Finding a job in your new country of origin has shown to have huge effects on successful refugee integration. As a woman, accessing the labour market as a refugee is even more challenging, despite the fact that many studies prove that employing refugees will have a positive effect on the national economy, driving investment and growth.

In collaboration with our Impact Partner, DLA Piper, join us for a discussion on the role of the private sector in breaking down barriers faced by professional refugee women in the UK. DLA Piper have successfully initiated a professional mentoring programme, Women in Law for Women Refugees and will be launching their report on the barriers faced by refugee women post COVID. More needs to be done within businesses to respond to the evident need to provide more tailored integration support. Collaboration is key and this event will seek to create connections, start new conversations and generate calls to action.

To find out more about DLA Piper’s Women in Law for Women Refugees, read our Q&A with DLA Piper legal officer Dr Awmaima Amrayaf.

Speakers:

Marina Brizar was born in Sarajevo, and after the Bosnian War was resettled as a refugee with her family in Australia. She has almost a decade of experience in immigration law, human rights advocacy and leadership, and currently holds the position of Talent Beyond Boundaries, UK Director. In 2015 she was named the Young Migration Lawyer of the Year, in 2016 the Woman Lawyer of the Year – Up and Coming, and in 2017 100 Woman of Influence.  In 2018, Marina was awarded a Churchill Fellowship and researched labour mobility as a complementary pathway to humanitarian resettlement in Australia, Canada, USA, UK and Germany. In the same year, she also travelled to Syria with Australian Senator to film the documentary series “Go Back to Where You Came From”. She holds a Bachelor of Laws/ Bachelor of Arts in International Studies from the University of Technology, Sydney.

Dr Awmaima Amrayaf is an academic and human rights activist with over 15 years of professional experience in both academic and governmental settings. She completed a PhD in Law at the University of Leeds in 2018. Awmaima is from a refugee background and currently holds the position of pro bono legal officer at the global law firm, DLA Piper. This is a role that focuses on supporting internal and external thought-leadership and impactful pro bono and legal education programmes for refugees and asylum seekers.
Awmaima is the designer and manager of the “Women in Law for Women Refugee” (WLfWR). This is a professional mentoring programme for women refugees launched by DLA Piper`s in response to the need for more-tailored integration support for this group of refugees. Awmaima`s long and challenging path to integration into the labour market inspired her to think about this programme.

Steve Duffy heads up RefuAid’s Employment Programme, which focuses on connecting refugee professionals with jobs that are commensurate with their skills, experiences and qualifications. Over the past two years, he has been working closely with the NHS and Health Education England to provide comprehensive requalification routes and employment opportunities for refugee healthcare professionals. More recently, he has been working with a number of large corporates as part of a business consortium, which aims to break down the barriers to employment that many refugees are faced with in the UK.

Upcoming Events