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Research Digest

Examining the role of migrant women in the European labour force

Europe is experiencing high levels of demand for both skilled and unskilled labour across a wide range of sectors in the economy. These shortages not only hamper productivity and growth in the European Union; such shortages can also undermine national and regional targets in the provision of health, education and social services.

Sustained and well-managed immigration is needed to meet the needs of the EU labour market, and to ensure social cohesion, inclusion and equity across Europe. Indeed, migration is rapidly becoming one of Europe's main policy challenges of the 21st century. Both push and pull factors, as well as the increasing availability and ease of transport, are driving an increase in migratory movement — creating opportunities as well as challenges for receiving countries, migrants and countries of origin.

The European Commission asked RAND Europe to examine the position and level of integration of migrant women in the EU labor market. There were specific reasons to focus on the particular situation of women migrants:

1. labour migration into the EU is becoming increasingly feminised,
2. there is a relative dearth of informative research on the issue, and
3. better information about women migrants' current situations is required for policies to address inequalities in line with gender equality and social justice agendas.

RAND Europe's study, Migrant Women in the EU Labour Force: Current Situation and Future Prospects, presents an overview of the situation of women migrants in the EU labour market; indicates key features of women migrants' participation in the EU labour force; raises issues and challenges related to women migrants' integration to work in Europe; and investigates lessons from some existing programmes and policies with the potential to address the integration of women migrants into labour markets.

The study's findings include:

• migrant women from outside the EU are more likely to be unemployed, underemployed and employed in jobs that are not commensurate with their educational levels,
• they are willing to work more hours than they are currently employed, and
• having children under five poses particular challenges for migrant women's employment.

The findings suggest that a range of structural, systemic obstacles may contribute to migrant women's disadvantage in the labour force. These obstacles may include inadequate provision of housing in locations conducive to better employment outcomes, limited rights of access to key public services (especially for certain groups of migrants such as asylum seekers or irregular migrants), and discrimination on the basis of nationality, ethnicity, religion or gender.

Full Report