Abstract
This article assessed job market perceptions of African migrant women in South Africa as an initial and long-term coping and adaptation mechanism using a survey data, Kendall’s coefficient of concordance and Pearson’s chi-square. A questionnaire was used to collect data on demographic, socio-economic characteristics and socio-economic coping and adaptation mechanisms. Family, entrepreneurial, employment and humanitarian support was identified as coping mechanisms using the Sustainable Livelihood Framework. The results found that migrant women perceived the job market as conducive to employment. Strict labour polices in South Africa, however, forced migrant women to create jobs and to take any available job by deskilling their qualifications. The demographics, socio-economic characteristics and initial and long-term survival mechanisms played significant roles in the coping and adaptation mechanisms. The study recommends that the government clarify policies on business ownership of migrants in order to avoid conflicts. This could be done by providing more opportunities through good and relevant education systems and proactively learning from other countries who have managed to create valuable human capital bases.
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Notes
This paper is part of the PhD thesis by Ncube (2017). The socio-economic coping and adaption mechanisms employed by African migrant women in South Africa, PhD thesis, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein.
The South represents countries in Africa, Latin America, parts of Asia and the Middle East.
The North represents countries like North America and Canada, Western Europe and developed countries of East Asia.
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Ncube, A., Bahta, Y.T. & Jordaan, A.J. Job Market Perceptions of African Migrant Women in South Africa as an Initial and Long-Term Coping and Adaptation Mechanism. Int. Migration & Integration 21, 1165–1185 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12134-019-00704-w
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12134-019-00704-w