Employment for women with refugee and asylum seeker backgrounds in Australia: An overview of workforce participation and available support programmes

Clemence Due, Peta Callaghan, Alexander Reilly, Joanne Flavel, Anna Ziersch

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    11 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Employment is a key aspect of resettlement, and research has shown that it is highly valued by people with refugee and asylum seeker backgrounds. However, less is known about the employment experiences and programmes available specifically to women from these backgrounds. This commentary paper draws upon three data sources – the Building a New Life in Australia longitudinal survey, a desktop review of employment programmes and interviews with service providers – to explore these issues for women with refugee and asylum seeker backgrounds in Australia. Specifically, we discuss the relatively poor record of employment for refugee women compared to men, and highlight the limitations of current employment programmes, in particular, the lack of available programmes specifically targeted to women. We conclude that there is an urgent need to consider specific ways to support women with refugee and asylum seeker backgrounds to enter the workforce in Australia.

    Original languageEnglish
    Article numbere12848
    Number of pages16
    JournalInternational Migration
    Volume63
    Issue number1
    Early online date22 Mar 2021
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Jan 2025

    Keywords

    • Federal Department for Communities and Social Inclusion
    • Building a New Life in Australia (BNLA)
    • Department of Social Services (DSS)
    • Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS)
    • Employment for women
    • Employment for refugee women
    • Employment for asylum seeker women
    • workforce participation
    • refugee and asylum seeker women

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