Much More than (Just) a Spouse: Toward the Inclusion of Expat Spouses on the Labour Market

In 2024, the Dutch government decided to invest € 2,5 billion euro in the Brainport region in Eindhoven to strengthen the business climate. The ‘knowledge migrants’ this region attracts often come with family members who also need to build a life in the Netherlands. The Adviesraad Migratie (2025) showed that a large proportion of family migrants from outside the EU/EFTA is women. Unfortunately, 21% of the family migrants from outside the EU/EFTA is classified as ‘labour market slack’. If we care about generating a favourable business climate, we also need to generate favourable and inclusive conditions for the family members who arrive here together with the knowledge workers in question.

This project therefore aims to: (1) map which barriers expat spouses in the Brainport Region face in finding sustainable employment and compare this to Ukrainian female refugees who also have the right to work; and (2) develop concrete empowerment strategies which can be employed by the women themselves as well as (potential) employers. Ultimately, the ambition is that these women will no longer be (merely) defined as the spouse of…, but (also) in virtue of their own strengths and contributions to society. For this, meaningful inclusion in the labour market is necessary.

To achieve these aims, the project builds on the combined expertise from philosophy, HRM, and a societal partner specialised in inclusive work. Eventually, we will set-up a programme that facilitates a sustainable match between expat spouses and (potential) employers.

Funding comes from the Academic Collaborative Center for an Inclusive Labor Market (budget: 28.000 euro)