The drivers of deskilling: Comparing highly skilled Ukrainian refugee women in Austria and Poland

Abstract The arrival of Ukrainian refugees in the European Union (EU) has reignited debates about the accessibility of labour markets, deskilling and underemployment. The Ukrainian case is especially significant because most refugees are highly skilled women and the implementation of the EU's temporary protection directive has provided them with immediate access to the EU's labour market. This paper examines the labour market access and deskilling of highly skilled Ukrainian women in the European Union. We compare two regions, Opole Voivodeship (Poland) and Upper Austria. Utilising a quantitative survey, we offer a comparative exploration of the drivers behind deskilling. This paper contributes to the growing literature on labour market access for female refugees, corroborating existing literature on ‘double’ and ‘triple disadvantage’ scenarios by highlighting deskilling processes and underemployment mechanisms in the context of instant labour market access. Moreover, it compares the diverse drivers of deskilling, ‘gender blindness’ in policy responses and the influence policymaking has on the allocation of migrant and refugee labour into sectors with shortages.