{"id":8908,"date":"2023-06-28T09:30:41","date_gmt":"2023-06-28T07:30:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nccr-onthemove.ch\/blog\/?p=8908"},"modified":"2023-06-26T16:18:29","modified_gmt":"2023-06-26T14:18:29","slug":"breaking-biases-deconstructing-myths-on-immigrant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nccr-onthemove.ch\/blog\/breaking-biases-deconstructing-myths-on-immigrant\/","title":{"rendered":"Breaking Biases: Deconstructing Myths on Immigrant Women in Switzerland"},"content":{"rendered":"

Immigrant women play a vital role in Switzerland, yet their narratives are often reduced to stereotypes such as, \u201clooking for a husband\u201d or \u201cworking as nannies.\u201d In reality, immigrant women have contributed greatly to Swiss society. It seems therefore important to challenge misconceptions about immigrant women in Switzerland.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the <\/a>1970s, immigrant women joined Swiss women in protesting for women\u2019s suffrage<\/a>. In 2020, immigrant women of color gathered at Bundesplatz to demand more humane treatment of asylum seekers, refugees, and undocumented people<\/a> living in Switzerland. Given <\/a>the marginalization and neglect of immigrant women in Switzerland, it seems important to address three common myths and deconstruct them, using Dumont and colleagues\u2019 (2007) article \u201cWomen: The Neglected Gender Dimension on the Brain Drain.\u201d<\/p>\n

Myth 1: \u201cImmigrants Are Predominantly Male\u201d<\/strong><\/h5>\n

According to OECD data (Dumont et al., 2007), which compiles the experience of 39 million immigrant women ages 15 and over in 28 Asian, European, and North American countries, there is gender parity among immigrants in OECD countries. In Switzerland, women represent a slight majority (52%) of the immigrant population, slightly higher than the OECD average (51%). This phenomenon is the result of a range of factors, including economic and educational reasons, which brings us to the next point.<\/p>\n

Myth 2: \u201cMale Immigrants Are More Qualified Than Female Immigrants\u201d<\/strong><\/h5>\n

This myth oversimplifies the experiences of immigrant women across countries and time periods. Moreover, immigration to OECD countries is highly selective due to strict laws. Nonetheless, immigrant women not only possess skills comparable to their male counterparts worldwide but, on average, even exceed them. In Switzerland, the gap between male and female immigrants with tertiary backgrounds has been decreasing, and both groups tend to have now similar qualifications.<\/a><\/p>\n

In the past, there existed stark differences in tertiary education between immigrant men (23%) and women (16%) in the Alpine country. However, these differences are in part explained by immigration laws, such as articles 7 and 8 of the Swiss Federal Law on Foreign Nationals (OLE), which favored male-dominated fields like manual labor, and undervalued female-dominated fields like service work.<\/a> Furthermore, it is worth mentioning that the experiences of highly-skilled and low-skilled immigrant women can vary greatly, which we address in the next point.<\/p>\n

Myth 3: \u201cAll Immigrant Women Are the Same\u201d<\/strong><\/h5>\n

Intersectionality helps us understand the different experiences of women based on their countries of origin, ethnicities, genders, and socioeconomic classes. In Switzerland, foreign-born women come from various places. Europe, Italy, Portugal, and France are common countries of origin, while outside Europe, Turkey, Sri Lanka, and the Philippines are also frequent countries of origin.<\/a><\/p>\n

The skills associated with different occupations also affect the type of employment available to immigrant women, and their relationship with their countries of origin. For instance, women in low-skilled occupations tend to send on average a higher share of their salary back home as remittances compared to women in high-skilled occupations.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, immigrant women with tertiary education are more likely to move abroad than primary and secondary-educated women, to find better labor and educational opportunities. Therefore, immigrant women have diverse experiences and it would be inaccurate to simplify them into a single narrative.<\/p>\n

Beyond Myths<\/strong><\/h5>\n

By deconstructing these myths about immigrant women, we can recognize the complexity of immigration and the positive contributions these women have made to Swiss society. Reflecting on the underrepresentation of immigrant women\u2019s voices, we should pay more attention to their statements. For instance, during the 2020 protest at Bundesplatz in Bern, immigrant women expressed the following: \u201cWir m\u00fcssen gesehen und geh\u00f6rt werden\u2026Die Schweiz soll wissen wie es uns geht.\u201d (We need to be seen and heard. That’s why we protested\u2026<\/em> Switzerland should know how we are doing.)<\/p>\n

To better meet the needs of immigrant women, Switzerland must understand their experiences across various aspects of life, such as at home and in the workplace. While Dumont and colleagues\u2019 article (2007) provides valuable insights into immigrant women, future research should adopt a more inclusive and intersectional approach. This includes the voices of LBTQ+, disabled, and neuro-divergent women to foster a more inclusive host society, in line with the United Nation\u2019s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development<\/a>. Goal 5 specifically calls for decent work, economic growth, and reduced inequalities for all women and girls.<\/p>\n

Want to Learn More?<\/strong><\/h5>\n

If this blog piqued your interest and you want to learn about other stereotypes surrounding immigrants in Switzerland, head over to the \u201cOvercoming Preconceptions\u201d<\/a> section of the nccr \u00a0\u2013\u00a0 on the move<\/a>\u00a0website. It offers a wealth of videos and information on this topic that could be valuable to you.<\/p>\n

Juan Carlos Hugues is a Psychology master\u2019s student at the University of Lausanne. He was associated with a LIVES Seed project on \u201cMigrant Adjustment Resilience, Vulnerability & Resource Processes (MARVR)\u201d and currently investigates the resilience and vulnerability of expatriates in Switzerland under the supervision of Dr. Anouk Albien.<\/em><\/p>\n

Dr. Anouk Jasmine Albien is a Marie Curie Fellow researching Skilled Migrant Adjustments to Career Transitions (SMACT : Grant Agreement number: 890967 \u2014 SMACT \u2014 H2020-MSCA-IF-2019\/H2020-MSCA-IF-2019) and is an affiliated researcher with the NCCR on the move Research Centre. For more information on the SMACT project, take a look here. She is the principal investigator of a LIVES Seed project on \u201cMigrant Adjustment Resilience, Vulnerability & Resource Processes (MARVR).\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

References:<\/p>\n

\u2013 Amnesty International<\/a>
\n\u2013 Dumont, Jean-Christophe; Martin, John P.; Spielvogel, Gilles (2007). Women on the Move: The Neglected Gender Dimension of the Brain Drain<\/a>, Institute for the Study of Labor Discussion Paper 2920, <\/em>1-24.
\n\u2013 Gafner, Magalie; Ir\u00e8ne Schmidlin (2007). Le genre et la l\u00e9gislation suisse en mati\u00e8re de migration<\/a>, Nouvelles Questions F\u00e9ministes<\/em>, 2007\/1 (Vol. 26), 16-37.
\n\u2013 Gender Campus<\/a>
\n\u2013 Switzerland\u2019s Federal Statistical Office<\/a>
\n\u2013 Migrant Solidarity Network<\/a>
\n\u2013 OECD Data<\/a>
\n\u2013 United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development<\/a>
\n\u2013 The nccr \u00a0\u2013\u00a0 on the move<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Immigrant women play a vital role in Switzerland, yet their narratives are often reduced to stereotypes such as, \u201clooking for a husband\u201d or \u201cworking as nannies.\u201d In reality, immigrant women have contributed greatly to Swiss society. It seems therefore important to challenge misconceptions about immigrant women in Switzerland. In the<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":296,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[215,217,223,225,224,234],"coauthors":[1155,1156],"class_list":["post-8908","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-what-do-we-mean-by","tag-discriminations","tag-education","tag-gender","tag-human-rights","tag-skills","tag-switzerland"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nccr-onthemove.ch\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8908","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nccr-onthemove.ch\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nccr-onthemove.ch\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nccr-onthemove.ch\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/296"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nccr-onthemove.ch\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8908"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/nccr-onthemove.ch\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8908\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8919,"href":"https:\/\/nccr-onthemove.ch\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8908\/revisions\/8919"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nccr-onthemove.ch\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8908"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nccr-onthemove.ch\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8908"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nccr-onthemove.ch\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8908"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nccr-onthemove.ch\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=8908"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}