The highly industrialized areas of Northern Italy have registered a marked increase in women migrating from Maghreb. This study is part of a university research paper with sociological overtones and does an in-depth examination of the socio-cultural dynamics activated by women from Maghreb with regards to their condition of origin, with particular focus on their progressive openness to the demands of the host society. This survey has given special and privileged importance to the work situation. The interviews have been thorough and have been done through the biographical method, and have targeted women from Morocco and Tunisia residing in the Provinces of Padua, Vicenza and Treviso (in Veneto Region) seeking information on their migration project and on some aspects of their entry into the job market. In the specific Venetian context, their employment opportunities are conditioned by logistical needs and, especially, by family related choices. The women interviewed, for the most part, view maternity as a highly symbolic value which limits their full participation in the production field. In spite of these challenges, however, these women are questioning themselves with regards to these conflicting priorities and are searching for ways to manage their family life and their work commitment. In their diverse experiences and migration projects, the women from Maghreb are quite capable of doing a critical reading and playing a significant cultural mediation role in the context of normative codes - often non negotiable - which define the limits of their identity.

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womens employment Italy migrants experience employment African immigrant immigrant population