Social Inclusion Services Attentive to the Diversity of Migrant Women. Approach to Key Concepts
Social inclusion is “a process which ensures that those at risk of poverty and social exclusion gain the opportunities and resources necessary to participate fully in the economic, social and cultural life and to enjoy a standard of living and well-being that is considered normal in the society in which they live. Social inclusion also ensures that vulnerable groups and persons have greater participation in decision making which affects their lives and that they can access their fundamental rights.” (European Commission, 2010, p. 1).
Within this multidimensional phenomenon involving one’s social, economic, professional, educational, political and cultural life, people with a migrant background – particularly women, children and youths – run a higher risk of social exclusion and marginalisation. Besides, services will depend on regulations and policies concerning immigration. Thereby, the analysis leading to definition of social inclusion services for migrant women cannot neglect their condition of being migrants and women, a twofold dimension that makes them face a number of variables, namely:
- Migration project (push & pull factors, expectations, changes, etc.),
- Migration process (routes, arrival & entry, alone, family reunification, etc.),
- Legal status (legal/illegal arrival & stay, regulation, documents, etc.),
- Sociocultural background (social class, education level, experiences of sociocultural participation, knowledge of languages, etc.),
- Economic conditions (employed, unemployed, self-employed, dependant, income class, etc.),
- Interpersonal relationships (single/married, family, children, friends, networks, etc.),
- Housing conditions (living space, housing quality, number of dwellers, etc.).
Additional aspects specifically relating to their being women are:
- Gender (gender-based stereotypes and roles, motherhood, child-rearing, economic and legal dependency, gender violence, discrimination esp. against certain national groups or minorities, etc.),
- Employment opportunities (“female” jobs, professional niches, salary, economic dependency, etc.),
- And healthcare (women’s health, reproductive health, pregnancy, etc.).
Some of these aspects may concern both women and men in diverse social contexts and situations; others imply migration phenomena and gender issues: altogether, they contribute to creating social identity of a migrant woman and to her capabilities of participating in the social life of the society she has settled in. Driven by such a complex set of variables, single cases are commonly different from each other.
In line with their project, migrants expect from their migration experience to bring about changes in their lives: as for migrant women, a human mobility experience may constitute a moment of empowerment and a transitional emancipatory stage in a broader process of social recognition and transformation.
A set of social inclusion policies primarily focuses on employment, education, housing and health: if addressed inclusively, these factors will introduce migrants to social, cultural and political participatory processes enabling them to engage in their citizen participation in the host society.
According to some approaches, expressed by migrant women’s narratives and relevant studies, processes of social inclusion and citizen participation are best fostered through sociocultural involvement by both migrant women and surrounding societal context. Observed from another perspective, it is work and professional fulfilment that allow a higher degree of social inclusion and active participation.
In conclusion, all aforesaid aspects and approaches should be considered while defining services aimed at social inclusion and citizen participation of migrant women.
Online Resources
European Commission, 2010, The European Social Fund and Social Inclusion (Summary fiche), European Union, Belgium
(https://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/esf/docs/sf_social_inclusion_en.pdf).
This report addresses Social inclusion as a key priority for Europe throughout the EU Member States; particularly relevant are the contents dedicated to the specific needs of vulnerable groups, to pathways to integration, and structures dealing with social inclusion.
European Commission, 2020, Watch now: Promoting the social integration of migrant women, 26 November 2020, European Website on Integration.
(https://ec.europa.eu/migrant-integration/news/watch-now-promoting-social-integration-migrant-women_en)
The first webinar of this year's edition of the Canada-EU Migration Platform on the Integration of Migrant Women focused on social integration.