How INY Helps Immigrant Stay-at-Home Mothers Integrate into Finnish Society?
Abdulle Omar, Maryan (2025)
2025
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2025111628158
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2025111628158
Tiivistelmä
Immigration to Finland has rapidly increased in recent years, making the integration of immigrants an increasingly important priority. Within immigrant families, mothers, particularly those who are stay-at-home parents, often stand at the heart of their families’ adaptation and integration experiences. As both caregivers and cultural mediators, they navigate the balance of maintaining their cultural heritage while adapting to their new host society. This group often encounters unique challenges, including limited opportunities for language learning, social isolation, and restricted participation in labour market. Historically, stay-at-home mothers may have even lost their eligibility for an integration plan, but due to the new integration law that came into effect in January 2025, special attention has been brought upon empowering immigrant women and supporting the integration of immigrant families.
The purpose of this thesis was to investigate how Irakin Naisten Yhdistys Ry (INY) supports immigrant stay-at-home mothers in their integration journey into Finnish society. The research focuses on the intersections of culture, identity, and social systems, bringing attention on specific challenges and opportunities faced by this often-overlooked group. The study was rooted in two theoretical backgrounds: acculturation, which explores the cultural and psychological changes that occur when individuals engage with a new cultural environment, and intersectionality, which considers how overlapping social identities, such as gender, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status, can shape individual experiences. Specifically, this study applies John Berry’s acculturation theory, emphasizing his integration strategy, where individuals strive to maintain their original cultural identity while adapting to the dominant culture.
This research was conducted with qualitative approach. The data collection involved semi-structured interviews with four INY’s immigrant stay-at-home mother clients. Following transcription of these interviews and the data was then thematically analysed.
The study’s findings revealed that integration is not a linear process, instead it is shaped by combination of individual experiences, structural factors, and intersecting social identities - such as gender, ethnicity, legal status, or parental role. Language learning emerged as both a practical necessity for integration and a meaningful representation of it. All four women actively engaged in studying Finnish, and the language courses provided by INY, which crucially included childcare, played a significant role in lowering language barriers and enabling their participation. INY’s role was consistently described as a comprehensive and empathetic support, offering practical help, educational opportunities, social connections, and an empowering learning environment. The organizational childcare services were invaluable for stay-at-home mothers, whose opportunities for activities outside the home are often limited.
While INY was a big part of creating social connections within the immigrant community, a challenge for many participants was social isolation and limited interaction with native Finns. The experience of motherhood in Finland was perceived differently than in their home countries: while Finland offered more freedom and better services, the lack of traditional, extended-family-based support networks was felt as a loss. All participants aimed to preserve their cultural identity while adapting into Finnish way of life, which emphasizes Berry’s integration strategy and biculturalism. However, some participants experienced racism and structural barriers and felt that they were not fully seen as Finns due to their racial identity or lack of residence permit.
This study deepens our understanding of the integration experiences of immigrant stay-at-home mothers in Finland. It emphasizes the importance of targeted support services, such as those provided by INY, in improving their quality of life and promoting their active participation in Finnish society.
Keywords: Immigrant mothers, stay-at-home-mothers, integration, Irakin Naisten Yhdistys (INY), acculturation, intersectionality, Finland.
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The originality of this thesis has been checked using Turnitin Originality Check service.
The purpose of this thesis was to investigate how Irakin Naisten Yhdistys Ry (INY) supports immigrant stay-at-home mothers in their integration journey into Finnish society. The research focuses on the intersections of culture, identity, and social systems, bringing attention on specific challenges and opportunities faced by this often-overlooked group. The study was rooted in two theoretical backgrounds: acculturation, which explores the cultural and psychological changes that occur when individuals engage with a new cultural environment, and intersectionality, which considers how overlapping social identities, such as gender, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status, can shape individual experiences. Specifically, this study applies John Berry’s acculturation theory, emphasizing his integration strategy, where individuals strive to maintain their original cultural identity while adapting to the dominant culture.
This research was conducted with qualitative approach. The data collection involved semi-structured interviews with four INY’s immigrant stay-at-home mother clients. Following transcription of these interviews and the data was then thematically analysed.
The study’s findings revealed that integration is not a linear process, instead it is shaped by combination of individual experiences, structural factors, and intersecting social identities - such as gender, ethnicity, legal status, or parental role. Language learning emerged as both a practical necessity for integration and a meaningful representation of it. All four women actively engaged in studying Finnish, and the language courses provided by INY, which crucially included childcare, played a significant role in lowering language barriers and enabling their participation. INY’s role was consistently described as a comprehensive and empathetic support, offering practical help, educational opportunities, social connections, and an empowering learning environment. The organizational childcare services were invaluable for stay-at-home mothers, whose opportunities for activities outside the home are often limited.
While INY was a big part of creating social connections within the immigrant community, a challenge for many participants was social isolation and limited interaction with native Finns. The experience of motherhood in Finland was perceived differently than in their home countries: while Finland offered more freedom and better services, the lack of traditional, extended-family-based support networks was felt as a loss. All participants aimed to preserve their cultural identity while adapting into Finnish way of life, which emphasizes Berry’s integration strategy and biculturalism. However, some participants experienced racism and structural barriers and felt that they were not fully seen as Finns due to their racial identity or lack of residence permit.
This study deepens our understanding of the integration experiences of immigrant stay-at-home mothers in Finland. It emphasizes the importance of targeted support services, such as those provided by INY, in improving their quality of life and promoting their active participation in Finnish society.
Keywords: Immigrant mothers, stay-at-home-mothers, integration, Irakin Naisten Yhdistys (INY), acculturation, intersectionality, Finland.
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The originality of this thesis has been checked using Turnitin Originality Check service.