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'Women-migrants in Europe often face the ‘double disadvantage’ [as women and as foreigners] in the two main, mutually reinforcing aspects of their migration careers [the socio-political disadvantage and the labour market disadvantage] (Boswell et a. 2004; Boyd & Grieco 2003; CEDAW 2010; Rubin et al. 2008). Their social exclusion is illuminated by their intersecting encounters with racism and xenophobia, sexism, political inactivity and impeded access to welfare services and benefits. In the labour market they face the following forms of disadvantage: (1) unemployment; (2) under-employment (or over-qualification); (3) temporary and short-term contracts, and (4) discriminated payment in comparison with both the native-born- and the male migrant populations. This is particularly the case for (highly) skilled female migrants in SE. Detailed knowledge about their integration experiences and strategies is a tool toward the utilization of their skills in destination countries. However, there is insufficient and disintegrated information about this (ibid).
The FEMIDE project will explore, from the multi-disciplinary perspective, integration among US and UK women living in the SE countries of Italy and Greece. It will focus on women who have settled in these countries having received university degrees in their countries of origin, and who could therefore contribute to so-called ‘skilled’ workforce. The project will use multiple methods such as narrative biographic interview, e-forum, e-survey, focus group, critical discourse analysis and social network analysis in order to understand to what extent these women have been integrated and to what extent their skills have been utilized within the transitional migration regime context and within the global context of high skill shortages. The concepts of ‘gender’, ‘skilled migration’ and ‘labour market segmentation’ will theoretically inform my inquiry into how such female migrants understand their own integration or exclusion.'
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