Trapped in migrants’ sectors? Polish women in the Icelandic labour market

Abstract

The employment‐driven migrations from Poland to Iceland have largely been pioneered by Polish women. They outnumbered men among Polish residents in this country until the economic boom since 2005 triggered large‐scale male immigration. This trend slowed down with the outbreak of the financial crisis, as the recession severely affected the male‐dominated construction industry. The analysis of Polish female migrants’ working experiences shows that recent inflows are mainly shaped by the nature of labour demand as well as the social policies and care services in Iceland. Although economically integrated, compared with native women Polish women tend to occupy rather disadvantaged positions. They seem concentrated in a few low‐skilled occupations that bring little prestige and low income. On the other hand, they were less affected by the financial crisis, in the sense that many of them maintained work, though some experienced lowering of salaries or reduction of working hours.

Growing apart : Increasing labour market segmentation of EU-13 workers in Sweden

“…The importance of networks is emphasized among Latvians occupying lowerskilled jobs in the UK, where three out of four used friends and family as the main route into work (McCollum et al, 2013;McCollum & Apsite-Berina, 2015). Similar results are found in Norway and Iceland where Polish migrants' decisions about settlement and return are shaped by their opportunities within segmented labour markets, and their embeddedness in transnational families and social networks (Friberg, 2012: Napierała & Wojtyńska, 2017. Labour market segmentation is, thus, both a driver, and a result, of intra-EU mobility.…”

“Whether you like my skin or not, I am here”: skilled racial minority migrant women's experiences of navigating career challenges in the White Icelandic labor market

“…, 2018). They struggle to find jobs that fit their education and frequently get trapped in low-skilled and low-paid “immigrant sector” jobs (Napierała and Wojtyńska, 2017; Yingst and Skaptadóttir, 2018). Muslim immigrants face prejudice in the labor market and skilled Muslim women face even lower prospects for getting hired than Muslim men (Kristinsson and Sigurðardóttir, 2019).…”

“…Icelandic societal norms emphasize egalitarianism and gender equality, with Iceland topping the Global Gender Gap Index for well over a decade (WEF, 2022), yet migrant women tend to be a vulnerable group in the labor market, likely to be underemployed and underpaid (Burdikova et al, 2018). They struggle to find jobs that fit their education and frequently get trapped in lowskilled and low-paid "immigrant sector" jobs (Napierała and Wojty nska, 2017;Yingst and Skaptad ottir, 2018). Muslim immigrants face prejudice in the labor market and skilled Muslim women face even lower prospects for getting hired than Muslim men (Kristinsson and Sigurðard ottir, 2019).…”

“Migrant Capital” and Domestic Work: Labour Trajectories of Immigrant Women in Spain

“…Several studies on the employment and labour mobility of migrant women include the two major constraints they face regarding migrant men in terms of the acknowledgement of their human capital. The first constraint is rooted in gender‐linked occupational segregation and the limited opportunity structure available for migrant women (Raijman and Semyonov, ; Napierala and Wojtyńska, ). Women, in general, are likely to be overcrowded in a small number of female‐typed occupations.…”