Research presented highlighted inequalities facing migrant women in Ireland
MIGRANT WOMEN’S potential is often overlooked in the Irish labour market, a conference has heard.
Nearly every woman present at the event last week, organized by AkiDwA and the Immigrant Council of Ireland (ICI) to discuss the inequalities facing migrant women in Ireland, had a similar story to tell.
“My headscarf shouldn’t be a barrier for me to get a job,” said Hidayah Idrees, a Muslim woman from Nigeria who has been job-hunting unsuccessfully for the past eight months.
While jobs are getting scarcer for everyone, immigrant women are claiming that for them, finding employment is fraught with additional challenges.
Idrees recalled going to six job interviews since September, all for part-time positions. But she was unsuccessful in every interview and the employers would not give her reasons why.
She said: “I think it is either because I am black or because I wear a headscarf.”
Another Nigerian woman who has been in Ireland for eight years is frustrated with her inability to get a job after doing two expensive courses in Dublin.
“I paid €5,000 per year for five years in order to study,” said Blessing Jacob, “And now I am led to think that was a waste of money.”
Jacob studied health service management and social policy in DIT and UCD, but having completed both courses with decent grades, she is still working as a care assistant in a Dublin hospital.
In May, Jacob took a year off her studies to find a job, but so far she has not been successful. She says most of her Irish former classmates have now got jobs in management. However Jacob is determined to keep trying and intends to do a Master’s course in an effort to improve her qualifications.
Research findings presented at the conference highlighted the inequalities facing migrant women in Ireland.
“Research carried out by the ICI showed that migrant women in Ireland are highly educated,” said Nusha Yonkova, ICI anti-trafficking co-ordinator. “Forty-two per cent of them hold a higher degree. Yet they are overrepresented in lower-skilled jobs.”
Other issues facing migrant women that were highlighted include the fact that non-EU nationals are often dependent on their spouses for their immigration status in Ireland. This makes them more vulnerable and reluctant to report such issues as domestic violence, according to research.
“We would call on the Government to ensure migrant women on spousal work permits are allowed access to autonomous work permits after three years,” said Yonkova, who pointed out that some women presently on spousal permits have to wait for up to eight years for permission to work.
Also at the conference, Therese Murphy, deputy chair of the National Women’s Council of Ireland, recommended that the gender principle be included in immigration policy and urged state bodies to recognise issues specific to migrant women.
