Out of the war - back to normality

Manal Bourhan fled Syria three years ago together with her son. The 32-year-old widow wanted to venture a new beginning in Germany. When she finally arrived here after a strenuous escape, new problems awaited her: Her degree as a dental technician was not recognized.

Between 2012 and 2016, around half a million women fled to Germany, which is about one third of all asylum seekers. According to an analysis by the German Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF), this proportion will increase in the future due to family reunification. Over 40 per cent of female asylum seekers are under the age of 18, a further 38 per cent between the ages of 18 and 35. Many female refugees hope - sometimes for the first time in their lives - to be able to support themselves and lead a self-determined life. But this road is a rocky one.

The job center placed Manal Bourhan as an intern with the Hessian security technology manufacturer Lock Your World in Bad Orb. Bourhan then began her training there as a management assistant. She is currently completing her training part-time so that she can also look after her son. Managing director Manuela Engel-Dahan knows that part-time training is only common in a few companies. Some shy away from the supposedly higher effort and longer training duration, and the level of awareness of part-time training is still low. “Every company must define its own integration goals. For me, the priority was to strengthen women who had fled from war. Some of them experience double discrimination on the labor market," says Engel-Dahan. On the one hand, they should be able to reconcile career and family, on the other hand, they are confronted with the prejudices of their employer. These are usually unconscious reservations: For example, some employers fear that employment may be hindered by religious practices or the wearing of a headscarf.

There's no such thing as the one "female refugee"

Many female refugees are highly motivated to work. But without the appropriate qualifications, this is not sufficient for many companies. The level of qualification among the women is very different - there is no universal profile of a woman who has fled from war. Among the asylum seekers are, for example, academics from Syria or Iran who are not afraid of MINT occupations or who have already worked as engineers, journalists or teachers. Others have not completed school or vocational training. They are left with quickly trainable activities in the areas of care, cleaning, tourism, and the hotel and restaurant industry. In these industries, the initial hurdles are lower, if only because of the existing shortage of skilled workers.

The differences in qualification levels can also be explained by access to schools in the country of origin. While 35 percent of men have attended schools in their home country, the figure for women is only 21 percent. Similarly, the proportion of paid professional experience among women in their country of origin is significantly lower than among men. According to the BAMF refugee study, it is 40 percent among women and 75 percent among men. However, some women have worked part-time as sewers or unskilled workers. This knowledge is often not verifiable by certificates, but it does exist.

The reality check

Managing director Engel-Dahan got herself some help in searching for a suitable employee: The local job center has helped to assess Manal Bourhan's existing skills. For Engel-Dahan she is an absolute stroke of luck: "She's familiarized herself well with the job and perfectly gets along with all her colleagues - she's an asset to the team." For medium-sized businesses in particular, it is a great relief to obtain help in integrating refugees into the labor market using existing offers. In addition to the Chambers of Commerce and Industry and the network "Companies integrate refugees", regional initiatives are also available.

The integration of female refugees is a challenge that Angela Dovifat knows very well. Dovifat is head of the project "Point - Potentiale integrieren" ("Point - Integrating Potentials"), initiated by the Berlin education provider Goldnetz and financed by the German Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth (BMFSF). The project aims to help female refugees enter the labor market. Especially the language acquisition is lengthy, she said: “How long would it take us to communicate in Arabic?" asks Dovifat. Moreover, such courses provide little preparation for everyday work. “Local job descriptions, educational pathways and labor market rules are new for these women." But she also emphasizes how motivated the women are.

Productivity through diversity

While the work colleagues of Manal Bourhan show consideration and pay more attention to their language, this is less the case in the vocational school. It is therefore worthwhile for employers to offer part-time work in order to make further language acquisition possible in the first place, says Dovifat. However, a sponsorship programme within the company could also be an important aid. “My team spontaneously set up a driving service so that Ms Bourhan, who didn't yet have a driving license, could get home more quickly after work so that she could be there for her child. It makes us all proud that we can contribute a small part to the integration", says Manuela Engel-Dahan. The close cooperation with Manal Bourhan has strengthened the team spirit. According to a study published in the "Charter of Diversity", diversity within a team fosters productivity because employees learn from each other through different experiences and points of view and come up with better solutions together.
Integration in the corporate context is therefore a team task - how this is solved often depends on how managers face the challenge and how they want to implement diversity in the company. For Manal Bourhan, the efforts of her boss were worth it. For them, vocational training and work mean not only self-fulfillment but also financial independence: “From my first salary, I was able to treat my son and myself to a little something," says Bourhan.

Source: Human Resources Manager, Edition August / September 2018

Caroline Strobel and Valentina Mählmeyer are experts in the network "Unternehmen integrieren Flüchtlinge" ("Companies integrate refugees"), which is financed by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology and the Association of German Chambers of Commerce and Industry and already has 1,800 members nationwide. Strobel and Mählmeyer answer questions on the subject of "female refugees" and provide information on how companies can network with other already experienced companies.