FEMAGE: Needs for Female Immigrants and their Integration in Ageing Societies

Project Manager: Marek Kupiszewski

[FEMAGE logo]

Official project website: www.bib-demographie.de/femage

The project was funded by the European Commission through the Sixth Framework Programme and executed by a research consortium led by the Bundesinstitut für Bevölkerungsforschung from Wiesbaden.

The overreaching objectives were to generate knowledge about obstacles and needs for opportunity enhancement for economic and social integration and emancipation of women immigrants in a life-course perspective, identify requirements for integrative interaction between immigrants and national population in the host country, build this knowledge into a platform for the policy deliberations among key policy stakeholders, and elaborate recommendations on needs for immigrants and support policies and services for their integration in view of population ageing in Europe.

The comprehensive method of approach encapsulated findings from a small scale targeted survey of immigrant women, it capitalises on the already gathered but unexplored data among nationals of 8 member states (Germany, Austria, Finland, Hungary, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovenia and Estonia) regarding migration and integration of immigrants, and involved the key stakeholders in the policy deliberations in view to identify challenges to integration and expected needs for future immigration policies.

The project addressed directly women third-country nationals residing in 8 EU countries. It has recorded their experiences, needs, attitudes and expectations concerning immigration and integration policies and practices and viewpoints regarding their own old age.

The expected benefits were at the level of elaboration of facilitative measures for economic and social integration of immigrant women, mobilization of a broad population base in the host countries in view to foster better understanding of the long-term needs for migrants and their integration in ageing societies, consultations of stakeholders, and mobilization of the critical mass of institutions and researchers to gain new knowledge to improve integration processes and services in the framework of the Lisbon agenda.

Within the FEMAGE project we have completed and analysed over 30 narrative interviews with immigrant women (Ukrainian and Vietnamese) living in Poland. We have also conducted a focus group interview (FGI) with Polish stakeholders. We have analysed the data collected in the FGIs in Poland and other countries taking part in the study.

Our activities and publications presenting the results of FEMAGE project: