Women’s integration (Gender perspective to immigration)
Who came?
- Ginette, Isabelle, Marie-Line, Kari, Natalia, Holly, Sungmi, Kathy, Rose-mai, Kim, Audrey, Constance, Heather
Questions?
- How can the NB refugee clinic grow to better support precarious status women?
- What is preventing our province to mirror women -specific programs that are happening across the country?
- What funding opportunities exist to grow gendered programming for immigrant women?
- Where is the government leadership (ahem, ‘’feminist’’ trudeau) to influence policies?
- What are the systemic policies that contribute to the challenges re: immigrant? Women’s interaction
Notes & ideas
- Women often follow their spouse as ‘dependents’ difficult to find work, child care etc.
- Challenge values + family dynamics
- Social isolation, how to leave the home (language barriers) mental health → interpretation challenges (eg. Woman interpreter)
- Systemic issues: affordable child care, pay equity, foreign credential recognition, gender norms
- Status: fear of deportation, huge gap in services for precarious status women
- Settlement agencies have little resources to dedicate to gendered programming (no time!)
- Community agencies + businesses need to extend their intersectional\gender\diversity lens to bring women to the table.
- Need flexibility (+daycare) to allow more women to participate in settlement services
- New Government strategy on family integration! Moving policy forward
Actions
- Investigate funding channels
- Connect with women newcomers: what do you need? What programs would be helpful?
- Support NB immigrant women's association + similar initiatives
- Seek to grow gender - analysis in settlement agencies + population growth: needs assessment to decipher how programs can be adapted or which new programs need to be developed.
- Look at successful models from elsewhere in the country
- Engage immigrant women in leadership positions + celebrate
Take away
- Much overdue
- Much to do
- Where the heck are the men (decision makers)?
- We’re pretty pissed