Friday is International Women’s Day. An often overlooked part of society is immigrant women. The Integration Fund has now examined these more than one million women.
When people talk about immigration, they often have an image of young men in mind. The statistics contradict this, at least partly. Women born abroad are an important part of society – and as of January 1, 2023, for the first time, more than a million women who were not born in Austria lived here. How they do it, where they come from and what drives women is what the Austrian Integration Fund (ÖIF) has now put together for its latest brochure. The songs are available for the “Krone”.
Graph: Female population by country of birth
Migrant women have a greater chance of receiving asylum
At the beginning of 2023, there were 1,008,582 foreign-born women living in Austria, equivalent to 21.8 percent of the total female population. This compares to “only” 967,278 men born abroad. By the way, most women come from Germany (13.4 percent). The remaining places are followed by Bosnia and Herzegovina (8.8 percent), Turkey (7.6 percent), Serbia (7.5 percent) and Romania (7.4 percent). The share of Ukrainian women has increased almost sixfold in the past five years to 53,761. However, where the image of the young male immigrant is confirmed is in the asylum applications. In 2023, women were clearly in the minority at 21.9 percent. However, they were more likely to be granted asylum; here the share was already 40.7 percent.
A much-discussed topic: immigrants and employment. The data experts at ÖIF have also taken a closer look at this. The result: There were major differences depending on the country of origin. At 76 percent, labor participation is highest for women from EU countries. Nearly half of Turkish women participated in working life (51 percent), and two-thirds of women from the former Yugoslavia (66 percent). The labor participation of women from Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq was the lowest (25 percent).
Foreign-born people are more likely to work in the low-wage sector. Services, such as building cleaning, were among the sectors with the highest percentage of female workers with a migrant background (50.9 percent), followed by hotels and restaurants with 42.7 percent and transport (33 percent).
Often only part-time and with a low income
The result: In 2021, Austrian women earned around 24,000 euros. With a median income of just under 16,600 euros, foreign women had only 81 percent of their net annual income at their disposal. Something that connects Austrians and foreigners with children under 15: the high part-time rate. For women without a migrant background this was 77.9 percent and for women with a migrant background 65.1 percent. What is striking: The average number of children for foreign-born mothers is significantly higher at 1.63 children than for Austrians with 1.34 children.
How does living together work?
And how does living together work? There are different opinions. In contrast to Austrians (26 percent), Ukrainians (71 percent), Syrians (68 percent) and Afghans (69 percent) believe that coexistence between Austrians and migrants works (very) well. About two-thirds of Syrian and Afghan women think their personal living situation in Austria has improved over the past three years. The share was significantly lower for Austrians (32 percent) and Turkish women (23 percent).
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
