Project outlines approach to the integration of female immigrant workers
A comprehensive approach should be taken when developing policies for the integration of immigrant women in European society. This is the main message coming from a raft of recommendations published by the EU-funded project, FeMiPol (Female Immigrants in Labour Market and Society Policy Assessment and Policy Recommendations). Addressing the situation of female immigrants is extremely important to the social cohesion of the European Union, believes FeMiPol coordinator Dr Maria Kontos of the Institute of Social Research in Frankfurt, Germany. 'For a long time, women immigrants have been overlooked because there was the assumption that they weren't part of the labour market.' Instead they were seen as housewives, staying at home to mind their children 'This idea is widespread in public opinion and among policymakers,' Dr Kontos told CORDIS News. However, research has shown that in the last 15 years, women coming to Europe are in fact breadwinners, working in a variety of informal labour sectors, such as domestic work, tourism and agriculture. In fact, migrant women make up a significant section of the formal and informal workforce. The project set out to find just how labour, social and other related policies affect this important population group. To do so, a team of researchers conducted a series of document analyses and interviews with experts on national policies from individual EU Member States, as well as those set at EU level. The project also interviewed immigrant women to find out about their personal experiences of working in the EU and the strategies they adopted to improve their situation and to cope with certain restrictive policies. The research found that policies such as those preventing or combating irregular work are not only ineffective and counterproductive, but often worsen the plight of female migrant workers. 'Most migrant women working in the informal labour sectors are undocumented [with no official resident's permit] or are semi-legal,' notes Dr Kontos. This makes them easy targets for exploitation by employers looking for cheap labour. Because their work is undeclared, these women have no job security and are unable to benefit fully from health, welfare and other social services. Also off limits to them are language and training programmes and job schemes aimed at increasing integration into the labour market. 'These women are invisible and have no rights,' says Dr Kontos. Steps have been taken in some Member States to formalise work in the domestic sector, where many migrant women work. Other Member States such as France have introduced tax deductions in an effort to absorb undeclared workers in these sectors. Sweden, Germany and the UK have also introduced tax breaks for domestic services. Meanwhile, several Member States have acknowledged the need for migrant domestic and care workers in their immigration legislation and have started immigrant recruitment schemes. In Spain and Italy for instance, foreign domestic and care workers are integrated in quota systems. However, even when immigration and labour legislation recognise the need for female migrant domestic and care workers, these women still face poor working conditions. For instance, live-in arrangements, which are more widespread in southern Europe, may provide a transitional solution to housing problems. They may also help workers to save money on rent, which is important for fulfilling their role as breadwinner. But women who are live-in domestic helpers also run the risk of becoming trapped in the sector and subjected to exploitation. In northern Europe, live-out domestic work predominates, which often implies having multiple employers and fragmented working hours. Much more needs to be done and can be done at policy level, believes Dr Kontos, to empower these women and improve their work conditions. One important recommendation made by the project is to ensure that legislation separates the rights associated with resident's status from worker's rights. Giving all workers, both those with legal and irregular status, the same rights would help reduce discrimination and exploitation. Other recommendations include: recognising the skills and qualifications of women immigrants so that they can pursue their work aspirations; providing increased access to training, language and orientation courses; and re-evaluating domestic and care work so that it is recognised not just as 'help' but 'work'. In addition to improving the situation of women immigrants in the domestic and care sectors, the project has also developed recommendations on policies to increase civic participation among immigrant women and on policies affecting migrant women who chose to enter prostitution or were victims of trafficking. Work has begun to share the project's recommendations with policy-makers. Dr Kontos hopes that the response will be a comprehensive set of policies. 'It will not suffice to develop single policies in relation to immigrant workers because integration is multilayered, so policies will need to interconnect. Migration mainstreaming is needed,' she concludes. Bringing together eight partners from seven Member States, the project was funded under the `Scientific Support to Policies¿ thematic area of the Sixth Framework Programme (FP6).
