Aims and Background of the Project​

AIMS

The ENGAGE project addresses integration-related needs of third-country national (TCN) women, who typically face more barriers and challenges in their efforts to enter the labour market than TCN men.

The project’s aim is to create social, cultural and employment pathways for the integration of TCN women in the host communities. This aim will be achieved through

  1.  organization of up-skilling workshops for TCN women and validation of acquired competences based on the Open Badges methodology,
  2. Capacity building for labour market stakeholders (LMS),
  3. Job Shadowing Schemes,
  4. Women’s Circles and
  5. Awareness Raising activities

BACKGROUND

Third-country national (TCN) women face various obstacles in integrating into new communities, such as childcare obligations and gender discrimination. Consequently, they have very low employment outcomes in comparison with migrant men and native-born women.

TCN women struggle with a “triple disadvantage” due to their gender, being migrants and having lower education levels than TCN men.

Getting access to the labour market is not always about skills, educational background and working experiences. Data show that discrimination against TCN women happens at various stages in the process of seeking employment, from access to VET and internships, to recruitment.

Regarding the hosting communities, many EU Member States lack policies specifically concerning female migrants. The non-existence of policies focused on TCN women, highlights also the need for Labour Market Stakeholders to better understand the integration barriers this group faces and the need to invest in their integration, as TCN women are the key actors in promoting integration of their families and social circles, which is crucial for community prosperity.