The overall aim of the WOW-E project was to increase low-skilled migrant women’s capabilities and opportunities to access education and the labor market. The objective was to assess and recognize the skills of low-skilled migrant women (especially non-formal and informal skills), provide gender and culturally sensitive career counseling, and offer capacity building. The project aimed to harness these skills in women’s upskilling pathways towards education and work life. While tackling the challenges migrant women face in labor integration, the objective was also to promote an inclusive labor market environment. The WOW-E project addressed the attitudes and existing employment and recruitment practices of employers. In close collaboration with employers, it developed new and innovative solutions, methods, and practices to introduce and integrate low-skilled migrant women into the workforce.
The participating countries recognized shared common challenges that low-skilled migrant women face in accessing education and the labor market. Low-skilled migrant women are more often outside of the workforce or in precarious jobs compared to migrant men and host country nationals. In all project countries, the participation of low-skilled migrant women in education and working life is low, leading to social exclusion. The key obstacles the low-skilled migran women face include low language skills, lower levels of formal education and work experience, insufficient skills recognition and profiling processes, and structural barriers like cultural background and gender. These factors result in limited participation in everyday life beyond family, difficulties in combining work and family life, and a lack of social networks. The WOW-e project aimed to tackle these key obstacles faced by low-skilled migrant women in participating countries to accelerate their pathways in education and employment. The WOW-e project developed a comprehensive Framework for an Employment and Education Path for Migrant Women, including practical tools, experiences, and solutions.