On Equal Grounds? Migrant Women’s Participation in Labour and Labour Related Activities (EQUALPART)

Project summary

EQUALPART's primary objective is to increase knowledge and broaden the understanding of variation in migrant women’s labour participation over time, through exploring and analysing the interplay between 1) migrant women’s work ambitions, life situation, including health, and lived experiences, 2) legal regulations, welfare policies, practices and services, and interpretations of migrant women’s needs in programs and initiatives offered by the welfare state, and 3) labour market demands, and perceptions of migrant women’s employability among employers.

Secondary objectives in the project are: To contribute with knowledge on a) migrant women's aspirations in the welfare state b) the impact of local community on refugee women’s labour inclusion c) outcomes of an Supported Employment-inspired programme for migrants with qualification needs d) the welfare state's role as migrant women's main employer in providing for social mobility and e) the translation of legal rights into practice.

EQUALPART addresses knowledge needs on the interplay between different factors at different levels, more specifically, on how and which context(s) matter(s) to understand migrant women’s marginalized position in the labour market and seeks to explore possible solutions to the identified challenges. EQUALPART focuses on the inclusion of migrant women in working life and employment beyond the period of the first years after their arrival (post-intro), and on the different and multi-scalar contexts that shape their labour market outcomes. The project applies a multi-and interdisciplinary approach including a) research on measures and their effectiveness (including an RCT study) b) a quantitative study of the impact of local (neighbourhood) characteristics on labour market outcomes c) a social-legal analysis of the implementation of services in order to provide equal opportunities for all d) two qualitative studies where we study different individual agents' perceptions and personal experiences and how these development over time (0-18 months) as well as a comparative case study where we explore implications of the policy idea(l) of inclusion through labour (the health care sector and elderly care as an example) on migrant women's opportunities for participation on equal grounds and upward social mobility.