Kseniya Homel, PhD student at the Institute of Applied Social Sciences of the University of Warsaw, researcher at the Center for Migration Research at the University of Warsaw, has been living in Poland since 2010. She herself comes from Belarus and her own experiences inspired her to conduct research among immigrants from Belarus and Ukraine. She spoke to 33 women who developed their own businesses or worked in Poland. In an interview with woman.gazeta.pl, she talks about the challenges they had to face.
Klaudia Kolasa, woman.gazeta.pl: The women who took part in the survey have been successful in the cosmetics industry: they have their own salons, they fulfill themselves professionally. How did you reach them?
By the snowball effect. When I talked to one, she recommended her friend. They had different internships in Poland. Some have lived here for 10 years, others for three. They were women between the ages of 21 and 50. I tried to make sure that they had already had various experiences related to adapting to a new country and working.
Why did they move to Poland?
These were migrations related to the prospect of improving their financial or social situation, professional development or education, as well as ensuring security for themselves and their families. Some women joined their partners who had already moved to Poland. They recalled: “I wasn’t sure because I had a job. I finally decided to come here.”
Setting up a business in the cosmetics sector in such a situation was also a way to rebuild the circle of friends and find friends. Those were the most fascinating stories for me. The migrant women invited a woman to their place to have someone to talk to. This circle grew and it soon turned out that they had a whole network of clients and could open a business.
What was the process like?
Some started working in the salon, gained experience, learned Polish and this gave them the basis for further activities. They had an understanding of the costs of doing business in Poland, they had a client base. It was important for them to have a group to continue using their services and support them in the beginning.
I also met women who worked in the industry in Ukraine or Belarus and relocated their business here. They had experience, knowledge and habits. They did not have to, as sometimes women in emigration, take up work that is different from their qualifications.
On the other hand, women who worked for someone else could also work in their profession and improve their qualifications. Nevertheless, they decided to set up their own business in a foreign country. Why?
I noticed that the beauty salon is such an important place for migrant women, a center of exchange. Women who want to talk in their language for a few hours and share their thoughts can relax here. I suspect that the decision to open a business comes with time.
Running such a business involves the possibility of legalizing your and your family’s stay, as well as the possibility of ensuring financial independence.
In many conversations there is also the topic of regaining a sense of security. In women’s teams, they can eliminate experiences of sexualization or discrimination. They create a safe and comfortable space for themselves, and at the same time they can manage their time and scope of duties. Of course, this is not an easy decision, because it always involves a large financial investment, and you do not always have a budget for it. In addition, it is not easy to get a loan or a loan from Polish banks.
Migrants from Ukraine and Belarus open businesses in Poland photo. Dawid Chalimoniuk / Agencja Wyborcza.pl
What other difficulties do they encounter on their way?
Going through the entire path of legalizing your stay in Poland is difficult and time-consuming – this is most often emphasized in research and conversations with immigrant women. The procedures are long and very complicated. There is no control over their course. Often women are responsible not only for their own situation, but also for providing education and a sense of security for their child. It’s hard in a new country, you need support and adaptation.
It happens that people who learn the language may face worse treatment because they do not speak Polish. This was the case with my respondents.
Could you give an example?
These stories may seem seemingly ordinary and innocent, such as framing and pointing out language errors in the workplace. A person who is in the whole adaptation process, learns and stabilizes his life in a new country, gets a comment that may worsen his well-being.
When the war broke out, the situation certainly changed, because we all saw a wave of solidarity with refugees from Ukraine, but a few years ago my respondents encountered generalizations: “Oh, you came because you are looking for a husband.” It was very difficult for them. Many years have passed and they still remember it.
You said at the beginning that migration is often associated with the prospect of improving one’s situation. Now let’s talk about what good can await migrants in Poland.
Migration is usually associated with a positive vision. There is space to test your skills and perspectives. After moving, many women took steps to turn their passions and interests into business. They have been doing office work all their lives, and abroad they are starting to turn their hobbies into earnings. Of course, it also depends on what stage the woman is at and whether she has closed needs with legalization and obtaining all documents.
I once talked to an immigrant from India who pointed out that the cosmetics industry in each country is governed by its own rules and it takes time to reach Polish clients. How does it look from the perspective of women from Ukraine and Belarus?
I asked about patterns of preferences, treatments and standards of beauty, but each of the respondents had her own perspective. They drew attention to the different work techniques and levels of training. To maintain their level, some women went to Ukraine for training or did it online, because there are high-class experts there.
For the first few years in Poland, they tried to get to know the expectations of clients and adapt to them. They felt that there was little room for something new for them. They wanted to develop and introduce new things, but at the moment (three, five years ago) there was no demand for them. Out of curiosity, I analyzed the review of the Polish market in this area and it turns out that it is a market that is developing very dynamically. I think that migrant women make a significant contribution to its development.
It is very interesting in the interviews that when the first Polish women appeared in the salons, e.g. we have friends, they expanded the network of contacts. The aspect of trust and the expansion of informal contacts are important. The second step was to switch to multilingual or Polish-language website management, promoting one’s certificates and many years of experience, and shaping the image of the salon. The respondents emphasize that over the years they have had more clients from Poland. It works.
Do they think of Poland as their new home, or do they treat it temporarily?
In my case, these were the stories of women who treat Poland as a new home or live between two countries. However, I talked to people who had their business here and could develop it. They had the prospect of opening more showrooms in other cities.
What challenges do we face as a host society?
It seems to me that the issue that women have their perspective in a new country and migration and are noticed and appreciated is very important. There is also an increased awareness of speaking up and expressing one’s needs and opinions.
I see that women have a lot of initiatives where they join together to discuss. I think this is something good that can happen to them, that their needs will be noticed to a greater extent. Combining professional work with learning Polish is difficult for women. There is a need to talk about mental health among migrant women, because it is often taboo in the countries they come from. And migration also affects well-being, mental health and emotional state.
Source: Gazeta
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