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Integration of
female immigrants in labour market and society: policy assessment and policy
recommendations
Authors: M, Kontos
Publisher: FeMiPol, 2008
- 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.
European Commission Research Project
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