IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jscscx/v12y2023i2p110-d1074171.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

“ Look at Me, but Better ”: The Experience of Young NEET Migrant Women between Vulnerability and Stifled Ambitions

Author

Listed:
  • Laura Zanfrini

    (Department of Sociology, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, L.go Gemelli 1, 20123 Milano, Italy
    Centro di Ricerca WWELL, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, L.go Gemelli 1, 20123 Milano, Italy)

  • Cristina Giuliani

    (Department of Psychology, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, L.go Gemelli 1, 20123 Milano, Italy)

Abstract

The experience and the condition of the vulnerability of young immigrant women with NEET status are not acknowledged in both research and social policy. Within the extreme variety gathered under the term NEET, this present article aims at exploring the experience of a group of young non-EU migrant women aged between 18 and 31 living in Italy, who at the time of their participation in this study, were not engaged in education, employment, or training. Nineteen semi-structured interviews have been collected involving young women who migrated from Bangladesh, Egypt, India, Morocco, Pakistan, and Tunisia, in most cases through family reunification. Thematic analysis carried out on interview transcripts highlights the complexity and richness of the stories and experiences narrated by participants, composing a heterogeneous group marked by different levels of vulnerability and resilience capabilities, language skills, and involvement in the goal of finding a job. The perception of vulnerability that emerges from the women interviewed refers mainly to the relational dimension of life, which appears to be characterized by loneliness, a sense of isolation, and feelings of extraneousness (not belonging) with respect to an external context. Implications for policies aimed at this specific group of foreign women are discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Laura Zanfrini & Cristina Giuliani, 2023. "“ Look at Me, but Better ”: The Experience of Young NEET Migrant Women between Vulnerability and Stifled Ambitions," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-27, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jscscx:v:12:y:2023:i:2:p:110-:d:1074171
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/12/2/110/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/12/2/110/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Floro Ernesto Caroleo & Antonella Rocca & Paolo Mazzocchi & Claudio Quintano, 2020. "Being NEET in Europe Before and After the Economic Crisis: An Analysis of the Micro and Macro Determinants," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 149(3), pages 991-1024, June.
    2. Monica Accordini & Cristina Giuliani & Marialuisa Gennari, 2018. "Migration as a Challenge to Couple Relationships: The Point of View of Muslim Women," Societies, MDPI, vol. 8(4), pages 1-22, November.
    3. Cristiano Felaco & Anna Parola, 2022. "Subjective Well-Being and Future Orientation of NEETs: Evidence from the Italian Sample of the European Social Survey," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-13, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Aina, Carmen & Brunetti, Irene & Mussida, Chiara & Scicchitano, Sergio, 2021. "Even more discouraged? The NEET generation at the age of COVID-19," GLO Discussion Paper Series 863, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    2. Chiara Mussida & Dario Sciulli, 2023. "Being poor and being NEET in Europe: Are these two sides of the same coin?," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 21(2), pages 463-482, June.
    3. Giovanni Luca & Paolo Mazzocchi & Claudio Quintano & Antonella Rocca, 2020. "Going Behind the High Rates of NEETs in Italy and Spain: The Role of Early School Leavers," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 151(1), pages 345-363, August.
    4. Ruggero Cefalo & Rosario Scandurra & Yuri Kazepov, 2020. "Youth Labor Market Integration in European Regions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-18, May.
    5. Minjong Youn & Chungseo Kang, 2023. "The Role of the Welfare State for NEETs: Exploring the Association Between Public Social Spending and NEET in European Countries," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(3), pages 21582440231, September.
    6. Chiara Burlina & Alessandro Crociata & Iacopo Odoardi, 2021. "Can culture save young Italians? The role of cultural capital on Italian NEETs behaviour," Economia Politica: Journal of Analytical and Institutional Economics, Springer;Fondazione Edison, vol. 38(3), pages 943-969, October.
    7. Berigel, Muhammet & Boztaş, Gizem Dilan & Rocca, Antonella & Neagu, Gabriela, 2023. "A model for predicting determinants factors for NEETs rates: Support for the decision-makers," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 87(PB).
    8. Jan F. C. Gellermann & Philipp Fuchs, 2022. "The Role of Autonomy in the Transition to the World of Work," Social Inclusion, Cogitatio Press, vol. 10(2), pages 324-334.
    9. Marja Hult & Minna Kaarakainen & Deborah De Moortel, 2023. "Values, Health and Well-Being of Young Europeans Not in Employment, Education or Training (NEET)," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(6), pages 1-22, March.
    10. Giorgio Liotti, 2022. "Labour Market Regulation and Youth Unemployment in the EU-28," Italian Economic Journal: A Continuation of Rivista Italiana degli Economisti and Giornale degli Economisti, Springer;Società Italiana degli Economisti (Italian Economic Association), vol. 8(1), pages 77-103, March.
    11. Rosario Scandurra & Ruggero Cefalo & Yuri Kazepov, 2021. "Drivers of Youth Labour Market Integration Across European Regions," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 154(3), pages 835-856, April.
    12. Sek-yum Ngai, Steven & Cheung, Chau-Kiu & Mo, Jianhong & Wang, Lin & Ng, Yuen-hang & Wang, Pinqiao, 2023. "Career interventions and social well-being among non-engaged youth: Examining the mediating effects of career competency," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 148(C).
    13. Daniel Gladwell & Gurleen Popli & Aki Tsuchiya, 2022. "Predictors of becoming not in education, employment or training: A dynamic comparison of the direct and indirect determinants," Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series A, Royal Statistical Society, vol. 185(S2), pages 485-514, December.
    14. Birca Alic, 2022. "Could The Neet Group Ensure An Increase In Employment In The Republic Of Moldova?," Annals - Economy Series, Constantin Brancusi University, Faculty of Economics, vol. 4, pages 58-67, August.
    15. Jajati Keshari Parida & Shiba Shankar Pattayat & Sher Verick, 2023. "Why is the size of discouraged labour force increasing in India?," Economic Change and Restructuring, Springer, vol. 56(5), pages 3601-3630, October.
    16. Ligang Liu & Zhiwu Xiao & Yang Deng, 2023. "Who Does “Endowment Insurance†Support: The Elderly or Their Grown-up Children?," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(4), pages 21582440231, November.
    17. Emre Erdogan & Paul Flynn & Bahanur Nasya & Heidi Paabort & Vladislava Lendzhova, 2021. "NEET Rural–Urban Ecosystems: The Role of Urban Social Innovation Diffusion in Supporting Sustainable Rural Pathways to Education, Employment, and Training," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-15, November.
    18. Pastore, Francesco & Quintano, Claudio & Rocca, Antonella, 2021. "Some young people have all the luck! The duration dependence of the school-to-work transition in Europe," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jscscx:v:12:y:2023:i:2:p:110-:d:1074171. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.