Canada has various federal and regional programs for expat women
Canada is arguably the country with the most state-funded programs for professional expat women. On the federal level, there exist the Racialized Newcomer Women Pilot (RNWP) program and the Women at Risk (WAR) program.
The RNWP was launched in 2018 and supports new expat women from ethnic minorities. It provides women-only employment counseling, mentorship and work placements. These new expats often face not only gender but also racial discrimination in the professional world – the program hopes to compensate for that.
In March 2023, the Ministry of Integration, Refugees and Citizenship announced that it would be injecting over CA$ 1 million into the RNWP over the next 2 years to get participants involved in the Tech Connect program. Tech Connect allows expat women of color in the field of IT to be coached in employability skills, participate in industry-relevant workshops, and access events in the tech industry. Some participants are also eligible for financial assistance that covers childcare and transport.
The WAR program is more narrowly directed at women in situations of danger. They may be refugees or expats who are vulnerable to domestic violence. They must show that they have the potential to become permanent residents. Through this settlement program, they get services like language classes and classes to learn about women's rights, coaching to find work, and babysitting services.
Different Canadian provinces also fund territorial programs for expat women. For example, the Ontario provincial government has recently invested nearly CA$ 1 million into the “Addressing Barriers to Employment for Muslim Women” project of the Canadian Council of Muslim Women (CCMW). This project aims to increase the recruitment, retention and advancement of Muslim women in sectors where they are underrepresented.
Many provincial NGOs and agencies that cater to expat women receive state funding, even if they are strictly not state-owned. For example, the agency Manitoba Start, which provides employment services to new expats, is sponsored by both the federal government and the provincial government of Manitoba. Quebec has the Women's Centre of Montreal, which benefits from the funding of both the province and the city. The center provides legal counseling, French classes, volunteer work programs and food baskets, among other things.
The SARA Program in Spain helps expat women enter the workforce
In Spain, the Ministry of Equality and the Ministry of Health have a program for the labor market insertion of vulnerable women. Those classified as vulnerable are expat and immigrant women, Romani women, as well as young and elderly women who have lived through poverty or violence. The specific body of the Ministry of Health involved in this program is the semi-autonomous Institute of Women. The government also collaborates with various NGOs and schools in this program.
The program provides them with workshops for self-development and professional skills, individualized mentoring, hands-on learning outside the classroom, work placements in companies, and a 6-month post-program follow-up when the women are looking for jobs. The program takes into consideration each woman's specific background, for example, her level of Spanish or the gender values of the country she comes from.
To give an example of what the program does concretely, the SARA Program 2023 collaborated with “universidades populares” (adult education centers) around the country. These schools trained the women in skills that are in demand in their specific region. For example, in some areas of Castilla-La Mancha, they trained the women in cooking skills because hospitality is a key industry in the area.
This type of reskilling is great for women expats considering a career change or for trailing spouses looking to develop a life abroad that is independent of their partner's. In general, the previous SARA programs have managed to make 20-30% of their alumni land jobs within 6 months of finishing this training.
The Strong at Work program in Germany promotes the labor market insertion of expat mothers
“Stark im Beruf” (Strong at Work) is a program of the German Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth (BMFSFJ) and the European Social Fund (ESF). It is not for all expat women but most specifically for those with kids. The labor of childcare makes it even harder for these women to join the workforce.
Given the immigration patterns that Germany has experienced, many of the participants are from East Europe, the Middle East and Turkey. They may not have completed many years of schooling, may not speak German fluently yet, and may still be unused to the way institutions function within the EU.
Strong at Work tries to remedy these gaps in their qualifications, skills and networks. Like the programs in other countries, Strong at Work provides them with mentorship, language classes, vocational guidance and apprenticeships/work placements in fields such as nursing. They also help them get their foreign qualifications recognized locally if need be.
The EU program 241FE develops expat women's entrepreneurial skills
This program isn't limited to only one country. The 241 Female Entrepreneurship Program – or 241FE – can help expat women in many member countries of the European Union. It doesn't help women obtain traditional jobs but equips them to create their own businesses. They get the materials, tools, training and consulting necessary in the early stages of entrepreneurship. 241FE has four project partners: CERES, DAFNII KEK, COOSS and MedWomen.
CERES is a Dutch foundation for women in the agri-food industry. As for DAFNI KEK, it's a Greek organization that provides adult education to migrants and members of the Romani community. COOSS is an Italian social enterprise that provides assistance and training to vulnerable people, including women expats and immigrants. Meanwhile, MedWomen is a Barcelona-based Spanish network for women entrepreneurs.
241FE has a highly accessible online entrepreneurship course. It has six modules: Start a Business, Critical Thinking, Creativity, Legal and Finance, Personal Branding for Empowerment, Business and Digitalization Strategy.
Of course, each of the partners listed above also has its own resources, training programs and networking events. For example, MedWomen has a collaborative library, holds networking events at the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce, and hosts workshops about self-employment for expat, migrant and refugee women. COOSS offers professional training courses in fields like healthcare (e.g., to become health assistants).
