Dataset and ethics forms project: Exploring the experiences of highly-skilled refugee women in the UK: An intersectional approach (ESRI)

The project Exploring the experiences of highly-skilled refugee women in the UK: An intersectional approach' (ESRI) brought together researchers in Applied Linguistics and Intercultural Communication and Education, who worked with a grassroots women’s group in the North of England. The overarching aim of the ESRI project was to conduct empirical research on and to raise awareness about the barriers that highly-skilled refugee women i.e. individuals with professional qualifications and/or professional experience, face throughout their displacement trajectories. Although a small body of research has explored the barriers to employment faced by highly-skilled refugees in Europe, little research and policy attention has been given to the specific experiences of women. In their journeys to appropriate qualified (re) employment, refugee women are comparatively more disadvantaged than men as, for example, they are often the main caregivers in their families. Our work addressed this gap, and we provided new insights including the challenges they encounter and the support they need from employers and policy makers. We drew data from nine qualitative interviews and three interactive workshops with over 20 highly-skilled refugee women to examine the barriers that these women face throughout their displacement trajectories. Our work also provided important methodological contributions that will be valuable to other researchers who engaged with vulnerable and displaced groups. 'Good practice' in research with vulnerable multilinguals was a core concern for our team and, beyond the core project findings from the interviews, we have collected a set of resources that we are using to train other researchers who want to work with vulnerable groups.