The Role of Cultural Differences for German Immigrant Women in Finland During the Job Searching, Application, and Selection Phase : Barriers or Opportunities?

Abstract

Questions regarding the labor market integration of immigrants in Finland have become more prominent with the rising number of immigrants and the growing awareness of the need of foreign workers due to demographic changes. In this context, the focus is currently on the low participation rate of immigrant women in the Finnish labor market. Their employment rate is much lower than the employment rates of immigrant men and Finnish people in Finland, as well as immigrant women in other Nordic countries. Some reports explain this phenomenon mainly with the higher financial benefits that immigrants can get in Finland in comparison to many other countries. This thesis aims to offer a different perspective on this situation by focusing on the role of cultural differences during the job searching, application, and selection phase, which represents the entrance path to the labor market. The goal is to show, through the example of the perspective of German immigrant women in Finland, whether cultural differences are perceived as barriers or opportunities in this phase, and how they might influence the participation of German immigrant women in the Finnish labor market. Another aim is to make suggestions on how potential barriers could be transformed into opportunities. This thesis first gives an overview of the situation of immigrants in the Finnish labor market and then compares the German and the Finnish culture. Hofstede’s dimensions and Lewis’ model build the theoretical framework for the cultural comparison. To identify relevant differences and their perception as barriers or opportunities, four semi-structural interviews as well as secondary data have been analyzed with the thematic analysis method. The main result of this study is that cultural differences between the German and Finnish culture partly represent barriers and partly opportunities for German immigrant women in Finland who try to get a job according to their educational background and work experience. The research also shows that there is no one-fits-all solution for a good integration of German immigrant women into the Finnish labor market. It is instead important to take the individual background, needs and plans into consideration. In the end of the thesis, a guide for German immigrant women on how to find work in Finland sums up the most relevant findings.