warren Rosenberg
Keyword(s):  
Health Status ◽  
Service Sector ◽  
Perceived Health ◽  
Theory Approach ◽  
Foreign Born ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
High Expectations ◽  
Skilled Immigrants ◽  
Skilled Immigrant

Purpose The foreign-born skilled immigrant population is growing rapidly in Canada but finding a job that utilizes immigrants’ skills, knowledge and experience is challenging for them. The purpose of this paper is to understand the self-perceived health and social status of skilled immigrants who were working in low-skilled jobs in the service sector in Ottawa, Canada. Design/methodology/approach In this qualitative study, semi-structured interviews with 19 high-skilled immigrants working as taxi drivers and convenience store workers in the city of Ottawa, Canada were analysed using a grounded theory approach. Findings Five major themes emerged from the data: high expectations but low achievements; credential devaluation, deskilling and wasted skills; discrimination and loss of identity; lifestyle change and poor health behaviour; and poor mental and physical health status. Social implications The study demonstrates the knowledge between what skilled immigrants expect when they arrive in Canada and the reality of finding meaningful employment in a country where international credentials are less likely to be recognized. The study therefore contributes to immigration policy reform which would reduce barriers to meaningful employment among immigrants reducing the impacts on health resulting from employment in low-skilled jobs. Originality/value This study provides unique insights into the experience and perceptions of skilled immigrants working in low-skilled jobs. It also sheds light on the “healthy worker effect” hypothesis which is a highly discussed and debated issue in the occupational health literature.

scholarly journals The Role of Cities in the Integration of Immigrants in Europe

2020 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 165-181
Author(s):  
Lucyna Rajca
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Diversity ◽  
National Level ◽  
Diversity Management ◽  
Immigrant Integration ◽  
Integration Policy ◽  
Large Cities ◽  
Integration Policies ◽  
Integration Of Immigrants ◽  
Intercultural Integration

In the era of migration, cities play an important role in integrating immigrants and promoting social cohesion. Sometimes they create and implement integration policies different from these at a national level. The state-run civic integration programs question the thesis of the growing role of cities as these programs have resulted in centralizing integration policies and reducing their role. In recent years, large European cities have been implementing a cultural diversity management model referred to as “intercultural integration”. They have also adopted mainstream policies targeted at the entire population. In terms of immigrant integration policy Polish large cities have recently been following a pattern set by their Western European counterparts. This results from the availability of European funds and trends towards cultural diversity rather than challenges.

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