Exploring the dynamics of social capital in the integration of Central and Eastern European women moving to Lincolnshire
Mahdieh Zeinali & Agnieszka Rydzik
Lincoln International Business School
Gary Bosworth
School of Geography
University of Lincoln
Brayford Pool, Lincoln LN6 7TS
United Kingdom
An earlier version of this paper was presented at the conference: “Contemporary Migration in a Changing World: New Perspectives and Challenges”Belgrade, September 2016
Abstract
Thisstudy explores the different experiences of integration among Polish and Latvian female migrants living in Lincolnshire, a rural county in England.Specifically, itcontrasts the ways in which engagement with the local business community (through entrepreneurship) and engagement though community spaces (in this case schools) offer different routes to integration through social capital creation.New insights can inform targeted support for female migrants and provide a deeper understanding of the complex cultural factors that influence both entrepreneurial and social networks.
Keywords: Migration; rural development; social capital; community cohesion; entrepreneurs; women
Introduction
The social and economic dimensions of EU migration have been brought into sharp focus by the UK voting to move towards leaving the European Union. Data illustrates that rural areas with high levels of in-migration and areas with predominantly negative attitudes towards immigration were among the strongest advocates for Brexit (BBC 2016; CER 2016). Lincolnshire, in East Midlands region of the UK, received high levels of economic migrants from Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries in the past decade and was among the most Eurosceptic counties. These demographic changes can create implications for employment, education, service provision and community cohesion.
CEE migrant workers provide a rich source of skills but they are often restricted from labour market opportunities on a par with their skills levels and are over-represented in unskilled low-paid jobs. In the rural economy, the prevalence of low paid work for migrant groups makes it harder for migrants to secure work that matches their skills levels (Green et al., 2007). It is hypothesised that such inequalities are/can be exacerbated by limited integration among local communities which is in turn detrimental to future community cohesion in small towns with significant numbers of migrants.Therefore, social capital is used to explore the social integration effects of network relationships emerging from their business and non-business activities. Social capital can develop through diverse relationships in diverse settings, including schools (Coleman, 1990) and small business arenas (e.g. Atterton, 2007).
Although there is a growing body of research into migrant workers experiences, little attention has been paid to how migrant women access and sustain social networks over time in the ‘host’ society. Additionally, research into CEE migration is predominantly urban-centric even though many migrants settle in rural areas. Focusing on female migrants from Poland and Latvia that have settled in Lincolnshire, the specific aims of the paper are as follows: (1) to explore the ways in which migrant mothers and entrepreneursin rural Lincolnshire develop social networks; (2) to consider the roles that community spaces (e.g. schools, businesses) play in network formation;and (3) to assess the main barriers that hinder access to networks outside of kinship and co-ethnic groups.
Social capital and networks
We define social capital as thesocial networks and the associated norms of reciprocity and trustworthiness. This immediately raises the question of how migrants’ “norms” compare to those of a local indigenous population and how the two groups can develop trusting and reciprocal relations. Social networks are considered key in facilitating community formation. For instrumental support (e.g. childcare), very close associates from within a family or local neighbourhood are most valued. These rely on “bonding” social capital characterised by deep trust and are therefore less likely to straddle cultural boundaries. By contrast, informational support (e.g. which is the best school in the area) is more likely to be provided by people outside of one’s intimate social circle as “bridging” social capital is needed to bring new knowledge into a network.
Considering these two dimensions of networking behaviour, the potential for different migrants to build different relationships becomes apparent. Migrants’ networks are not static but change over time, which may indicate that early “bridging” relationships can develop through increasingly frequent interactions that build mutual trust. These networks are also highly localised, quickly formed, relatively transient, and easily disbanded, reflecting the precarity of migrants within their new communities.
Methods
Between September 2015 and August 2016, 20 semi-structured interviews were conducted with Polish and Latvian women. A sample of mothers – all women with children school age – and entrepreneurs was chosen to allow different network spaces to be analysed. The participants were between 28 and 42 years old, and had been living in the UK between 5 and 15 years. The names of respondents have been changed to protect their anonymity.Semi-structured interview guides were developed beginning with a narrative of how the interviewee came to be in Lincolnshire and then exploring key themes of work and skills, family and friends, social life and perceptions of cultural differences. Findings were analysed thematically, with the principal focus on the ways in which social networks were formed (outside kinship and co-ethnic groups) and the recognition of benefits as well as challenges that these relationships provided.
Findings
The findings indicate that mothers and entrepreneurs approached, developed and strengthened their networks differently and that the reasons for developing these networks were different.
For mothers, schools were seen to offer some opportunities for meaningful social interactions that crossed cultural boundaries, althoughthis was often was more limited for parents with longer working hours. In particular, after-school and voluntary activities appeared to foster better relationships – withmore interaction and friendship building outside of co-ethnic groups – compared to the formal aspects of parent activities connected to schools. As Justyna explained, ‘With these people I met for football, I am getting quite close with them, so whenever I need help I can always ring them and ask and they do not mind doing something for me’. The traditional “school gate” conversations were not recognised by female migrant as being so valuable for developing new network relations, perhaps because the cultural difference requires a more involved space for participants to grow acquainted. These constituted more transient spaces of interaction where time was limited and the small talk or quick hello was quite arbitrary and isolated. For example, Magda commented ‘I do not see many parents… when I finish work I just want to pick her up, come home, cook dinner and have a rest. I do talk to people if they are there but it is like a 5 minute talk and then everyone just goes home’.
The distinction between a school setting and a business setting was summed up by Ola: ‘In my business, people know me with what I am doing, but at school they know me just by my nationality’. This highlights the fact that in very brief interactions, the participants in the study felt that they were unable to get beyond being perceived as the “Other”, beyond the stereotyped image of a migrantothers held of them. However, if an after-school or volunteering activity was involved, parents of different nationalities or cultural backgrounds had a common identity or at least their children shared a common interest, and this created more inclusive spaces for social capital strengthening across co-ethnic groups. Similarly, a strong business identity can shift the first impressions away from ones of “otherness” linked to nationality. A successful entrepreneur commented that she saw herself as a businesswoman and not a migrant and she was quick to correct anyone who focused on her nationality first.
Perhaps resulting from the different perceptions felt by female migrants in the different settings, they tended to respond differently too. At the school gate, mothers sought to uphold expectations with more superficial conversations that they hoped would fit into the cultural norms. Some mothers commented on the difficulty of building trust due to language barriers,perceived stereotyped assumptions made about migrants and increased feelings of insecurity and anxiety surrounding the EU membership referendum. Marzena summed it up saying ‘they know nothing about us because we live different they live different and that is a problem’but this did not transfer to the children as she added ‘my son is going to birthday parties but... there is no relation between parents, it is only about the children’. Aneta echoed the feeling that things were different among children saying ‘They are sometimes interested to know how to say things in different language and it is easier for children to make friends even if they are from different countries... It is just adult who make lots of problems with these things’.
Another feature of female migrants’ social networks and interactions with indigenous groups was that they wanted to assert their independence and show that they are managing and contributing positively, with agency and self-reliance, as Justyna asserted: ‘I do not need anyone … I stay strong. I do not need nobody to tell me stuff I can find out myself’. Women interviewed often showed preference for seeking help among closer friends and relatives, more likely from their own nationality group, or through more formal channels, withlimited willingness to expand networks beyond kinship and co-ethnic groups. One mother explained that she helped other Polish parents with paperwork if there were language difficulties.When people received advice, it was welcomed as a sign of social acceptance but to maintain their independence, they valued the Internet is also a key source of information too. As Aneta said, ‘even if you hear something from other parents you can always go to Internet and check if they are saying the right thing or not’.
For entrepreneurs, there were often more specific reasons for building business networks. Key trading relationships or information channels were more likely to be purposefully targeted as compared to the social context of the school where parents’, and especially the children’s integration was more important that the actual topics of conversation. Increasingly, the business literature on embeddedness and social capital, particularly, in more peripheral and rural areas, suggests that entrepreneurs can benefit from informal social networks (Atterton, 2007). One can also imagine that female migrants will continue to strengthen their personal identities through engagement in entrepreneurial activities. This could include very small scale and social entrepreneurship too as with Joanna who felt that her school does very little to help other nationalities so she had to make an extra effort to volunteer and get involved: ‘When they had a school disco I was working with other mums selling drinks and snacks... I am trying to be part of it really because it helps my daughter’. She added, ‘They do not come up with any initiatives like that... I just did it myself’.
In conclusion, the emerging findings suggest that business women proactively create opportunities for networking as social networks are often key to their business and an integral part of their activity. Conversely, mothers are more reactive in informal social settings, trying to “fit in” to support their children but this is often based on weak ties. On the whole, the schools played a rather limited role in actively bringing parents together and promoting cross-cultural communication. Whilst this was encouraged with children, parents’ involvement was limited, leaving them with an over-reliance on kinship support and local co-ethnic networks.
References
Atterton, J. (2007) The ‘Strength of Weak Ties’: Social Networking by Business Owners in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. Sociologia Ruralis47(3), pp228-245
BBC (2016)
Centre for European Reform (2016)
Coleman, J.S. (1990) Foundations of Social Theory. Harvard University Press
Green, A., Jones, P., Owen, D. and White, R. (2007) Labour Supply Challenge in Rural Areas in the UK: The Role of Non-UK Migrants in the Labour Market and Rural Development. UK: Institute for Employment Research, University of Warwick.
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