Examining service providers’ perspectives of barriers and facilitators for immigrant women seeking employment / There are multi-faceted barriers that shape the employment trajectories and
economic outcomes of immigrant women in the Canadian labour market. In response to
the barriers that immigrant women experience, the Federal government, Immigration,
Refugee, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), have initiated funding towards employment
programs for immigrant women. This critical ethnographic study examines the
perspectives of ten service providers in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), in order to
identify the barriers and facilitators immigrant women experience within employment
services when trying to obtain secure well-paid employment. The data analysis revealed
three major themes: the role of funding for employment programs and settlement
services, the categorization of immigrant women by skills; and the application of
individualized services to meet the needs of immigrant women. Using an intersectional
lens, my research highlights that immigrant women experience various challenges to
finding, obtaining, and maintaining employment due to the intersection of their social
location (e.g. race, gender, immigration status, language, culture, and religion). Service
providers mitigate some of these barriers to secure well-paying employment by providing
individualized services to meet differential needs of immigrant women. While this
approach has led to success in matching some immigrant women to jobs that align with
their field of expertise and career goals, service providers are restricted in their ability to
meet the full needs of immigrant women due to underfunding and structural barriers. My
research reveals that employment services, immigration processes, and labour market
practices can (re)produce and maintain the marginalization of immigrant women in the
labour market. This paper concludes with some policy recommendations for immigrant-serving employment services and social work practice. / Thesis / Master of Social Work (MSW)
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:mcmaster.ca/oai:macsphere.mcmaster.ca:11375/25880 |
| Date | January 2020 |
| Creators | Hassan, Farha |
| Contributors | Ion, Allyson, Social Work |
| Source Sets | McMaster University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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