Women 4 Integration. Co-producing an inclusive working life in Social Enterprises

In Sweden, almost every third woman born outside Europe is excluded from the labour market.

Subject to higher risk of social exclusion, foreign-born women enjoy fewer job opportunities and bear family and childcare obligations that hinder their access to education or language tuition.

Work Integration Social Enterprises (WISEs) have a great capacity to employ underrepresented groups, such as foreign-born women, and to create conditions to facilitate their participation in working life.

The variety of methods, strategies and approaches that different WISEs have developed, as well as their implications, has however not been sufficiently researched.

There is also a need to promote peer-to-peer learning among WISEs and across sectors as well as to diffuse good practices.

This research bridges these gaps by examining and diffusing novel forms of organising workplaces and methods for a more inclusive working life of foreign-born women in WISEs.

Theoretically, the project combines new institutional theories through the concept of institutional logics and welfare bricolage.

Methodologically, it is designed as a co-production and comparative study informed by focus groups with foreign-born women, shadowing in workplaces, a national survey to WISEs, and interactive workshops with WISEs.

The three WISEs participating in the co-production process constitute critical cases of WISEs which have developed a variety of forefront methods and forms of organising workplaces for the inclusion of foreign-born women in Sweden.

The project is structured to achieve three objectives along three work packages: 1. to examine and compare forms of organising workplaces and methods, and their implications; 2. to explain the institutional and collaborative arrangements that can improve their capacity building, leadership and peer-to-peer knowledge exchange; and 3. to diffuse results among WISEs, and across sectors.