Research Article

WELFARE REGIMES AS STRUCTURAL MODERATORS: IMMIGRANT WOMEN'S LABOUR MARKET DISADVANTAGE ACROSS THE EU27 AND IMPLICATIONS FOR SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE

Volume: 9 Number: 1 June 30, 2026
TR EN

WELFARE REGIMES AS STRUCTURAL MODERATORS: IMMIGRANT WOMEN'S LABOUR MARKET DISADVANTAGE ACROSS THE EU27 AND IMPLICATIONS FOR SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE

Abstract

When gender and migration status intersect in European labour markets, the resulting employment disadvantage exceeds the sum of its parts. Across the 27 member states of the European Union, immigrant women's mean employment rate stands at 59.6%, trailing immigrant men by 14.3 percentage points and native women by 4.6 pp. Drawing on Eurostat Labour Force Survey panel data for all EU27 member states (2015–2024) and the OECD International Migration Database (2023), this study conducts a systematic three-way comparison and evaluates four theoretical frameworks: the double disadvantage hypothesis, intersectionality theory, the selective migration hypothesis, and welfare regime theory. Welch t-tests and country fixed-effects OLS regression confirm that the immigrant gender employment gap (14.3 pp; Cohen's d = −1.96, p < .001) is approximately 1.75 times larger than the native gender gap (8.1 pp), consistent with an intersectional interpretation. Between-country heterogeneity is extreme (I² = 98.8%), tracing a welfare regime gradient. A "universalist paradox" is identified in Social Democratic regimes, where the highest absolute employment rates for immigrant women coincide with the widest immigrant–native gaps. Findings challenge additive models of compound disadvantage and carry direct implications for social work practice, professional education, and policy advocacy across differentiated welfare state contexts.

Keywords

Project Number

140426

Ethical Statement

This study relies exclusively on secondary analysis of publicly available aggregate administrative data (Eurostat Labour Force Survey; OECD International Migration Database). No primary data collection involving human participants was conducted. Ethical committee approval was not required. All data sources are publicly accessible and contain no individually identifiable information.

References

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Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

Social Work (Other), Migration Sociology

Journal Section

Research Article

Publication Date

June 30, 2026

Submission Date

April 17, 2026

Acceptance Date

May 4, 2026

Published in Issue

Year 2026 Volume: 9 Number: 1

APA
Koçyiğit, Z. S. (2026). WELFARE REGIMES AS STRUCTURAL MODERATORS: IMMIGRANT WOMEN’S LABOUR MARKET DISADVANTAGE ACROSS THE EU27 AND IMPLICATIONS FOR SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE. Turkish Journal of Applied Social Work, 9(1), 47-62. https://doi.org/10.54467/trjasw.1930044
AMA
1.Koçyiğit ZS. WELFARE REGIMES AS STRUCTURAL MODERATORS: IMMIGRANT WOMEN’S LABOUR MARKET DISADVANTAGE ACROSS THE EU27 AND IMPLICATIONS FOR SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE. TRJASW. 2026;9(1):47-62. doi:10.54467/trjasw.1930044
Chicago
Koçyiğit, Zeynep Sezen. 2026. “WELFARE REGIMES AS STRUCTURAL MODERATORS: IMMIGRANT WOMEN’S LABOUR MARKET DISADVANTAGE ACROSS THE EU27 AND IMPLICATIONS FOR SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE”. Turkish Journal of Applied Social Work 9 (1): 47-62. https://doi.org/10.54467/trjasw.1930044.
EndNote
Koçyiğit ZS (June 1, 2026) WELFARE REGIMES AS STRUCTURAL MODERATORS: IMMIGRANT WOMEN’S LABOUR MARKET DISADVANTAGE ACROSS THE EU27 AND IMPLICATIONS FOR SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE. Turkish Journal of Applied Social Work 9 1 47–62.
IEEE
[1]Z. S. Koçyiğit, “WELFARE REGIMES AS STRUCTURAL MODERATORS: IMMIGRANT WOMEN’S LABOUR MARKET DISADVANTAGE ACROSS THE EU27 AND IMPLICATIONS FOR SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE”, TRJASW, vol. 9, no. 1, pp. 47–62, June 2026, doi: 10.54467/trjasw.1930044.
ISNAD
Koçyiğit, Zeynep Sezen. “WELFARE REGIMES AS STRUCTURAL MODERATORS: IMMIGRANT WOMEN’S LABOUR MARKET DISADVANTAGE ACROSS THE EU27 AND IMPLICATIONS FOR SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE”. Turkish Journal of Applied Social Work 9/1 (June 1, 2026): 47-62. https://doi.org/10.54467/trjasw.1930044.
JAMA
1.Koçyiğit ZS. WELFARE REGIMES AS STRUCTURAL MODERATORS: IMMIGRANT WOMEN’S LABOUR MARKET DISADVANTAGE ACROSS THE EU27 AND IMPLICATIONS FOR SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE. TRJASW. 2026;9:47–62.
MLA
Koçyiğit, Zeynep Sezen. “WELFARE REGIMES AS STRUCTURAL MODERATORS: IMMIGRANT WOMEN’S LABOUR MARKET DISADVANTAGE ACROSS THE EU27 AND IMPLICATIONS FOR SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE”. Turkish Journal of Applied Social Work, vol. 9, no. 1, June 2026, pp. 47-62, doi:10.54467/trjasw.1930044.
Vancouver
1.Zeynep Sezen Koçyiğit. WELFARE REGIMES AS STRUCTURAL MODERATORS: IMMIGRANT WOMEN’S LABOUR MARKET DISADVANTAGE ACROSS THE EU27 AND IMPLICATIONS FOR SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE. TRJASW. 2026 Jun. 1;9(1):47-62. doi:10.54467/trjasw.1930044