Gender and refugee integration: a quantitative analysis of integration and social policy outcomes

The population of refugees in the UK is expanding and will expand further given the UK Government’s response to the European refugee crisis. This paper breaks new ground by undertaking a gender analysis of integration outcomes across a range of areas, namely social networks, language proficiency, health, education and employment, and housing, that are highly relevant for social policy. Using the UK’s only longitudinal survey data on refugees, we conduct secondary data analysis to examine the factors associated with integration outcomes. We find significant gender differences in access to formal social networks, language, self-reported health, ability to budget for household expenses and access to quality housing with women generally faring worse than men and some inequalities enduring or intensifying over time. We call for the recording of refugee outcomes in institutional monitoring data to enable inequalities to be identified and addressed. The findings also enable the identification of social policy areas in which a gender sensitive approach might be necessary.