Intermarriage and Segmented Integration into Finnish Society: Immigrant Women from the Former Soviet Union

The number of immigrants is still very small in Finland. Until the l 990s immigrants came to Finland in small numbers, mostly as a consequence of marriage. With the dissolution of the Sovi et Union, immigration to Finland from the former Sovi et Union has increased considerably with the consequence...

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Main Author: Anni Jääskeläinen
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Population Research Institute of Väestöliitto 2003-01-01
Series:Finnish Yearbook of Population Research
Online Access:https://journal.fi/fypr/article/view/44983
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author Anni Jääskeläinen
author_facet Anni Jääskeläinen
author_sort Anni Jääskeläinen
collection DOAJ
description The number of immigrants is still very small in Finland. Until the l 990s immigrants came to Finland in small numbers, mostly as a consequence of marriage. With the dissolution of the Sovi et Union, immigration to Finland from the former Sovi et Union has increased considerably with the consequence that Russian and Estonian speakers in Finland form the biggest immigrant groups speaking a foreign-language. Nowadays the largest immigrant groups from the former Soviet Union consist first of 'ethnic returning migrants 'with Finnish ancestry and their family members and second of immigrants married to Finnish citizens. In this article the social and economic integration of immigrant women from the former Sovi et Union into Finnish society was explored, with reference to the concept of segmented integration. Intermarriage is often de.fined a priori as 'problematic 'and it is thought to generate conjlict, marginality and isolation for the immigrants. On the other hand, intermarriage is also seen as a resource for integration and social inclusion for the foreign-bom. In this study intermarried immigrant women (Finnish-born - foreign-bom couples) were compared to in-married immigrant women (foreign-bom - foreign-bom couples) using a nationwide population survey targeted at Russian and Estonian immigrants from the area of the former Sovi et Union. The results show that intermarried immigrant women seem to be quite successful in finding access to the Finnish and co-ethnic networks and at the same time they were economically integrated. In-married immigrants experienced economic limitations more often than those who were intermarried. A noticeable part of in-married women actually integrate into the networks of co-ethnics, while integration into Finnish networks is weak or non-existent. Intermarried immigrant women, on the other hand, integrate more often only into the Finnish community. This indicates that integration has become segmented and that marriage type was an important element - but only ane among other factors - in the process of segmented integration.
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spelling doaj.art-ae41135d68dc49d7931ecb07d7cb084e2022-12-22T01:48:36ZengPopulation Research Institute of VäestöliittoFinnish Yearbook of Population Research1796-61831796-61912003-01-0139Intermarriage and Segmented Integration into Finnish Society: Immigrant Women from the Former Soviet UnionAnni JääskeläinenThe number of immigrants is still very small in Finland. Until the l 990s immigrants came to Finland in small numbers, mostly as a consequence of marriage. With the dissolution of the Sovi et Union, immigration to Finland from the former Sovi et Union has increased considerably with the consequence that Russian and Estonian speakers in Finland form the biggest immigrant groups speaking a foreign-language. Nowadays the largest immigrant groups from the former Soviet Union consist first of 'ethnic returning migrants 'with Finnish ancestry and their family members and second of immigrants married to Finnish citizens. In this article the social and economic integration of immigrant women from the former Sovi et Union into Finnish society was explored, with reference to the concept of segmented integration. Intermarriage is often de.fined a priori as 'problematic 'and it is thought to generate conjlict, marginality and isolation for the immigrants. On the other hand, intermarriage is also seen as a resource for integration and social inclusion for the foreign-bom. In this study intermarried immigrant women (Finnish-born - foreign-bom couples) were compared to in-married immigrant women (foreign-bom - foreign-bom couples) using a nationwide population survey targeted at Russian and Estonian immigrants from the area of the former Sovi et Union. The results show that intermarried immigrant women seem to be quite successful in finding access to the Finnish and co-ethnic networks and at the same time they were economically integrated. In-married immigrants experienced economic limitations more often than those who were intermarried. A noticeable part of in-married women actually integrate into the networks of co-ethnics, while integration into Finnish networks is weak or non-existent. Intermarried immigrant women, on the other hand, integrate more often only into the Finnish community. This indicates that integration has become segmented and that marriage type was an important element - but only ane among other factors - in the process of segmented integration.https://journal.fi/fypr/article/view/44983
spellingShingle Anni Jääskeläinen
Intermarriage and Segmented Integration into Finnish Society: Immigrant Women from the Former Soviet Union
Finnish Yearbook of Population Research
title Intermarriage and Segmented Integration into Finnish Society: Immigrant Women from the Former Soviet Union
title_full Intermarriage and Segmented Integration into Finnish Society: Immigrant Women from the Former Soviet Union
title_fullStr Intermarriage and Segmented Integration into Finnish Society: Immigrant Women from the Former Soviet Union
title_full_unstemmed Intermarriage and Segmented Integration into Finnish Society: Immigrant Women from the Former Soviet Union
title_short Intermarriage and Segmented Integration into Finnish Society: Immigrant Women from the Former Soviet Union
title_sort intermarriage and segmented integration into finnish society immigrant women from the former soviet union
url https://journal.fi/fypr/article/view/44983
work_keys_str_mv AT annijaaskelainen intermarriageandsegmentedintegrationintofinnishsocietyimmigrantwomenfromtheformersovietunion