Employment Status of Immigrant Afghan Women Who Working in Paid Work at Home: A Qualitative Study

Gender and immigration are two variable related to informal employments, in which women and immigrant tend to this kind of employment more than other groups. The purpose of this study is to survey the employment conditions of immigrant women in paid work at home and the factors that lead them to this type of employment .This qualitative study conducted by semi-structural interview and convenience sampling. Participants were 16 Afghan immigrant women in Tehran who work in “paid work at home”. After declaring the informed consent, a Semi-structured interview was conducted with each woman. Data were converted to texts, encoded, and classified into subcategories and then main categories. This study’s findings show that paid work at home is an unstable, fragmented, simple, full time with low wages that attracts poor immigrant women. This kind of work is in line with culture which imposes staying women at home and because of flexibility it can satisfy women. As a result, Paid work at home is a choice based on the socioeconomic status of immigrant women, which keeps them in an inferior position and exposes them to exploitation.