A salutogenic approach to aspects facilitating female immigrants' establishment in working life: an integrative literature review

Abstract

Background: Studies show that female immigrants tend to struggle to establish themselves in the working life in a new society. Since previous research has primarily focused on barriers to integration, there is a need for more studies that encompass aspects that make integration toward employment possible for women. Purpose: This integrative literature review aimed to explore peer-reviewed research on facilitating aspects for immigrant women in their process of integrating into working life. Methods: An integrative literature review yielded 15 peer-reviewed articles published between 2010 and 2024. Results: The review revealed two categories of facilitators; the power of agency and social networks as prominent patterns in the reviewed articles. The agency appeared as an active endeavour to learn culture and language, supported by social networks from family, friends, and workplaces. However, there seems to be an imbalance between the discourse of integration as a two-way process and the idea of assimilating to dominant ideas of workplaces and society. Discussion: The authors discuss the implications of these findings concerning the different meanings of integration, inclusion, assimilation, and health.