How Can We Build a Pro-Migrant Welfare State?
Europeans are very proud of Social Democracy - a welfare state that protects the poorest and most vulnerable. But political support and fiscal space depend upon broad-based economic activity and productivity.
Ageing then poses a real threat - 50% of Italians over 15 are economically inactive. Low female employment is another hazard. Turkey is much younger, but women tend to stay at home. Swedish women, by contrast, overwhelmingly work - full-time. Within the UK, only 37% of British Muslim women work.
As fertility collapses and labour becomes scarce, firms seek more immigrants. If female incomers are economically active and productive, this would be a fiscal gain, making the welfare state more sustainable! Through my research with migrant women worldwide, I’ve seen how employment can open doors, enabling wider friendships, freedom and status.
But we can no longer rely on the usual channels of assimilation. Technological advances are actually creating online enclaves, inhibiting women’s equal place.
