IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/gender/v28y2021i6p2132-2157.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Highly skilled, yet invisible. The potential of migrant women with a STEMM background in Italy between intersectional barriers and resources

Author

Listed:
  • Daniela Bolzani
  • Francesca Crivellaro
  • Rosa Grimaldi

Abstract

Despite increasing numbers of vacancies for highly skilled jobs in innovative sectors of the economy, highly skilled migrants are often discriminated against despite their qualifications. This discrimination represents a relevant issue, especially for women with a background in male‐dominated and highly regulated fields, such as science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine (STEMM). We draw on qualitative data collected in Northern Italy from in‐depth interviews and focus groups with women from different countries and STEMM qualifications. Adopting an intersectionality approach, we illuminate the macro‐, organizational‐, and individual‐level barriers that prevent highly skilled migrant women from finding a job that measures up to their qualification level and sector, and we highlight the resources available to them to overcome these barriers. By emphasizing the intersectional ties of being a woman, a migrant, and a STEMM professional, we identify relevant areas for policy intervention to valorize migration in support of innovation and labor outcomes in Italy and in other countries.

Suggested Citation

  • Daniela Bolzani & Francesca Crivellaro & Rosa Grimaldi, 2021. "Highly skilled, yet invisible. The potential of migrant women with a STEMM background in Italy between intersectional barriers and resources," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(6), pages 2132-2157, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:gender:v:28:y:2021:i:6:p:2132-2157
    DOI: 10.1111/gwao.12719
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/gwao.12719
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/gwao.12719?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Nikolka, Till, 2018. "Family Return Migration," VfS Annual Conference 2018 (Freiburg, Breisgau): Digital Economy 181641, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    2. Biavaschi, Costanza & Burzyński, Michał & Elsner, Benjamin & Machado, Joël, 2020. "Taking the skill bias out of global migration," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 142(C).
    3. repec:ces:ifodic:v:16:y:2018:i:1:p:50000000001959 is not listed on IDEAS
    4. Stefano Breschi & Francesco Lissoni & Claudia Noumedem Temgoua, 2016. "Migration and innovation: a survey of recent studies," Chapters, in: Richard Shearmu & Christophe Carrincazeaux & David Doloreux (ed.), Handbook on the Geographies of Innovation, chapter 23, pages 382-398, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    5. R. Shearmur & Christophe Carrincazeaux & D. Doloreux, 2016. "Handbook on the Geographies of Innovation," Post-Print hal-03152373, HAL.
    6. Friedberg, Rachel M, 2000. "You Can't Take It with You? Immigrant Assimilation and the Portability of Human Capital," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 18(2), pages 221-251, April.
    7. Chiswick, Barry R. & Miller, Paul W., 2009. "The international transferability of immigrants' human capital," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 28(2), pages 162-169, April.
    8. repec:ces:ifodic:v:16:y:2018:i:1:p:50000000001956 is not listed on IDEAS
    9. Alessandra Casarico & Silke Uebelmesser, 2018. "Migration Policies and the Highly Skilled," ifo DICE Report, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 16(01), pages 28-33, May.
    10. Brenda S.A. Yeoh & Shirlena Huang & Theodora Lam, 2018. "Migration, families and households in globalizing Asia," Chapters, in: Robert C. Kloosterman & Virginie Mamadouh & Pieter Terhorst (ed.), Handbook on the Geographies of Globalization, chapter 12, pages 175-186, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    11. Martina Burmann & Maria Hofbauer Perez & Vanessa Hoffmann & Carla Rhode & Sebastian Schworm, 2018. "Highly Skilled Labour Migration in Europe," ifo DICE Report, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 16(01), pages 42-52, May.
    12. F. Lissoni, 2016. "Migration & Innovation," Post-Print hal-02271129, HAL.
    13. Richard Shearmu & Christophe Carrincazeaux & David Doloreux (ed.), 2016. "Handbook on the Geographies of Innovation," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 16055.
    14. Jenny K. Rodriguez & Tracy Scurry, 2019. "Female and foreign: An intersectional exploration of the experiences of skilled migrant women in Qatar," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(4), pages 480-500, May.
    15. Anika Liversage, 2009. "Vital conjunctures, shifting horizons: high-skilled female immigrants looking for work," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 23(1), pages 120-141, March.
    16. Jenny Rodriguez & Evangelina Holvino & Joyce K. Fletcher & Stella M. Nkomo & Jenny K. Rodriguez & Evangelina Holvino & Joyce K. Fletcher & Stella M. Nkomo, 2016. "The Theory and Praxis of Intersectionality in Work and Organisations: Where Do We Go From Here?," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 23(3), pages 201-222, May.
    17. Julia Beckhusen & Raymond J.G.M. Florax & Jacques Poot & Brigitte S. Waldorf, 2013. "Attracting Global Talent And Then What? Overeducated Immigrants In The United States," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(5), pages 834-854, December.
    18. F. Lissoni & S. Breschi & C. Noumedem Temgoua, 2016. "Migration & Innovation: A Survey of Recent Studies," Post-Print hal-02271770, HAL.
    19. Antonietta Pagano, 2018. "The Gender Dimension of the Female Highly Skilled Migrants," Springer Proceedings in Business and Economics, in: Paola Paoloni & Rosa Lombardi (ed.), Gender Issues in Business and Economics, chapter 0, pages 147-157, Springer.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Hamis Miraji ALLY SIMBA & Hakan GUNES, 2023. "Causal Relationship Between Female Labor Force Participation Rate and Total Fertility Rate: An Empirical Evidence from Mena Countries," Journal of Economic Policy Researches, Istanbul University, Faculty of Economics, vol. 10(1), pages 303-316, January.
    2. Daniela Aliberti & Rita Bissola & Barbara Imperatori, 2024. "Don’t Rock the Boat: The Social-symbolic Work to Confront Ethnic Discrimination in Branches of Professional Service Firms," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 194(2), pages 251-274, October.
    3. Mukhammadyusuf Shaymardanov & Suvi Heikkinen & Anna-Maija Lämsä, 2023. "Social Networks of Women in Organizations: Evolution of Research and Future Research Agenda," South Asian Journal of Business and Management Cases, , vol. 12(1), pages 97-112, April.
    4. Fatemeh Hamedanian, 2022. "Access to the European Labor Market for Immigrant Women in the Wake of the COVID Pandemic," World, MDPI, vol. 3(4), pages 1-22, November.
    5. Kamini Gupta & Hari Bapuji, 2024. "‘Migration Under the Glow of Privilege’—Unpacking Privilege and Its Effect on the Migration Experience," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 194(4), pages 753-773, November.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Paula Prenzel & Niels Bosma & Veronique Schutjens & Erik Stam, 2022. "Cultural diversity and innovation-oriented entrepreneurship," Papers in Evolutionary Economic Geography (PEEG) 2205, Utrecht University, Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Group Economic Geography, revised Feb 2022.
    2. Aurora Ricci & Francesca Crivellaro & Daniela Bolzani, 2021. "Perceived Employability of Highly Skilled Migrant Women in STEM: Insights from Labor Market Intermediaries’ Professionals," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 11(1), pages 1-17, January.
    3. Baum, Christopher F & Lööf, Hans & Stephan, Andreas, 2018. "Economic impact of STEM immigrant workers," Working Paper Series in Economics and Institutions of Innovation 472, Royal Institute of Technology, CESIS - Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies.
    4. Xiangbo Liu & Theodore Palivos & Xiaomeng Zhang, 2017. "Immigration, Skill Heterogeneity, And Qualification Mismatch," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 55(3), pages 1231-1264, July.
    5. Francesco LISSONI, 2016. "Migration and Innovation Diffusion : An Eclectic Survey," Cahiers du GREThA (2007-2019) 2016-11, Groupe de Recherche en Economie Théorique et Appliquée (GREThA).
    6. Christopher F. Baum & Hans Lööf & Andreas Stephan, 2018. "The contribution of foreign-born STEM workers to the knowledge-intensive economy: Evidence from Sweden," Boston College Working Papers in Economics 962, Boston College Department of Economics, revised 11 Feb 2024.
    7. Ana Cuadros & Antonio Navas & Jordi Paniagua, 2022. "Moving ideas across borders: Foreign inventors, patents and FDI," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 45(12), pages 3652-3678, December.
    8. Kuebart, Andreas & Ibert, Oliver, 2019. "Beyond territorial conceptions of entrepreneurial ecosystems: The dynamic spatiality of knowledge brokering in seed accelerators," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 63(2-4), pages 118-133.
    9. Thanos Fragkandreas, 2022. "Three Decades of Research on Innovation and Inequality: Causal Scenarios, Explanatory Factors, and Suggestions," Working Papers 60, Birkbeck Centre for Innovation Management Research, revised Feb 2022.
    10. Serge Coulombe & Gilles Grenier & Serge Nadeau, 2014. "Quality of Work Experience and Economic Development: Estimates Using Canadian Immigrant Data," Journal of Human Capital, University of Chicago Press, vol. 8(3), pages 199-234.
    11. Johanna Hautala & Oliver Ibert, 2018. "Creativity in arts and sciences: Collective processes from a spatial perspective," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 50(8), pages 1688-1696, November.
    12. Zorlu, Aslan, 2011. "Ethnic Disparities in the Graduate Labour Market," IZA Discussion Papers 6159, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    13. Herbert Brücker & Nina Rother & Jürgen Schupp (Hrsg.), 2017. "IAB-BAMF-SOEP-Befragung von Geflüchteten 2016: Studiendesign, Feldergebnisse sowie Analysen zu schulischer wie beruflicher Qualifikation, Sprachkenntnissen sowie kognitiven Potenzialen," DIW Berlin: Politikberatung kompakt, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research, edition 0, volume 123, number pbk123, July.
    14. Schwientek, Caroline, 2016. "Are immigrants overeducated in Germany? Determinants and wage effects of educational mismatch," FAU Discussion Papers in Economics 07/2016, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Institute for Economics.
    15. Davide Castellani & Giovanni Marin & Sandro Montresor & Antonello Zanfei, 2020. "Foreign Direct Investments and Regional Specialization in Environmental Technologies," SEEDS Working Papers 0620, SEEDS, Sustainability Environmental Economics and Dynamics Studies, revised Apr 2020.
    16. Leilanie Basilio & Thomas K. Bauer & Anica Kramer, 2017. "Transferability of Human Capital and Immigrant Assimilation: An Analysis for Germany," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 31(3), pages 245-264, September.
    17. Bedaso, Fenet, 2021. "The Labor Market Integration of Refugees and other Migrants in Germany," GLO Discussion Paper Series 884, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    18. Jakob Eder & Michaela Trippl, 2019. "Innovation in the periphery: compensation and exploitation strategies," PEGIS geo-disc-2019_07, Institute for Economic Geography and GIScience, Department of Socioeconomics, Vienna University of Economics and Business.
    19. Akgüç, Mehtap & Ferrer, Ana, 2015. "Educational Attainment and Labor Market Performance: An Analysis of Immigrants in France," IZA Discussion Papers 8925, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    20. Kroll Henning & Neuhäusler Peter, 2020. "Recent Trends of Regional Development in China – Technological Portfolios and Economic Growth," ZFW – Advances in Economic Geography, De Gruyter, vol. 64(1), pages 14-27, March.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:gender:v:28:y:2021:i:6:p:2132-2157. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=0968-6673 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.