Document Abstract
Published:
2008
Integration of female immigrants in labour market and society: policy assessment and policy recommendations
Integration of female migrants into the labour markets
- Migration flows to EU countries during the last few decades indicate a growth in feminisation, with female migrants increasingly entering informal labour markets in care, health, domestic services and the sex industry. This paper examines the impact of integration policies on the position of migrant women within EU countries in the last decade, and formulates recommendations for policies which foster integration of new female migrants.
The paper is structured according to eight key categories and employed a combination ofresearch methods including analysing policies affecting the integration of female migrants and analyzing migration flows and mapping the processes of dispersion of female migrants.
Recommendations include:
- Integration of migrant women into the labour market: The need to consider integration in terms of a long-term perspective, and criticallyassess the extent to which current measures are providing the best avenues for long term integration.
- Migrant women in the informal sectors of the economy: The need to extend rights to both atypical workers and undocumented workers, which constitute a crucial step towards tackling deprivation, disadvantage and exploitation.
- Domestic workers: Language and orientation courses are needed which provide domestic and care workers with a stronger competency in the host country.
- Skill enhancement (including language skills) and skill recognition: Free language courses for migrant women offered at flexible hours and on various days in order to enable the participation of domestic and care workers who have restricted time schedules.
- Civic participation: Different forms of political participation at local level should be encouraged.
- Migrant women in prostitution and entertainment: Accompanying services, counselling, health centres and NGOs should get support. Insome countries they have to face a hostile attitude and harassment on behalf of local authorities.
- Residence rights and legalisation: Launching of a comprehensive information policy, aimed at preventing falling intoillegal status, the possibility to gain legalization (including legal aid to illegal migrants, presumably to be offered by non-state agents), as well as integration measures available at each stage of legislation.
- Combating trafficking and the integration of victims of trafficking: Formulation of more precise rules at national and international level, taking into account the tools developed by Italian Law no. 228/2003.
