Hidden Communities Of Practice : An Exploratory Case Study on the Integration of Immigrant Women in Malmö

Sammanfattning: Integration of immigrants has become a major focus of the EU policy agenda in recent years with Sweden being one of the first EU countries to address the need for immigrant integration. However, in recent times integration outcomes in Sweden have become unfavourable. Malmö Sweden has a unique context of immigrant integration being Sweden’s third largest city and having the highest percentage of immigrants within Sweden. The city transitioned from being an “industrial” city to a “professional” city in the 1970’s with a large percentage of jobs requiring a college degree. This job gap for workers with “limited skills” led to an employment shortage for immigrants, with a disproportionate impact on women.  This study explores how social sector organizations in Malmö are fostering learning and knowledge sharing through communities of practice (CoP) among immigrant women in Malmö with limited skills in order to integrate into the Swedish system and reach economic & social integration. The study covered four social sector organizations’ program facilitators and participants that participate in communities of practice programs. The study’s primary source of data collection was Semi-structured interviews conducted at four social sector organizations that work with integrating immigrant women in Malmö, Sweden and analyzed through thematic analysis. The learning programs were not publicized as communities of programs. When examined, learning programs at the four social organizations followed the classification of CoPs based on the individual learning program’s domain, community, and practice. Through the analysis of the interviews, the learning programs at the four organizations were uncovered to be “hidden” communities of practice. The study also found a unique municipal-non-profit partnership that existed in every learning program studied, allowing more resources and opportunities to the women within the CoP for better integration. Each woman in the CoP had a Shared Goal or Joint Enterprise of socially, culturally, and economically integrating into Sweden. The "safe space" and average age attracted by the program created mutual engagement or collaboration through relationship building. The shared native language and Swedish language between the women became communal tools or their “shared repertoire” that the women developed and used together to improve their Swedish as well as their professional skills These communal tools enhance the immigrant women’s ability to learn and open opportunities needed to integrate into Sweden such as employment or further education.