Statistics made available by the Swedish Migration Agency (SMA) make it possible to follow first-decision outcomes in asylum cases concerning unaccompanied children (types of residence permits granted, percentage of rejections etc.). Yet, we know little about differences in asylum decision outcomes for unaccompanied children coming to Sweden. Therefore, we wanted to find out how gender, country of origin, and asylum reports are associated with the likelihood of being granted residency.
Asylum decisions concerning unaccompanied children were first coded inductively. These codes were later merged into larger categories that were analyzed quantitatively by logistic regression analysis. The data sample consisted of one calendar year of asylum decisions issued by the SMA. Results show that fewer girls than boys were granted asylum, and in fact, girls have an overall lower prospect of being granted residency. Results also display statistically significant gender differences in reported reasons for seeking asylum.
This thesis is about medical doctors with immigrant backgrounds who work in Sweden. Based on 15 qualitative interviews with medical doctors with immigrant backgrounds, this thesis explores the medical doctors’ feeling of professional belonging and boundary work. This thesis focuses mainly on the doctors’ experiences of being part of the Swedish medical profession while, at the same time, being regarded as ‘different’ from their Swedish medical counterparts. It starts off with the idea that medical doctors with immigrant backgrounds may have, or could be regarded as having, contradictory social positions. By virtue of being part of the Swedish medical profession, they belong to one of the most privileged groups in Swedish society. However, due to their immigrant background these doctors do not necessarily occupy a privileged position either within their profession or in society in general. This thesis shows that doctors with immigrant backgrounds feel that they are not perceived as full-fledged doctors, which seem related to how they are somewhat ‘othered'. The results show that these doctors cope with being seen as different from doctor with non-immigrant backgrounds, by using the notion of ‘migranthood’ as a resource in negotiations in everyday work life but they also do what they can to overcome the boundaries of ‘Swedishness’. Belonging should therefore be seen as having a formal and an informal side, as getting a Swedish license does not automatically mean that you feel belonging to, in this case, the Swedish medical profession. This seems to put doctors with immigrant backgrounds in a somewhat outsider within position, which seems having to do with boundaries between who is included in the ‘us’ and in the ‘them’. Lastly, these findings indicate that sociologists need to expand the understanding of professional groups to also include boundary work within these groups. In order to do so, this thesis argues that sociological theory on professional groups could be combined with sociological theory about social positions as that is one way to understand the outsider-within position that these doctors (and presumably other skilled migrants) have to cope with.
The difficulties immigrant doctors encounter can be considered as an impediment to accessing skilful work, and are thus an indication of ethnic bias. Therefore the term “devaluation of human capital” is here used to analyze one case where schooling and/or licensure from other countries are less recognized. This study focuses on the case of immigrant doctors in Sweden and their difficulties in achieving similar status positions there as their Swedish counterparts. The study is based on a qualitative study of the Swedish medical journal over time and the aim was to broaden the understanding about how the skills of immigrant doctors are described in this context. Results show that, immigrant doctors in Sweden are constructed as assets when their language-skills are helpful in relation with immigrant patients. In this case the human capital of immigrant doctors is not devaluated, but often they are also considered as a threat to the ‘trustworthiness’ of the profession of doctors. Cultural authorization is a concept presented in this article that can help describing a profession’s way of re-evaluating immigrant professionals.