Browsing by Subject "Culture"

This study aims to investigate the integration experiences of African immigrant women in Finland. The women who have partaken in this study have either passed through Finland’s official integration system, or have integrated through other means, namely higher education or work. In contemporary times, integration has become an irreplaceable part of the foundation of modern society. Immigration has increased drastically, particularly in ethnically homogenous countries, such as Finland. However, the migration movements of African women remain underrepresented, despite them making up a notable amount of the African migration flows. African migration has been arguably male dominated; however, there has been an increased feminization of immigrant flows for a little more than the past decade from the African continent, particularly sub-Saharan Africa. This study aims to aid in filling in this gap in research and analyses the shared experiences of a small group of African women in Finland. Using the Social Identity Theory and Self-Categorization Theory by Tajfel and Turner, we observe the way these women may categorize themselves within their new host culture, and how this may affect their integration experience. Berry’s Acculturation Model is applied due to the four acculturation strategies he proposes, which can be found within the way the women that partake in this study interpret and apply integration. The Interactive Acculturation Model by Bourhis et al., builds upon this and considers intercultural encounters. The primary research question is: “How do African immigrant women interpret their integration experience in Finland?” The models are used to facilitate the understanding of their interpretations. This study employs two focus groups and two interviews, both of which were used to allow for in-depth retellings and stories. Using reflexive thematic analysis, the data that emerged was analysed and interpreted. The primary themes that emerged from this data are language, cultural maintenance and discrimination, all of which served as core components for the women sharing their experiences concerning integration. The themes of language and cultural maintenance were consistent with previous research and published information concerning the experiences of immigrants in Finland; however, the last theme serves as a bit of an outlier, specifically concerning the perpetrators of discrimination. Overall, results indicated that Finland remains structurally discriminatory and Finnish language oriented. The Finnish labour force, despite needing immigrant workers, remains difficult for immigrants to navigate and find a position within. Social relationships between immigrants and the Finnish remains tricky, with certain women indicating that the drastic differences in culture meant they do not have Finnish friends, solely acquaintances. Maintaining one’s birth culture is important for all; adopting new cultural values from the host society remains difficult for some. Using reflexive thematic analysis, the social identity theory and the acculturation models, this study can understand the position of African immigrant women in Finnish society. Their shared experiences are analysed. These experiences contribute to the aim of the study, which is to provide a voice to an underrepresented group of migrants in Finland.