Refugees’ vulnerability towards precarious work: An intersectionality perspective

Despite the central role of employment for integration, refugees are particularly vulnerable to under- and unemployment, and are more likely to find themselves in precarious working conditions compared to host country residents. Frequently discussed reasons for this are for example legal restrictions, health issues, and non-recognition of qualifications. We draw on the concept of intersectionality and the psychology of working theory and use data that we have collected with women and men refugees in Turkey and in The Netherlands. We use narrative accounts of four refugees to show how refugees’ gender relates to their vulnerability towards precarious work and how this relationship is further complicated by refugees’ economic status in their home country as well as by the societal expectations and protection in the host environment. By discussing these relationships and their relevance in the larger context of economic and societal upheaval, we suggest several avenues for future researc