CASE STUDY 6: SKILLS MISMATCH AND PRECARIOUS EMPLOYMENT FACED BY RACIALIZED REFUGEE AND IMMIGRANT WOMEN IN TORONTO - RACIALIZATION AND GENDER POLITICS OF CURRENT SHIFTS IN THE LABOUR MARKET

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RESEARCH TEAM

Project Co-Leads:

Stephanie Premji (Project Co-lead), McMaster University
Yogendra Shakya (Project Co-lead), Access Alliance Multicultural Health and Community Services
Megan Spasevski (Project Co-lead), Access Alliance Mulitcultural Health and Community Services
Charlotte Yates (Project Co-lead), McMaster University

Researchers:

Wisal Abugala, Access Alliance Multicultural Health and Community Services
Judy Cantwell de Macz, Access Alliance Multicultural Health and Community Services
Dawn Cressman, Access Alliance Multicultural Health and Community Services
Khinmyo Lwin, Access Alliance Multicultural Health and Community Services
Jessica Merolli, McMaster University
Hareda Mohamud, Access Alliance Multicultural Health and Community Services
Krystyna Moore, Access Alliance Multicultural Health and Community Services
Moo Lay Naw, Access Alliance Multicultural Health and Community Services
Almaz Reda, Working Women
Madhavi Reddy, Neighbourhood Link Support Services Action for Neighbourhood Change
Ilham Saydna, Access Alliance Multicultural Health and Community Services
Parveen Shojai, Access Alliance Multicultural Health and Community Services
Mira Shrestha, Access Alliance Multicultural Health and Community Services
Hema Subramaniam, East York East Toronto Family Resources Organization
Thuy Tran, Access Alliance Multicultural Health and Community Services
Ruth Wilson, Access Alliance Multicultural Health and Community Services
Hamida Zia, Access Alliance Multicultural Health and Community Services

RESEARCH ACTIVITY

This project investigates systemic challenges faced by racialized newcomer women in securing stable employment in their field. Strong national evidence in Canada shows that, compared to other groups, racialized immigrant women face among the worst labour market and economic outcomes in terms of unemployment rate, over-representation in non-standard types of work, wage rate and low-income rate. Our qualitative study with 30 racialized immigrant women stuck in precarious employment cycles provided rich evidence about the everyday causes, experiences, impacts and responses to this disturbing national trend. In doing so, our findings can help to identify tangible everyday gender-sensitive solutions to promote socio-economic equity for racialized immigrant women.In particular, the research examined the ‘job-skills mismatch’ that racialized newcomer women face when they enter the labour market, and how this pushes them into a long-term precarious employment trajectory. The research findings generate evidence about the racialized and gendered dimensions of the barriers to the labour market.

PUBLICATIONS

Access Alliance (2013). Where are the Good Jobs? Toronto: Access Alliance Multicultural Health and Community Services. [Read]

Access Alliance. (2014). Like Wonder Women, Goddesses, and Robots: How Immigrant Women are Impacted by and Respond to Precarious Employment. Toronto: Access Alliance Multicultural Health and Community Services. [Read]

Khosla, P. (2014). Working Women, Working Poor. Toronto: Women and Work Research Group. [Read]

Merolli, J. (2012). The Health Impacts of Precarious Work: a Literature Review. Access Alliance. [Read]

Premji, S., Shakya, Y., Spasevski, M., Merolli, J., & Athar, S. (2014). Precarious Work Experiences of Racialized Immigrant Woman in Toronto: A Community- Based Study. Just Labour, 22, 122-143. [Read]

Premji, S., & Shakya, Y. (2017). Pathways between under/unemployment and health among racialized immigrant women in Toronto. Ethnicity & Health, 22(1), 17-35. [Read]

Premji, S., & Shakya, Y. (Forthcoming). Precarious Employment and Racialized Immigrant Women. In S. Procyk, W. Lewchuk & J. Shields (Eds.), Precarious Employment: Causes, Consequences and Remedies. Winnipeg: Fernwood Publishing. [Read]

Spasevski, M. (2012). Gender, Race and Migration: Investigating the systemic barriers immigrant women face in Toronto’s labour market and the impacts on health. Ontario Women’s Health Network E-Bulletin. [Read]

PRESENTATIONS & EVENTS

October 21, 2016 | Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Dalla Lana School of Public Health's 9th Annual Student-Led Conference, University of Toronto: Secure Income, Secure Health: Working Towards Equitable Solutions
Racialization, Migration and Precarious Work
Presenter: Stephanie Premji

September 27, 2016 | Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Council of Agencies Serving South Asians (CASSA)'s 6th Annual Health Equity Summit
Precarious Work in Racialized, Immigrant and Linguistic Minority Communities
Presenter: Stephanie Premji

June 29, 2016 | Brampton, Ontario, Canada
Conference of the Regional Diversity Roundtable in Peel Region
Precarious Work in Racialized Communities
Presenter: Stephanie Premji

May 12-14, 2014 | Montreal, Quebec, Canada
International Conference of the Interuniversity Research Centre on Globalization and Work (CRIMT): New Frontiers for Citizenship at Work
Work and Health of De-Skilled Foreign-Born Racialized Women in Toronto: A Community-Based Study
Presenters: Stephanie Premji & Yogendra Shakya