A Consensual Qualitative Research on Decent Work of Migrant Women with Children

The study explored the characteristics of “good work” as perceived by migrant women with young children, and the challenges and resources in their work experiences. In-depth interviews were conducted with 18 migrant women with at least three years of work experience, and the interviews were analyzed using consensual qualitative research methods. The domains and categories that emerged from the analysis were reviewed by two external experts and revised, resulting in five domains and 23 categories. The results of the study revealed seven categories of decent work conditions perceived by migrant women: a work schedule that allows them to combine work and childcare, reasonable compensation, job security, welfare, an emotionally safe environment, moderate work intensity, and work that matches their level of Korean. In terms of migrant women's work experience, four domains and 16 categories were identified: the challenges of intersectionality of minority identities, psychological adaptive resources in work experience, social resources in work experience, and growth through working. The challenges of intersectionality of minority identities domain included language differences, work-family conflict, marginalization due to labeling as a migrant women, acculturation stress within the family, inaccessible institutional resources, and economic constraints. Psychological adaptive resources in the work experience domain included career adaptability, motivation, emotional regulation, and acculturation efforts. The social resources of the work experience domain included support from family and friends, support at work, support from organizations, and support from public policy. Finally, the categories of finding a better job and belonging were identified in the growth through the working domain. These findings are expected to contribute to the empirical understanding of decent work among migrant women and provide a basis for policy proposals to promote decent work.