Fostering career management skills in refugee women in Italy

Refugee women constitute approximately 50% of the global refugee population and are exposed to many discriminations and risks in terms of both their gen der and their complex condition as a migrant (UNCHR, n.d.). Among the many challenges, work represents a way to promote their emancipation and participa tion in new living contexts. Following a literature review, in this paper we discuss how career counsellors can help this target group to acquire career manage ment skills and move towards career planning. A three-session interview is pro posed as an effective strategy. Based on the systemic and narrative approach for assessment and intervention, developed by McMahon and collaborators (2006, 2018), a focused storytelling ‘Today, Yesterday and Tomorrow interview’ is de signed and tested with a group of five refugee women. The results obtained from thematic analyses show the usefulness of these interviews in bringing out personal and contextual resources and strengths, boosting career management skills and planning the future steps. Implications for career counsellors are also discussed.