Abstract
Securing sustainable employment enables the successful settlement of women from refugee backgrounds into regional Australia however, the path to its attainment is complex. Work that takes advantage of the breadth of their skills or offers sustainable careers is not readily available. Further, having to seek refuge suggests that women bring embodied memories of trauma which may, in turn, continue to impact on their health. A pilot program was funded to support women from refugee backgrounds as they navigated the employment pathway. This paper reports the findings from an action research study which was associated with the pilot program. As social capital enables people to be ‘hired, healthy, happy and housed’ (Woolcock 1998, p.154), the study investigated the form and function of the networks that enabled these women. Findings revealed the women engaged in building a network that increased the number of people that they knew as both friends and professional paths to employment. They were keen to be embedded in the geographical and cultural landscape. Further this engagement provided opportunities to mobilise and further develop their skills. This interwoven web of connections fostered women’s safety and enabled them to discover their unique pathways to sustainable employment.
Highlights
As they settle into a new country, women from refugee backgrounds face and negotiate multiple challenges and social barriers
While securing sustainable employment contributes to achieving ‘successful settlement’1, the work that is readily available in regional Australia does not necessarily take advantage of the breadth of refugees’ skills or offer them sustainable careers
This paper reports on findings from the program and investigates the nature of the networks that enabled these women to secure sustainable employment in a regional community
Summary
As they settle into a new country, women from refugee backgrounds face and negotiate multiple challenges and social barriers. A pilot program was funded to support women from refugee backgrounds as they navigated the regional employment pathway. This paper reports on findings from the program and investigates the nature of the networks that enabled these women to secure sustainable employment in a regional community. Australian Government policy in recent decades has prioritised the need to settle significant numbers of humanitarian migrants in regional Australia (Department of Social Services [DSS], 2017). Regional humanitarian settlement aims be mutually beneficial for both the entrants and the receiving communities (DSS, 2017), policies are largely motivated by the economic and population needs of regional Australia (Boese & Phillips, 2017; Colic-Peisker & Tilbury, 2006). Little additional support is offered for women at risk settled in the regions.
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