Programmes aimed at increasing employment levels amongst women who have migrated to Denmark will receive a big boost over the next four years. The government announced plans to allocate 140m kroner to related projects.
“It is absolutely crucial that we get more non-Western women working. Employment amongst refugees and immigrants is improving in general, but women are still some way behind – including those that have been in the country for many years,” immigration minister Inger Støjberg said in a press statement.
“That means that many of those women are without work and knowledge of the norms and values of Danish society, and are in practice isolated from Danish society,” Støjberg added.
As reported by The Local, the term ‘non-Western’ (ikkevestlige) is used by national database Statistics Denmark and encompasses nationals of all countries other than those in the EU plus Andorra, Australia, Canada, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Monaco, New Zealand, Norway, San Marino, Switzerland and the United States.
According to ministry figures, 47% of working-age women from non-Western countries are currently unemployed. For Danish women, that figure is 74%.
Up to 80,000 female immigrants and female children of immigrants are currently not in work, according to the government.
“That is why the government is now allocating 140m kroner in an effort in which we, along with municipalities, can help women to find work, so they can learn Danish and contribute to society on an equal footing with everyone else,” Støjberg said.
