European Contact Group in the Czech Republic

Gender and migrationEva Kavková

26.4.2010

Contents

• EKS and its activities• Gender aspects of integration• How does migration influence gender roles• Labour migration• Gender segmentation of the labour market• Economic inequalities• Barriers in the labour market • Qualification• Family roles • Conclusion

EKS activities

• Promoting equal opportunities between women and men

• Combating racism and discrimination• Changing gender stereotypes

EKS activities

• Workshops, seminars, training• Researches• Self-support grassroots groups• Publications and campaigns• Networking and lobbying

Gender aspects of integration

• Different strategies of women and men & different obstacles– Access to labour market, position in the labour

market– Possibilities for education and training– Information and knowing the reality– Access to sources of support

How does migration influence gender roles

• How does migration influence gender roles and relations?– Consolidation of traditional roles and inequalities– Changing gender roles

• Reasons for a change– Influence of a sociocultural environment– Economic pressure

• Impacts of role changes in a migrant family– Equality, equal opportunities– Conflicts

How does migration influence gender roles

Men• Higher level of unemployment, difficult role

of a family breadwinner• Qualification and experience is not taken

into account• They are often socially excluded from the

major society

How does migration influence gender roles

Women• Greater opportunities for work• Works segregation: women are working as

cleaners, cooks, babysitters, nurses, housemaids, etc.

• Their primary role still is a wife and a mother

Labour migration

• Migrants from third countries mostly come from former Soviet Union, Vietnam and Mongolia. In comparison with migrants form other EU countries (there is an exception for Romanians and Bulgarians) they do not have same conditions, opportunities and same rights

• They occupy less qualified positions, have time-limited and insecure work contracts and very low wages

• Agencies and other mediators play a crucial role, as well as informal networks in each community

• Easiest way is to be self-employed (though it is against the employment law)

Labour migration

• There are certain jobs which are interlinked with country of origin of a particular migrant worker – a race-defined hierarchy

• Some migrants are qualified for certain jobs no according to their education and practice but according to their accent

• There are two groups of immigrants / the good ones form the West and the bad ones from the East – so they are treated both by public and employers

Gender segmentation of the labour market

• There is a clear gender segmentation of the labour market

• Building and construction – most employees are men, women do cleaning jobs

• Agriculture – depends on physical demands• Services – typical feminine sector, if there

are any men, they occupy higher posts (e.g. they are the ones who coordinate cleaning jobs)

Gender segmentation of the labour market

• Labour market segregation is connected both with physical demandingness and traditional gender stereotypes

• Typical jobs for men are in the field of construction and forestry

• Typical jobs for women are in textile industry, services and care (both paid and unpaid at home)

• Work in restaurants, fast foods and stalls is equally distributed and it is typical especially for the Vietnamese community

Economic inequalities

• There is a similar inequality between wages of migrant women and man

• Women are not equally involved in the family business – often they do not have access to own cash and they are economically dependent on their partners

• Having a paid jobs means a greater freedom – women who do have their own assets do not often return back home

Barriers in the labour market

• Cultural barriers (women’s role in certain societies is only connected with housekeeping)

• Social and economic barriers (single mothers do not have time to follow language course)

Qualification

• It is closely interlinked with language knowledge

• Only 75% of women use Czech in their workplace compared to 86% of men)

• Women are communicating less with Czech institutions

• But they do communicate with schools and kindergartens.

• They are integrating into the society via their children

Family roles

• Women care more for keeping own cultural and religious traditions, but they also play a key role in integration of their own children

• Men provide economic means for the family, they are in constant touch with the major society (institution, foreign police, work)

• The first generation is usually sticking to traditional gender roles (in 75% of families women are the only ones to care for household)

• Different situation in refugee families

Conclusions

• Women are not just passive followers of men• They are less informed about situation in their

new country and therefore more vulnerable• They are the preservers of cultural and religious

traditions, but also key to integration for the second generation

• They face greater discrimination in the labour market (lower wages, unqualified jobs, unpaid work, etc.)

• They work is often hidden

Thank you for your attention!

European Contact Group in the Czech RepublicŽitná 45

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www.ekscr.cz