Pregnant immigrant women are a vulnerable population with respect to access and navigation of maternity care service. They have to deal with the challenges of  navigating a health system in a new country which in most cases is unknown to them while tackling issues such as communication, language, and an unfamiliar healthcare system. Conversely the healthcare professionals are confronted with managing these issues and  providing care within a health institution which was not designed to take on the challenges of providing healthcare to a diverse population.  Both parties continue to search and implement measures within and outside the general healthcare institution with the aspiration of bridging the existing gap.   As a result, the primary aim of this study is to examine immigrant women’s interpretation of maternity care in Sweden and the secondary aim is to explore the views of maternity healthcare professionals on given care to immigrant women. The purpose is to generate and explore new knowledge about an area with limited understanding thus, the research questions are Thus, the research questions are:  How do immigrant women describe their maternity care experience?. How do healthcare professionals describe their experience caring for immigrant women?. An inductive qualitative research was conducted to explore the research problem. Thus, the theory was grounded in data.  Data was collected using semi-structured interviews held with immigrant women who had accessed maternity care in Sweden, had a live birth in the last five years and from healthcare professionals (midwives and doulas).   The result of this study shows that the maternal health needs of immigrant women are compromised due to various factors which centres mainly around communication, language and the health system.  The healthcare professionals also highlighted these same factors and the lack of education and training for them as the most significant underlying systematic problem within health services.

By studying the representation of foreign-born women in the Swedish labour market policy debate, between the years 2010-2020, I want to discover if there has been a change of the rhetoric in political debates and how that affects the activities provided to foreign-born immigrant women. My conclusion is that there has been a change towards a more individualistic approach, with a representation of the group that further amplifies systematic discrimination in the Swedish labour market system. By creating a group with weaker standing on the labour market that can be used as low wage labour under the cover of support, the rhetoric can be seen as upholding the capitalist system.

Previous research shows that foreign-born women make up the group with the lowest employment rate in Sweden and face immense challenges in the Swedish labor market. The purpose of this study is to investigate foreign-born women's own experiences of the Swedish labor market. We specifically focused on investigating the ways in which gender and ethnicity play part in the way foreign-born women experience their possibilities in the Swedish labor market. To achieve the purpose of the study, we have chosen to conduct a qualitative study based on seven qualitative semi-structured interviews with foreign-born women living in Sweden. The study's theoretical framework is based on the intersectional perspective with gender and ethnicity as analytical categories. The results of the study show that foreign-born women's experiences of the Swedish labor market are affected by their gender and ethnicity, but also by the interaction of these factors. Furthermore, the results show that foreign-born women are motivated by having a job and see it as a driving force to achieve equality with their male partners and mainstream society.

Detta är en kvalitativ intervjustudie som undersöker utrikes födda kvinnors upplevelser av integration utifrån att bo i ett segregerat område i Södertälje. Studien har som syfte att även undersöka hur kvinnorna uppfattar sin identitet av att leva med olika kulturer. Semistrukturerade intervjuer genomfördes hemma hos kvinnorna. Den tidigare forskningen lyfter bland annat fram att språkfärdigheter, utbildning, gemenskap är viktiga aspekter för upplevelsen av integration och diskriminering utgör ett hinder i det. Resultatet visade att Södertälje som område inte utgör ett hinder för kvinnornas möjligheter till integration. Kvinnorna upplever språk, utbildning och gemenskap som betydelsefulla aspekter för sin integration och diskrimineringen utgjorde tillfälliga hinder. Resultatet visar vidare att kvinnorna uppfattar sin identitet mellan den svenska kulturen och sin ursprungskultur. Jämlikhet och rättigheter var något kvinnorna bland annat satte värde på i den svenska kulturen. Kontrollerandet och höga förväntningar var attityder från den egna familjens kultur som de tog avstånd ifrån. I analysen användes ett intersektionellt perspektivet samt integrationsteorin som stödjer studiens temaområden. Studiens slutsats är att det fortfarande pågår en form av diskriminering av invandrarkvinnor, vilket försvårar deras integration. Det är av betydelse att inte betrakta invandrarkvinnor som en homogen, utan en heterogen grupp med individuella förutsättningar och resurser. / This is a qualitative interview study which examines the foreign-born women's experiences of integration based on living in a segregated area in Södertälje. The study aims also to examine how women perceive their identity of living with different cultures. Semi-structured interviews were conducted at the home of the women. Previous research highlights, among other things, that the language skills, education, community are important aspects of the experience of integration and discrimination is an obstacle to it. The result showed that the Södertälje area does not constitute an obstacle to women's opportunities for integration. The women experience language, education and community as significant aspects of its integration and discrimination constituted temporary obstacle. The results further show that women perceive their identity between the Swedish culture and their culture of origin. Equality and rights was somewhat women including set value of the Swedish culture. Controlling and high expectations were attitudes from their own family culture they disowned. The analysis used an intersectional perspective and integration theory which supports the study's themes. The study concludes that there is still an ongoing form of discrimination against immigrant women, which impedes their integration. It is important not to regard immigrant women as a homogeneous, but a heterogeneous group, with individual abilities and resources.

This thesis explores the experiences of foreign-born women entering the Swedish labor market. A lot of the existing research clusters foreign-born women as a homogeneous group, missing various factors that impact their ability to access the labor market. Current initiatives and strategies therefore risk overlooking the importance of personalized support, which can result in inadequate responses to the unique needs and challenges each woman faces.  The study aims to explore foreign-born women’s experiences to better understand the obstacles the women face when trying to enter the Swedish labor market. The thesis investigates previous research that raises the significance of networks, language proficiency, and support and guidance and five interviews are conducted to understand the women’s experiences better.  The findings of this study show that discrimination, the discourse surrounding foreign-born women and, lack of adequate individualized support hinder women from establishing themselves on the labor market. Hence, the results highlight the need for more tailored support and new ways to learn the language. To achieve this, an intersectional approach is important to grasp the complex challenges that foreign-born women face in entering the Swedish labor market.  Overall, the thesis underscores the need for individualized support initiatives that consider the unique challenges and experiences of foreign-born women. By centering the women’s experiences, this study provides a valuable contribution to the ongoing efforts to improve the support for foreign-born women in the Swedish labor market.

Detta är en kvalitativ studie som fokuserar på de språkliga hinder somutrikesfödda kvinnor som är analfabeter möter när de försöker integrera sig idet svenska samhället. Genom litteraturgenomgång och empirisk forskningmed kvalitativa intervjuer med sex illitterata invandrare kvinnor, identifieras flera viktiga aspekter som påverkar dessa kvinnors förmåga att lära sig svenska.Studien identifierar dess hinder som inkluderar kulturella skillnader, brist påtidigare utbildningserfarenheter, och det sociala trycket från att anpassa sig tillett nytt språk och en ny kultur. Forskningen undersöker olika strategier för attövervinna dessa hinder. Resultaten pekar på att språket spelar en avgöranderoll för att kommunicera och delta i samhället.För att överkomma dessa hinder föreslår studien strategier som inkluderarsvensk undervisning via modersmålet, digital undervisning och att använda digitala verktyg som kan ökad tillgång till delaktighet i samhället. Slutsatsen betonar vikten av att utforma integrationsåtgärder som tar hänsyn till despecifika behov hos analfabeter och tar sikte på att främja språkkunskaper ochkulturell förståelse för en mer framgångsrik integration i det svenska samhället, vilket i sin tur kan öka deras möjligheter till sysselsättning och social delaktighet. / The qualitative study focuses on the linguistic obstacles that foreign-bornwomen who are illiterate face when they try to integrate into Swedish society.Through a literature review and empirical research with qualitative interviewswith six illiterate immigrant women, several important aspects are identifiedthat affect these women's ability to learn Swedish.The research also examines different strategies to overcome these barriers.The results indicate that language plays a decisive role for integration andparticipation in society. The study identifies these barriers that includecultural differences, lack of previous educational experiences, and the socialpressure of adapting to a new language and culture. To overcome theseobstacles, the study suggests strategies that include Swedish teaching via themother tongue, digital teaching to use digital tools that can increase access toparticipation in society. The results emphasize the importance of designingintegration measures that consider the specific needs of illiterate people andaim to promote language skills and cultural understanding for a moresuccessful integration into Swedish society, which in turn can increase theiropportunities for employment and social participation.

Kvinnor rapporterar sämre självskattad hälsa än män och utlandsföddas psykiska välmående är sämre än svenskföddas. Delaktighet och inflytande har visats vara starkt sammankopplat med hälsa och det är därför viktigt med ett effektivt integrationsarbete för att skapa delaktighet och inflytande i det svenska samhället. Syftet med denna undersökning var att undersöka upplevelser och erfarenheter av integrationen i Sverige bland utlandsfödda kvinnor utifrån ett folkhälsoperspektiv. För att besvara syftet har en kvalitativ ansats använts och fem semistrukturerade intervjuer med utlandsfödda kvinnor i olika åldrar över 18 år genomfördes. Insamlade intervjudata analyserades genom en manifest innehållsanalys. I resultatet framkom att sociala nätverk, språk och arbete är tre viktiga aspekter för att integreras i det svenska samhället. Rädsla och ovilja inför nya kulturer kan förhindra individers möjligheter till att integreras samt att kulturkrockar kan försvåra integrationen. Det framkom även att det bör finnas ett tvärsektoriellt arbete mellan samhällsaktörer och att lättillgänglig information kan nås, för en lättare förståelse för kulturen i det nya landet. Slutsatsen är att det finns olika aspekter som utlandsfödda kvinnor upplever påverkar deras möjlighet till integration: upplevelser, underlättande faktorer och hinder för integration. Framtida beslutsfattare bör ha dessa i åtanke vid utformning av styrning och policy för integration. / Women self-report worse health than men, and people born in a foreign country report lower psychological well-being than Swedish born people. Participation and influence within society directly correlate with health, therefore it is important to integrate people into society so that they can participate and gain influence. The purpose of this study is, using a public health perspective, to examine foreign born women’s relations and experiences of integration in Sweden. A qualitative approach was used to answer the purpose. Five semi-structured interviews have been conducted in Stockholm, Västerås and Gävle with foreign born women of 18 years and older. The collected interview data was analyzed using manifest content analysis. The results showed that social-networks, language, and occupation are three important aspects that contribute to successful integration. Fear and unwillingness to assimilate to different cultures in a new country can increase the difficulty of integration. To ease integration, the participants believed that a multi-sectoral approach is necessary, stakeholders in integration need to work together. The women further described that more information and transparency in information from stakeholders will increase their ability to successfully integrate into a new country. The conclusions are that there are three main aspects that foreign born women believe influence their possibility to integration: experiences, possibilities and obstacles. Future policy makers should regard these important aspects when presenting policies for integration.

The aim of this study is to gain an understanding for the factors behind the successful establishment in the Swedish labor market for foreign-born women who have a college or university degree from their home countries. This has been achieved by applying a qualitative method, whereas semi-structured interviews with five foreign-born women have been conducted. The theory used in the analysis are the theories of "social and cultural capital" and "empowerment". The findings of the study show that level of education, work experience, language skills affect foreign-born opportunities to enter the labor market. Moreover, the findings show that the interviewees perceived several obstructions to their inclusion in the Swedish labour market. These include language barriers and lack of social networks. The interviews also show that people who have an academic education from their home countries need to adapt their education to the Swedish labor market to find a qualified job. The results of the study also show that new arrivals need to apply for income support during the first period in Sweden, due to the fact that they lack their own income and assets.