Female Migration in Greece: Integration Process and Citizenship

While immigration in Greece started in the early 1980s, it was only in the early 1990s that significant numbers of economic migrants started arriving and Greece became a new destination country. An additional important feature of the immigration process in Greece is the large proportion of women who migrate alone in search of employment and better conditions of life. With regard to the integration process of migrant women many studies indicate that issues related to citizenship are crucial. In particular the exclusion of women from social goods and their non-active participation in social and political life in the countries of residence are of paramount importance. These issues are key indicators used internationally to measure the degree of social integration of economic migrants. In the contrary, active political participation highlights the level of their integration. In the context of the problematic for the social integration of migrants in new immigration countries a survey on a sample of 600 economic women migrants who had residence and work permit was conducted by EKKE (National Centre for Social Research) in 2010 financed by the European Integration Fund. This paper presents some outcomes of the above survey related to the integration process of women migrants living legally in our country . We will present issues regarding the interest of immigrant women in political life, and their participation in collective political activities and organizational schemes.