Abstract (eng)
The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated digitalisation in several areas of social life. Digitalisation has also advanced dramatically in the labour market - work processes and application processes are becoming increasingly digitalised. Job advertisements can often only be applied for via online application platforms, even if the advertised position does not require digital skills, although these are already necessary during the application process. Migrants and especially refugees with a lack of language skills in their host country are presented with the additional challenge that these platforms i usually have to be completed in German. Although many academic studies deal with the new challenges posed by digitalisation in the labour market and the role of digital technologies in the lives of refugees, these two topics are often considered separately. In particular, the experiences and challenges of refugee women regarding the new digital challenges in the Austrian labour market are often ignored. Due to this background, this master's thesis deals with the role of digital technologies and digital skills in the labour market for refugee women. The study is based on the experiences of refugee women from Afghanistan, which were collected by conducting problem-centred interviews. In addition, the interpretation of the experiences of employees of supporting organisations and NGOs were documented through expert interviews. This Master's thesis identified language skills of the host country - this includes speech, reading and writing skills - and educational background as the most influential characteristics. As the educational background - and therefore often also literacy - is dependent on the government or the circumstances of the country of origin, women in particular often have no or only limited access to educational institutions. The educational background and language skills of the host country have a significant influence on digital skills and the ability to learn them and access digital devices.