Gendered Labour Market Barriers and ‘Job-Skills Mismatch’

facing immigrant women in Toronto

Sheila Htoo and Megan Spasevski

Friday March 15th, 2013

Background

• Strong national level evidence in Canada shows that racialized immigrant women fare among the worst labour market and economic outcomes

• 49% of recent female immigrants had a bachelor’s degree or higher (2006 Census)

• median income levels are 46% of Canadian-born non-racialized men ($32,165 vs. $70,962).

• Precarious employment pathways result in negative, far-reaching and costly health consequences

Our study

• The case study examines the “job-skills mismatch” racialized immigrant women face in the labour market and the resulting negative health impacts

• The findings generate evidence about the racialized and gendered dimensions of the barriers to the labour market

• Multi-disciplinary research team included 7 peer outreach workers- co-interviewers and interpreters for non-English interviews

• 30 in-depth interviews with racialized immigrant women • ½ were conducted in English, ½ in another first language

(Arabic, Dari , Nepali, Sgaw-Karen, Somali)

Key Findings

1. Disadvantage starts early, beginning with migration decision-making and the immigration application process itself

2. Women migrate for more than economic reasons

Lack of support to meet social and health needs negatively affects labour market and socio-economic participation.

“Yeah little bit older, and then I mean I will have free time, much more free time, I won’t have to take care of them that much. At that time I am planning to upgrade like for two year…. So this all will be after my children … grow older, yeah” (P17)

3. At the system level, the processes are highly gendered and sets up negative employment pathways

“ ‘oh you want to go back home? Okay, go ahead. If you want to go back home. You have no choice if you are here. We can kick you out anytime’ “ (P9)

4. Racialized immigrant women face structural and social barriers to accessing jobs

The experience and outcome vary based on occupational fields, age, family structure and social support at home.

“… I remember when I was asking someone from the bank how did you apply, because I knew that she was also an immigrant, and she was saying that oh you’re better in the care giving profession because you’re Filipino. I was like, okay. So it’s like putting a label on me that you cannot work for this kind of field. When in fact I was telling her that I have experience working for a bank.” (P30) “Yesterday also I was talking with one of my friend, that when I had my interview, this Monday it was, maybe my hijab was the problem, she said you can’t open your hijab for your job. Myself I’m not doing that, it is my culture, I have to wear this. I can’t leave this, only for a job.” (P13)

5. Racialized immigrant women face barriers to re-entry after periods away from work or unemployment

“I didn’t grow like I was supposed to, emotionally…I deprived myself to be the woman that I could be in the workforce, just to keep the family together, ironically. I chose that to keep everybody happily together. And at the end, it didn’t work, so. It affect me emotionally a lot, a lot.” (P25)

6. Highly-skilled immigrant women experience the greatest ‘job-skills mismatch and self-rate their mental/emotional health very low

“For example, I went to a pharmacy at Danforth, and he was Iranian, he talked a lot about me. I told him, ‘I need a job’. He told me, ‘no, I couldn’t tell you, put this box there, you are a doctor.’ I said, ‘But I need a job!’ “(P1)

“After my all life I don’t know, by now maybe not normal person, like, I don’t feel like before. Now my life changed. Because I am always more than 20, 23 years of my life waste for education and 10 years until 2005 I worked. I had every day from morning 10 o’clock my job to 4 or 5 o’clock and this was my life.” (P11)

Messages

• Enabling racialized immigrant women to find jobs that value their skill set should be considered a top policy priority

• Starts with gender-sensitive immigration and settlement policies.

Recommendations

1. Immigration needs to be re-framed as a tool for nation-building, not just a means to meet short-term labour market needs. 2. Structural barriers to secure jobs faced by racialized immigrant women need to be addressed through more responsive and reflective policies and programs. 3. A holistic model of care that considers employment outcomes, social integration, lifestyle, mental/emotional, and physical health concurrently works best to meet the needs of newcomer women.

Recommendations

Solutions will only be realized when we involve marginalized communities in leadership capacities in research and policy making

Acknowledgements For more information:

Sheila Htoo, Peer Researcher, Access Alliance sheilahtoo85@gmail.com

Megan Spasevski, Research Coordinator/Researcher, Access Alliance

mspasevski@accessalliance.ca

http://accessalliance.ca/research/activities/job-skills-mismatch

Research team:

Hamida Zia, Parveen Shojai, Mira Shrestha, Hareda Mohamud, Moo Lay Naw, Khin Myo Lwin, Wisal Abugala, Thuy Tran, Lindsay Angelow, Sonam Dolma, Jessica Merolli

Co-PIs:

Dr. Yogendra Shakya, Access Alliance

Dr. Charlotte Yates, McMaster University

Dr. Stephanie Premji, McMaster University