Former Soviet Union Migration to Italy: Characteristics and Determinants of Women Condition in the Italian Labour Market

Adult women from former Soviet Union countries, play an increasingly central role in Italian labour market. They are occupied mainly in home care services and they support Italian elderly and vulnerable population. However, there is a lack of studies on migrants from these countries to Italy and on their labour market position, especially in the case of quantitative approaches. This chapter explores whether there are specific migratory models of former Soviet Union women citizens. The determinants of being employed, overeducated and employed in care services are deepened through a multidimensional analysis using the Heckman two-step procedure. Results based on the quarterly Labour Force Survey conducted in Italy by Italian national statistical institute (ISTAT), indicate that they present typical demographic characteristics and migratory strategies, although some differences emerge within specific nationalities. Former Soviet Union citizens are mostly women aged 40 years and over, often they experienced the end of a previous union and one out of four have graduated from university. Overall, while their occupational status is higher than for other nationalities, our results show their high risks of becoming “trapped” in over-educated and sectorial employment