5.2 Deep dive 2: Inclusion of immigrant women

Employment rates have risen among non-western immigrants in the Nordic countries in the years following the financial crisis in 2008; especially since the economies recovered from around 2013. A report from the OECD states that in 2023 female immigrants’ employment rate within the EU27 is at a record high (OECD, 2024, p. 59). Nonetheless, labour market participation and employment rates among male and especially female non-western immigrants are still far below similar rates among immigrants from EU-countries and among native males and females.

Given the low employment rates among immigrant women from less developed countries, their integration into the labour market is high on the policy agenda in many OECD countries, including in the Nordics. This deep dive documents some of the main employment barriers they confront. Moreover, it describes important tools to overcome these barriers based on research and interviews with caseworkers working in the public employment services in the Nordic countries.

The barriers confronting female immigrants typically relate to individual characteristics such as poor host country language proficiency, no recent work experience and/ or no work experience at all, lack of education, and to a less extent physical and/or mental health problems. Care responsibilities are also much more prevalent than among male immigrants. Research shows that female refugees are the most disadvantaged group among female immigrants given a greater likelihood of mental and physical health problems.

Important programme and interventions to address the barriers encompass:

Building trust and motivation is according to several caseworkers important when establishing a relationship and working with immigrant women (and men) in the employment system.

Adequate language training is crucial for improving the employment rates among immigrant women, since poor command of the host country language decreases their chances for finding a job.

Strengthening skills and providing host country work experience is also important. Internships in public or private workplaces or wage subsidy jobs can be very valuable tool for women with little to no work experience or formal education. It can provide them with some of the skills they lack and some valuable work experience.

Immigrant women from less developed countries represent a sizeable and growing part of the population in many OECD and EU countries (OECD, 2018). Therefore, their integration into the labour market as well as the challenges and barriers they face in this process is high on the policy agenda in many OECD countries, including in the Nordics.

Immigrants—both men and women—tend to be disadvantaged with regards to employment due to the fact that they have generally been raised in a social and cultural context different from their new host country. Typically, they lack proficiency in a new host country language as well as, to varying degrees, the educational qualifications and work experience required by the host country labour market (Jakobsen et al. 2021) that potentially meets them with varying degrees of prejudice and discrimination (Dahl and Krog 2018). Immigrant women face additional barriers with respect to employment compared to both native-born women and immigrant men (Kofman, Roosblad, and Keuzenkamp 2009). Finally, female refugees as a subgroup among immigrant women tend to be affected by what Liebig and Tronstad (2018) term ‘triple disadvantage’ in the sense that they face barriers relating to being both immigrants, women and refugees; the refugee situation often involving having experienced a violent uprooting, trauma and physical injuries (Peconga and Høgh Thøgersen 2020).

In this deep dive, we will first describe the employment rate and the overall barrier profile among immigrant and refugee women in the Nordic labour markets. Secondly, we describe some of these barriers in greater detail, and thirdly outline some of the most important interventions needed to remedy these barriers. We draw on existing research and previous analyses and reports in the project, including interviews we conducted during the first half of 2024 with relevant Nordic caseworkers.

The overall employment rate for non-Western immigrant and refugee women is lower than for both native men and women and immigrant men (Arendt and Schultz-Nielsen 2019). Figure 5.2.1 illustrates the employment rates among women of different origin in the Nordic countries compared to the EU. As can be seen from the figure, non-EU born women have the lowest employment rates in both the Nordic countries and in the EU. Still in both contexts the employment rates among these women have risen substantially when comparing 2013 to 2023 – from 54% to 62% in the Nordic countries and from 47% to 56% in the EU.

Source: Own calculations based on microdata from Eurostat’s Labour Force Survey.

Figure 5.2.2 zooms in on the differences between the Nordic countries in terms of employment rates among immigrant women of either EU- or Non-EU descent. The figure illustrates that employment has risen between 2013 and 2023 for both groups of women in all the Nordic countries. In 2023, non-EU born women have employment rates of 76 pct. in Iceland and between 60 pct. to 64 pct. in the other four countries.

Source: Own calculations based on microdata from Eurostat’s Labour Force Survey.

Figure 5.2.3 illustrates, that women born outside EU often experience employment barriers related to individual characteristics, with no recent work experience, lack of education, no work experience and physical and/or mental health problems being the four most common barriers. This is in accordance with insights from our interviews with Nordic caseworkers among whom several note that these barriers, along with limited proficiency in the host country language, are especially prevalent among female immigrants from non-EU countries.

Source: Own calculations based on microdata from Eurostat’s EU-SILC. For a description of the operationalization of the barriers, see Højbjerre et al. (2023b).

Moreover, many of these women face multiple, overlapping barriers to employment, each negatively affecting their labour market opportunities. In addition, as illustrated by figure 5.2.4, migrant women’s labour market participation is to a higher degree than migrant men influenced by factors like family composition, childcare responsibilities and culturally specific norms (Arendt and Schultz-Nielsen, 2019).

Source: Own calculations based on microdata from Eurostat’s EU-SILC. For a description of the operationalization of the barriers, see Højbjerre et al. (2023b).

Migrant and ethnic minority women represent a highly diverse group, varying in demographics, nationality, education, skills, religion, legal status, residence duration, and employment experience. Within this group, refugee women are particularly vulnerable; studies show that they often have lower educational attainment and fewer basic qualifications compared to other immigrant women and refugee men. Refugee women also tend to achieve lower host-country language proficiency compared to men during the first 2–3 years after arrival, which may persist over time. Hence, it takes longer time for refugee women to get established in a new host society, and in particular in its labour market compared to refugee men (Liebig and Tronstad, 2018).

The following section provides an overview of some of the key barriers to employment for immigrant women as experienced by caseworkers in the five Nordic countries working with immigrants and refugees in the employment systems. In the interviews with the caseworkers, we focused on employment barriers and instruments to overcome these barriers in relation non-western immigrants broadly, not just women. Still, several interviewees highlight barriers to employment for immigrant women and instruments overcome these barriers.

Caseworkers across the five Nordic countries report that insufficient proficiency in the host country’s language is the biggest and most prevalent barrier to employment for immigrant and refugee women. Many women arrive speaking only their native language, which makes it challenging for caseworkers to match them with employers willing to offer labour market training. Although host country language fluency is not expected by employers for many unskilled jobs, several caseworkers highlight that it is often essential that immigrants are able to understand and engage in a simple conversation in this language. Many companies are reluctant to hire people with whom managers or future colleagues cannot communicate (Jakobsen et al., 2021; Eriksson and Rooth, 2022).

Furthermore, the interviewed caseworkers also state that, even when the caseworkers and the immigrants secure workplace internships, lack of language skills can prevent their subsequent transition to paid employment. This finding is in line with recent studies on migrant’s path to employment. For example, a Danish study on immigrant women found that many of the interviewed women had experienced, that employers used poor language skills as the primary reason for not offering them paid employment after the training concluded (Bertram-Larsen et al., 2023). In the same study, many immigrant women expressed the view that lack of host country language proficiency often leads to a feeling of exclusion in the workplace, since, for example, it barred them from participating in everyday interactions with their colleagues. Moreover, this feeling of exclusion became a demotivating factor in relation to employment (Bertram-Larsen et al., 2023). Another Danish study found that language barriers also hinder migrant women from pursuing ordinary education that could enhance their chances of finding employment (Ali et al., 2019).

Several caseworkers highlight that many women with refugee and immigrant backgrounds, who originate in countries with more traditional family values, often lack a work identity and work experience. For some, their first job placement or labour market training in one of the Nordic countries is their initial experience of being in a workplace.

According to multiple caseworkers, that we interviewed, this lack of work experience is a significant barrier to employment, especially affecting women since most migrant men have work experience from their home countries. In addition, caseworkers experience that many of the unemployed women have limited or no understanding of the local labour market in the host country. This finding is in line with previous research showing that a lack of knowledge about the labour market can present a barrier to employment, especially among newly arrived female immigrants (typically refugees and family reunited persons, Jakobsen et al., 2021).

Furthermore, due to their lack of work experience, many of these women also lack the necessary job-specific skills needed for employment. Several caseworkers emphasize that often women accustomed to more traditional gender roles have a low level of education. As a result, they have no formal qualifications to present to an employer. The combined lack of education and work experience is, according to multiple caseworkers, a significant barrier to employment for migrant women. In contrast, many migrant men, even if lacking formal education, often have work experience from their home country making it easier for them to find employment. According to several interviewees, these barriers are compounded by the fact that the Nordic labour markets increasingly require formal and/or job-specific qualifications.

Several caseworkers highlight that a key employment barrier for many women born outside the EU is that they have been used to an everyday life with more traditional gender roles than those typically seen in the Nordic countries. Many of these women originate from societies where men are expected to be the primary earners, while women are responsible for providing family care. Several caseworkers note, that in their experience, as a result of growing up in a culture with such gender roles, it was often neither expected nor necessary for these women to pursue education or work in their home countries—the implication being that many migrant women from outside the EU arrive in the Nordics without formal education or work experience.

According to some interviewed caseworkers, it can be difficult for migrant women accustomed to more traditional gender roles in their home country to envision themselves being part of the labour market. This is partly due to that their responsibilities and obligations persist after migrating, implying that they spend a lot of time and energy on family caretaking responsibilities. For some, balancing family caregiving obligations with labour market participation can be challenging and lead to conflicting demands; on one hand, they feel a strong responsibility to care for their families, while on the other hand, they are required to participate in the labour market in order to qualify for financial benefits.

Recent research shows that, for many non-Western migrant women, the role of housewife is central to their identity. However, this should not be mistaken for a lack of interest in or motivation to work among some of these women. Bertram-Larsen et al. (2023) report that immigrant women express a strong desire to contribute financially to their family’s well-being and to serve as positive role models for their children, for example by working. Thus, despite being socialized as housewives in their home countries, they did not lack interest in working in their new country. On the contrary, many of the women strived to combine their identity as housewives with their new role as workers (Bertram-Larsen et al., 2023). In accordance, many of the caseworkers that we interviewed emphasize that most migrants in the employment system, both men and women, are motivated to work.

As highlighted in previous reports in this project, individual characteristics alone cannot explain the lower level of labour market participation among vulnerable groups, including immigrant and ethnic minority women. Considering the demand side of the labour market, i.e. the preferences of employers and the overall state of the economy is also important (Højbjerre et al., 2023). Previous studies have highlighted that discrimination can be a significant barrier for immigrants in the hiring process (Dahl and Krog, 2018). Moreover, underlying figure 1 and 2 the stronger state of the economy in EU and the Nordic countries in 2023 compared to 2013 likely also accounts for rising employment rates among immigrant women during that period. We should also be aware that previous research has found that refugee women receive less support in the public employment system than refugee men (Liebig and Tronstad, 2018, p. 30–31). Still, our own research indicates that this situation may have changed in the sense that low contact with the PES is a more prevalent barrier among unemployed men born outside the EU than among women with a similar background (see figure 4).

Several caseworkers report that building a relationship and establishing trust with the clients is important when working with these persons in the employment system. When trust is established, it is often easier to identify the individual’s specific challenges and barriers to employment. Additionally, caseworkers underline the importance of acknowledging each woman’s personal wishes and goals to ensure that she feels recognized and acknowledged. As one Finnish caseworker said ‘there are very few people who are unmotivated. Those who are not motivated often deal with very complicated issues. You have to understand, why they are not motivated’. Norwegian research on the relationship between unemployed immigrants and the Norwegian PES (NAV) indicates that mistrust often characterizes this relationship. This is due inter alia to the fact that NAV has to check if benefits recipients live up to their activation obligations in accordance to legislation and to a lack of Norwegian language competencies among some of the immigrants (Andresen, Friberg, and Cecilie, 2023). Still, other research stresses that user involvement is a central component in good public service provision (Djuve and Tronstad 2011) as it may also enhance the motivation among the potential beneficiaries of this service.

As mentioned above, several caseworkers across the Nordic countries highlight that lack of proficiency in the host country language is the primary barrier to employment for many immigrant women, especially those born outside the EU since often they only speak their native language. Liebig and Tronstad point out that refugee women with intermediate or advanced levels of proficiency in the host-country language have 40 percentage points higher employment rates than those with little or no language skills (2018, p. 9). Many employers are reluctant to hire employees with no or very limited host country proficiency, making language training a crucial instrument for enhancing migrant women’s employment opportunities. This is further supported by research showing positive long-term effects of language training on the employment prospects of refugees and immigrants in the Nordics (Højbjerre et al. 2024). Furthermore, previous studies also stress the importance of equipping immigrants with basic language skills before introducing them to the labour market. This is echoed in our interviews by a Finnish caseworker who, in addition, notes that for newly arrived immigrants and refugees time is often better spent on language training than on employment-oriented activities, as their limited language skills disqualify them from most jobs. However, the caseworker also notices that this is to a limited extent recognized by the Finnish employment system that requires immigrants to participate in labour market training (in order to qualify for financial benefits) rather than in language training.

Several caseworkers stress the importance of focusing on each individual woman’s unique opportunities and challenges in regard to finding employment, hence a holistic approach is essential when working with these individuals. Additionally, caseworkers highlight the importance of close collaboration with other actors surrounding the women. This includes, for example, their spouses, other professional actors and potential employers. Multiple caseworkers note that some women are not motivated to pursue employment when they first enter the employment system in their Nordic host country. This is partly because they are accustomed to traditional gender roles, making it difficult for them to envision themselves in the workforce. In such cases, several interviewees emphasize the important role of the women’s husbands in shaping their self-perception and view of employment opportunities. According to these interviewees, it is often easier for women whose networks support their employment prospects to pursue education or secure a job. This finding is consistent with previous research stating that it can be difficult for migrant women to adapt to their new identity as a worker and that their spouses play a significant role in this adjustment process (Bertram-Larsen et al., 2023). Assistance from other immigrant women who have found work, i.e. resources inherent in local networks, may also promote these women’s employment chances (Deloitte, 2015; Damm, 2009).

As noted, many caseworkers state that lack of work experience and (formal) skills are key employment barriers for many immigrant women born outside the EU, especially those who have been used to more traditional family roles in their home countries. Previous research emphasizes that lack of work experience makes the time immediately following immigration crucial for these women to gain local work experience (Busk and Jauhiainen, 2022). According to several caseworkers, labour market training, for example company internships, is a valuable tool for women with little to no work experience or formal education, as it provides them with insights into the structure and functioning of the labour market in their Nordic host country.

Additionally, multiple caseworkers note that it is essential to ensure a good match between the employee and the company. This includes aligning the training placement with the woman’s qualifications and career aspirations, as well as making sure that the companies are prepared to invest the necessary time and resources to support and integrate the women into the workplace. As described in Højbjerre et al. (2024), the Danish so-called industry packages program for non-western immigrants with poor labour market prospects has small positive effects on employment— mainly driven by increased female employment (Rotger and Thuesen, 2023). In short, the program entails that job centers in municipalities collaborate with local employers to set up a structured sequence of job training internships that provides participants with skills relevant for local industries with labour shortages. Still, in our interviews, several caseworkers emphasize that a certain level of language proficiency is often required by employers for a company internship, which disqualifies some women from this opportunity, or weakens their chances for landing a job even after a period as an intern.

Many caseworkers perceive a job with a wage subsidy as an important tool for promoting labour market integration among immigrants, including immigrant women (as also stressed in report 4, see Højbjerre et al., 2024, p. 65–69). For instance, Norwegian caseworkers share the experience that wage subsidies are a tool with good effect, that also provides rights for sickness benefits, parental benefits, unemployment benefit. Hence, it is a stepping stone into the labour market—a perspective also shared by Finnish caseworkers who also stress that even if immigrants who have had a wage subsidy job are not employed afterwards, they gain experience with the Finnish labour market. The same experience is shared by Icelandic caseworkers who also stress that wage subsidies is in fact the primary way into Icelandic workplaces because internships are not commonly used in Iceland. Sweden has recently set up a scheme termed ‘establishment jobs’ (‘etableringsjobb’) targeting persons who have been unemployed for a long time and newly arrived individuals in Sweden. It is up to the applicant to find an internship themselves and then they can apply to the PES for support, which processes it. Salary consists in wages from an employer and compensation from the Swedish Social Insurance Agency (Försäkringskassan). Wage subsidy jobs are also a commonly used tool in Denmark. During recent years so-called ’regular paid hours’ (’lønnede timer’) have also received a strong focus as a useful tool. The ’regular paid hours’ can be an element in or an outcome of a job internship in a workplace where the employer agrees to pay ordinary salary for a limited number of hours. The purpose is to provide the person in the internship with the experience of gaining ordinary salary and hence strengthen her/ his job motivation in this way.

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