The socioeconomic position of women of African, Middle Eastern, Latin American and Asian descent living in the European Union : executive summary.
Date: 2022-06-09
Institutions: Directorate-General for Internal Policies of the Union
Subjects: EU Member State, data collection, family, gender mainstreaming, integration of migrants, level of education, migration statistics, participation of women, position of women, professional career, sexual discrimination, social indicator, socioeconomic conditions, woman

EXECUTIVE    
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 
Study for the FEMM committee  

The socioeconomic position of women 
of African, Middle Eastern, Latin American and Asian descent  
living in the European Union 1 

ABSTRACT 

This study, commissioned by the European Parliament’s Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and 
Constitutional Affairs at the request of the FEMM Committee, provides an overview of the social 
situation and level of integration of second- and third-generation migrant women. This topic is 
analysed using specific indicators, namely, residential conditions, family patterns, labour-market 
integration, and health outcomes.  

Findings  

Integration of second- and third-generation migrant women is a crucial topic of migration studies and policies. 
However, comparable quantitative data covering all European Union MSs on women (and men) from second-
generation migrants is not systematically available by ethnic groups and countries. Available information from 
international studies and scientific literature on the living conditions and degree of integration of this group 
does  not  cover  the  conditions  of  all  women  (and  men)  from  second  generations  in  all  EU-27  countries  by 
different origins. 

However, the available information points to some interesting issues. Second-generation migrant women and 
men experience disadvantages in education, employment, housing and health. They live in urban areas at risk 
of geographical ethnic segregation and are more likely to marry within their ethnic groups and follow their 
ethnic traditions, especially if they are from specific origins (African and Asian) or practise a particular religion 
(Islam).  These  disadvantages  are  mostly  connected  to  explicit  and  implicit  discrimination  by  the  hosting 
societies at individual and institutional levels, and to gender and ethnic stereotypes. 

The specific indicators for the social situation and level of integration of second- and third-generation migrant 
women  used  in  this  study  are:  education  achievements  and  perspectives  of  the  target  population;  the 
geographical polarisation and segregation of these women in both urban and rural contexts; family and marital 
patterns; labour-market integration and work-life balance strategies; the general conditions of health of the 
target  population;  and  the  levels  and  habits  of  access  to  reproductive  rights.  The  study  also  discusses 
definitions  of  integration  and  transnationalism  in  the  available  literature  and  proposes  a  definition  of  the 
second and third generations of immigration. 

1 Full study in English: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2021/696916/IPOL_STU(2021)696916_EN.pdf 

Policy Department for Citizens' Rights and Constitutional Affairs 

     Directorate-General for Internal Policies 

        PE 696.916 - December 2021 

SR 1243705EN 

  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                             
IPOL | Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs  

Despite the overall lack of consistent and updated data covering all 27 EU MSs, some relevant results emerge. 
First,  educational  outcomes  of  children  with  a  migrant  background  in  the  EU  are  not  as  good  as  natives’ 
outcomes. Gender differences in education in EU for the whole population of students are well known. They 
clearly  emerge in  pupils’ achievements in reading  (girls  at  an  advantage)  and  mathematics  (boys obtaining 
better results). Early school leaving is more frequent among boys than girls. Gender gaps in the educational 
performance of second-generation minorities are often wider than those recorded in the majority population 
of  the  same  age  group  and  educational  level.  Highly  selective  education  systems  and  poor  intercultural 
sensitivity among school personnel have a negative impact on educational outcomes of ethnic minorities.  

Recommendations  

To address the lack of specific statistical information the European Parliament and the Council should call on 
the MSs to produce comparable and reliable data. Parliament should call on the Commission and Eurostat to 
help national statistical authorities provide data protection protocols for individual sex-disaggregated data on 
ethnicity. Resistance against data collection on ethnic minorities by national and local stakeholders should be 
countered with initiatives to strengthen the protection and integration of ethnic minorities. Such initiatives 
could result in a clearer definition of migration policy of the EU and strengthening of the protection of ethnic 
minorities in the MSs.   

Factors  influencing  the  educational  achievements  at  the  intersection  of  gender  and  ethnicity  should  be 
addressed concurrently in order to obtain improvements. Such factors are: gender stereotypes about children 
including second-generation girls; contrasting forms of implicit and explicit discrimination that may prevent 
second-generation  children  from  obtaining  good  achievements;  the  need  to  promote  multiculturalism  and 
cultural  exchanges  among  pupils;  and  the  need  to  reduce  selectivity  in  educational  systems  (between 
vocational and academic paths), as it is discouraging minority ethnic groups from educational achievements.  

Parliament and the Council should call on the MSs to take action to adopt educational models that effectively 
promote  integration  of  minority  ethnic  groups,  including  second-generation  migrants.  The  Erasmus  + 
Programme  is  a  good opportunity  for  stakeholders in  the  MSs  (including  schools  and  individual  citizens)  to 
exchange good practices on multiculturalism in education and to address different forms of discrimination.  

Parliament  could  call  on  the  Commission  to  closely  monitor  the  implementation  of  the  Rights  and  Values 
Programme, the European Social Fund + (ESF +) , and the Next Generation EU Fund. Parliament could also call 
on the Commission, the Council and the MSs to undertake more initiatives towards coordination of educational 
policies, awareness-raising and capacity-building for school personnel in order to promote integration of ethnic 
minorities with a simultaneous commitment to gender equality.  

The segregation of second-generation migrants can be counteracted by purpose-designed housing policies 
implicitly introducing indirect forms of price control over housing rental fees. Social housing should favour a 
multi-ethnic social context with majority and minority ethnic groups proportionally represented. Parliament 
could  also  call on  the  Commission  to  closely  monitor  actions  for  social housing  at  regional  level  within  the 
European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) with a view to working against spatial segregation. 

The  EU  framework  for  supporting  work–life  balance  should  be  carefully  tailored  to  the  needs  of  families  of 
second-generation migrants. Women from this group - who already have an extremely uncertain position on 
the labour market - are at a higher risk of losing their jobs when they have children. Parliament should therefore 
urge the MSs to fully implement the work–life balance policies. This should include early childhood education 
and care (ECEC). This  is not only necessary for work-life balance but also for supporting a successful educational 
path  for  the  children  of  first-,  second-  and  third-generation  migrants.  The  Commission  should  promote 
effective policies including for ECEC that take into account both ethnicity and gender equality. 

The  EU  institutions,  in  particular  the  Commission,  should  support  the  adoption  of  effective  measures  to 
promote  labour  market  participation  of  second-generation  migrant  women  through  the  monitoring  of  the 
European  Semester  process  and  the  implementation of  ESF+.  Parliament  could urge  the  MSs  to  implement 
appropriate measures and initiatives.  

2 

 
 
 
 
Executive summary - The socioeconomic position of women of African,  
Middle Eastern, Latin American and Asian descent  
living in the European Union 

Coordinated measures to address the COVID-19 pandemic have proven that coordination in health policies is 
crucial for the wellbeing of all populations living in the EU. Parliament could urge the Council and the MSs to 
enhance cooperation in health policy, particularly in the area of preventive health, e.g. as regards cardiovascular 
diseases and diabetes. These initiatives should include all the resident populations and could be supported by 
the European Union for Health (EU4Health) Fund. Initiatives to enhance the capacity of health care personnel 
to provide tailored assistance to ethnic minorities – in particular ethnic minority women – could be encouraged 
within the existing financial instruments (ESF +). 

Disclaimer and copyright. The opinions expressed in this document are the sole responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent 
the  official  position  of  the  European  Parliament.  Reproduction  and  translation  for  non-commercial  purposes  are  authorised,  provided  the 
source is acknowledged and the European Parliament is given prior notice and sent a copy. © European Union, 2022.  

External Authors: Marta CAPESCIOTTI  and Silvia SANSONETTI, Fondazione Giacomo Brodolini s.r.l. SB. 
Administrator responsible: Jos HEEZEN 
Contact: poldep-citizens@europarl.europa.eu   

Editorial assistant: Sybille PECSTEEN de BUYTSWERVE 

This document is available on the internet at: www.europarl.europa.eu/supporting-analyses 

PE 696.916 
IP/C/FEMM//IC/2021-046 

PDF  

ISBN 978-92-846-9435-8  |  doi: 10.2861/05619   |  QA-07-22-265-EN-N 

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