Diversity and Inclusion in the Swedish Labor Market : A Qualitative Study on Foreign-born Women's Experiences of Discrimination in Work Life

The aim of the study was to investigate the experiences from the Swedish labor marketamong some foreign-born women. To answer the purpose, the following questions wereformulated:- Has it been easy or difficult for the foreign-born women to find work in Sweden?- How have the foreign-born women been treated by employers and work colleagues in theworkplace?- How and for what reason do the foreign-born women feel that they have been discriminatedagainst in a working life context? What experiences do they have?Based on a qualitative research method, five interviews were conducted with foreign-bornwomen who have been, and are, active in Swedish working life. The study showed that all ofthe participating women have felt that they have been discriminated against in the Swedishlabor market. In various ways, they have perceived that they have been disadvantaged andthereby not given the same conditions as domestically born when they have applied for workor the same opportunities for permanent employment, despite education. The women havefelt that they have been discriminated against because of their foreign background and forcultural and religious reasons. They have also been treated badly by their work colleagueswho have not allowed them to become part of the working community, and have gotten thefeeling that their foreign background has been the reason for the exclusion. The womenexperience that reasons for discrimination have, for example, been their foreign name, thatthey wear a veil, that they do not speak perfect Swedish and they have been met withprejudice, ignorance and the feeling that they have been opted out and excluded from thelabor market, both by employers and colleagues. The women have felt bullied, violated andquestioned in their working life.Ne