The specific training needs of immigrant women

Directorate-General For Translation European Commission

Informations

• Publié par: EUROPEAN-COMMISSION
• Nombre de lectures: 23
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 3 Mo

Extrait

DOCUMENT
THE SPECIFIC TRAINING
NEEDS OF
IMMIGRANT WOMEN
EXISTING AND
RECOMMENDED MEASURES
TO FULFIL THEM
COMMISSION
OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES This document has been prepared for use within the Commission. It does not necessarily
represent the Commission's official position.
This publication is also available in the following language:
FR ISBN 92-825-71890
Cataloguing data can be found at the end of this publication.
Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, 1987
ISBN 92-625-7188-2
Catalogue number: CB4&87-082-EN-C
© ECSOEEC-EAEC, Brussels · Luxembourg, 1987
Reproduction is authorized, except for commercial purposes, provided the source is
acknowledged.
Printed in Belgium Commission of the European Communities
THE SPECIFIC TRAININ6 NEEDS OF IMMIGRANT WOMEN
Existing and recommended measures to fulfill them
by Colette DE TROY
Document This document has been prepared for use within the Commission. It does not
necessarily represent the Commission's official position.
Copyright ECSC-EEC-EAEC, Brussels - Luxembourg, 1987
Reproduction is authorized, except for commercial purposes, provided the
source is acknowledged. I would like to take this opportunity
to thank everyone who has helped me carry
out this study. It is thanks to the people
involved in training schemes, immigrant and
m
indigenous women as well as their male
colleagues <less frequently) that I was
able to obtain the necessary information. TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
I. What preoccupations -for the training o-f migrant women ? 1
I.a. Migrant women and se i ent i-fi c literature 3,
I.b. Associations and professional training 7
I.e. Political concerns relating to the training o-f
migrant women 9.
II. What kind(s) o-f training -for migrant women ? 23,
National studies
III. Case studies 73,
Presentation o-f training experiments
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 11?.
Bibi i ography
Annexes INTRODUCTION
A speci+'ic study o-f the training needs o-f immigrant women * ¡ justified
for two reasons : firstly, that they are active in the economy and
secondly that they do not enjoy equal access to employment.
The number of immigrant working women in the Member States, contrary to
the most widespread stereotypes, is very high and is growing all the
time. The most recent OECD report on the integration of women into the
economy shows that proportionally more immigrant women than indigenous
women work. These figures are increasingly backed up by national
studies.
These data certainly show that there is an increasing proportion of
women amongst immigrant labour in general, but we must see this in the
light of the place which these women occupy on the labour market. It
appears very clearly from the statistics that they hold low-status, low-
paid jobs which require few qualifications and which are amongst the
least protected.
Throughout this report I have used different terms such as migrant
women, immigrant women, women from ethnic minorities, of foreign origin,
etcetera. The term used varies from one Member State to another and is
doubtless significant. However, I felt that these terms generally
referred to the same concept and so I have treated them as synonymous. More worrying still is the employment situation of girls with immigrant
parents : many of them do the same type of work as their mothers (which
means that this group is over-represented in the unskilled worker-
category). An abnormally high proportion of the higher-qualified
members of this group are unemployed.
These two elements (high number of immigrant women on the labour market
and their place in it) make it important for particular concern to be
devoted to the training opportunities which are available to them.
Therefore I shall use first part of my study to examine the concerns
which exist in this area : what scientific research has to teach us,
what the associations have to say, how the political authorities
(re)act. On this basis we can establish the background to the question
of the vocational qualification of migrant women.
In the second part of my study I shall attempt to describe the situation
in the Member States : what training schemes are open to women in this
category, how do they participate in them, what structures are there
which offer alternative solutions, etc... This will show the
differences between the Member States.
I thought that it would be of interest in the third part of the study to
present a dozen specific training experiments in the form of case
studies. Concentrating on real-life cases should allow us to draw out
elements which can serve as a basis for analysis. This led me to
propose a series of recommendations in the conclusion to the study. I
hope these recommendations will help to improve the situation, can
already be seen as inauspicious to immigrant women.