Highly Skilled Migrant Women Integration into the Labour

Highly Skilled Migrant Women Integration into the Labour Market: Challenges, Opportunities and Responses October 14 th 2013 Blandine Mollard Project Officer, �Gender Coordination Unit International Organization for Migration The psychosocial impact of deskilling on the lives of qualified migrant women in Geneva

Overview I. Project context: IOM Mandate II. Key elements about deskilling, underemployment and women III. Research findings from Geneva IV. Recommandations 2

Project context: IOM Mandate • Increase knowledge of migration and its gendered aspects • Promote positive links between migration and socio-economic development • Sensitize partners to specific challenges women face in the migration context Complement existing knowledge with a focus on the psychosocial dimensions

I. Key elements on deskilling and women Ø Deskilling relates to the situation of being overqualified for one’s job in terms of education, professional experience or both, of skills not being used Ø Concerns migrants most particularly ØWorld Migration Report 2013ØLack of career well-being strongly affects wellbeing in other areas ØMigrants less likely to rate their jobs as ideal 4

I. Key elements on deskilling and women Existing literature shows women are disproportionatly affected: – Women under-represented in sought after occupations (IT, business, engineering, …) – Women dominate in professions less easily transferrable and more defined in the national context (education, law, public administration, …) – With migration, harder to concile family and work balance – Less likely to migrate with a job contract, mostly considered as non-economic migrants – Spouse support in regaining professional status shown to be key

Research objectives Hypothesis: Professional insatisfaction will lead to signs of distress (anxiety and depression) Qualitative focus- Semi-structured interview (2 hours) combined with a 66 item questionnaire on well-being. Selection criteria: – Age ≥ 18 year old – From a non OECD country – Tertiary education obtained in a non OECD country – Allowed to work in Switzerland – Proficiency in French – Employed below their level of education and experie Interview with 7 public services and civil society organizations

Respondants’ profiles� • 33 women age between 26 and 62 • Main regions of origin: Latin America, Eastern Afri Afr • Various migration trajectories • High career aspirations upon arrival • At least 5 years of tertiary education • 16 different professions • On average, 9 years of relevant professional experience • Engaged in low skilled, precarious and part time jobs (mainly cleaning, childcare, elderly care, sales, …) 7

Main findings: Reactions to professional downgrading • • • Deskilling occurred regardless of the partners’ socio economic status Job search long, unsucessful and disapointing 60% High psychological distress (signs of anxiety and depression) during job search Level of distress correlated with level of deskilling and more acute when children under 12 Marital difficulties including separation, divorce 77% highly infastified with their professional situation: – Feeling of humiliation, loss of identity – Miss the satisfactions of their professions – Feeling of powerlessness at the stiff barriers to qualified jobs • Only half feel they belong to their host community

Main conclusions • Qualified migrant women arriving in Geneva between 30 and 40 face cumulative negative factors for the integration into the labor market. • High barriers to employment cause great psychological distress forcing women to give up a part of her identity, to compensate with other areas of his life and enjoy at least secondary benefits of paid employment. • Severe deskilling related to high anxiety and significant integration difficulties • Waste to the country of origin and the host country, and challenges gender equality dynamics�

Recommandations • Promote gender-sensitive migration policies (admission systems) • Analyse any un-met demand for low skilled labour on the labour market that could constitute a risk factor for underemployment and deskilling • Improve systems of accreditation of foreign credentials • Improve access to information for qualified migrants upon arrival • Facilitate access to reskilling opportunities 10

Highly Skilled Migrant Women Integration into the Labour Market: Challenges, Opportunities and Responses October 14 th 2013 Blandine Mollard Project Officer Gender Coordination Unit International Organization for Migration Thank you