Navigating Employment Challenges : An Autoethnographic Exploration of Immigrant Women in Finland’s Construction Industry
Raj, Mamata (2025)
2025
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-202503114057
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-202503114057
Tiivistelmä
This thesis explores systemic barriers faced by immigrant women in Finland's construction sector, with the objective of fostering equity, inclusion, and professional integration. The study’s purpose is to design a solution that addresses language barriers, discriminatory hiring practices, and limited access to mentorship and training opportunities. The beneficiaries include immigrant women, inclusive employers, and policymakers striving to enhance workforce diversity.
The development task involved creating the EmpowerHer App, a digital platform offering tools like job-matching (JobTinder), AI-driven mentorship, and integrated vocational and language training modules. These features are designed to empower immigrant women and provide inclusive employers with access to a diverse talent pool.
The research is grounded in the Double Diamond Framework and service design methodologies, supported by concepts from gender studies, immigrant workforce integration, and user-centered design. Methods included qualitative approaches such as stakeholder interviews, autoethnography, and iterative prototyping. Tools like empathy mapping, customer journey maps, and the Mission Model Canvas were employed to identify pain points and validate solutions.
Key findings highlight the app's potential to address workforce integration challenges while promoting diversity and meeting the construction sector's labor needs. The study recommends adopting blind recruitment practices, supporting government-funded training programs, and fostering cross-sector collaborations to scale impact.
The thesis contributes to academic discourse on workforce inclusivity and provides actionable insights for policymakers, NGOs, and employers to drive systemic change in labor markets.
The development task involved creating the EmpowerHer App, a digital platform offering tools like job-matching (JobTinder), AI-driven mentorship, and integrated vocational and language training modules. These features are designed to empower immigrant women and provide inclusive employers with access to a diverse talent pool.
The research is grounded in the Double Diamond Framework and service design methodologies, supported by concepts from gender studies, immigrant workforce integration, and user-centered design. Methods included qualitative approaches such as stakeholder interviews, autoethnography, and iterative prototyping. Tools like empathy mapping, customer journey maps, and the Mission Model Canvas were employed to identify pain points and validate solutions.
Key findings highlight the app's potential to address workforce integration challenges while promoting diversity and meeting the construction sector's labor needs. The study recommends adopting blind recruitment practices, supporting government-funded training programs, and fostering cross-sector collaborations to scale impact.
The thesis contributes to academic discourse on workforce inclusivity and provides actionable insights for policymakers, NGOs, and employers to drive systemic change in labor markets.