Labour market integration remains insecure for foreign and immigrant women

In 2001-2002, foreign women had a lower participation rate than native women. Furthermore, when comparing the difference in their status between the early 1990s and 2002, the results indicate that the general upturn of labour market conditions was in and of itself not sufficient to guarantee improved integration for foreign women.

During the past decade, the achievements of foreign women in terms of labour market integration were impressive in several OECD member countries. In the Netherlands, for example, the participation rate of foreign women between ages 25 and 54 increased by nearly 15 percentage points (from 39.6% to 54.8%) and their unemployment rate fell by more than 20 percentage points (from 25.1% to 5.1%). Significant progress was also achieved in Belgium (+12.6 percentage points for the participation rate and -6.9 percentage points for the unemployment rate of foreign women) and to a lesser extent in France. These countries, though, were characterised by the fact that foreign women had delayed access to employment during the beginning of the 1990s. In other countries, however, gains were weaker and the gap between nationals and foreigners increased. In the United Kingdom, for example, the participation rate of foreign women increased by less than one percentage point over a 12-year period, while that of nationals increased by four percentage points. Canada, the United States, Germany and Ireland had similar circumstances. Finally, foreign women faced deteriorating labour market conditions in several countries during this last economic boom. In Sweden, the employment rate of foreign women aged 25 to 54 fell strongly between 1990 and 2002 (+5.6 percentage points for the unemployment rate and -8.9 percentage points for the participation rate). Similar results were witnessed in Denmark and, to a lesser extent, in Germany. This reversal shows the fragility of the registered achievements for foreign women in the labour market.

Related Table: Participation rate and unemployment rate of nationals and foreigners by sex in selected OECD countries