How inclusive are integration policies really, particularly when it comes to women?
This is the question that the Migrant Integration Policy Index (MIPEX) seeks to address. MIPEX is a tool that analyses and compares integration policies across different countries, showing the extent to which these policies support—or hinder—the full participation of migrants in society.
It is from this perspective that LiLI – Life and Language Skills + Intersectionality for Migrant Women Integration, an Erasmus+ funded project, supports the integration pathways of migrant women through an approach that combines language learning, everyday life skills and an intersectional perspective.
Understanding how inclusive European integration policies actually are helps place LiLI’s activities and objectives within the broader context in which migrant women’s integration pathways take place.
As we know, integration is a complex process influenced by multiple factors, of which migration status is only one. Access to education, employment, healthcare, secure residence, family life, citizenship and social participation significantly affects migrants’ quality of life.
When the conditions needed to fully access these rights and opportunities are lacking, barriers can arise that limit people’s ability to build an integration pathway and actively participate in the life of the community in which they live.
The Migrant Integration Policy Index (MIPEX) provides a comprehensive overview of how different countries address and seek to respond to these challenges. The 2025 edition compares integration policies across the 27 EU Member States and Canada, examining eight areas: labour market mobility, education, health, family reunification, permanent residence, access to nationality, anti-discrimination and political participation.
A diverse picture across Europe
The findings of MIPEX 2025 show that integration policies across the EU remain uneven. The average score for the 27 EU Member States is 54 out of 100, with significant differences between countries and policy areas. While migrants benefit from relatively strong protections in areas such as anti-discrimination and permanent residence, important challenges remain regarding political participation, access to citizenship and education.
The latest data also point to relatively limited overall changes. Between 2019 and 2023, integration policies in the EU improved by just 0.8 points on the MIPEX scale. Some progress was recorded in education, labour market integration and anti-discrimination, while other areas saw little change or an increase in restrictions.
These differences are significant and raise important questions. The country in which a person lives can have a considerable impact on the rights, services and opportunities available to them, with consequences for participation, economic integration and their sense of belonging.
However, looking at integration policies exclusively at the national level only provides part of the overall picture.
Why an intersectional perspective matters
From an intersectional perspective, the situation of migrant women deserves particular attention, as they may face several additional barriers at the same time.
Gender and migration status can intersect with language barriers, limited access to education and employment, family responsibilities, economic circumstances and weaker social networks.
These factors do not operate independently. Taken together, they can affect women’s ability to access services, develop skills, find employment and participate in the life of their communities.
For this reason, understanding which barriers affect integration pathways, and how these barriers interact with one another, is essential to developing more inclusive approaches to integration.
From policies to practical support
It is in this context that LiLI – Life and Language Skills + Intersectionality for Migrant Women Integration comes in. As part of its activities, the project has developed a multilingual catalogue of training modules that combines language learning with the acquisition of skills that are useful in everyday life.
Through flexible microlearning approaches, these resources will be easily accessible and designed to support migrant women throughout their personal, social and professional development journeys.
But promoting more inclusive integration pathways also means involving those who work alongside migrant women every day. For this reason, LiLI is also developing an information and training toolkit dedicated to intersectionality, featuring guidelines, practical tools and case studies for educators, social professionals and policymakers.
The aim is to provide useful tools to help recognise and better understand the different barriers that may overlap and influence individual experiences.
All these resources will come together in an inclusive, multilingual and mobile-optimised e-learning platform, designed to provide flexible learning pathways both for migrant women and for the professionals who support them.
Making integration more inclusive
The data provided by the Migrant Integration Policy Index (MIPEX) help us understand how integration policies are evolving and which areas still have room for improvement. It is within this broader context that LiLI focuses on the experiences and needs of migrant women, developing practical tools to help recognise and overcome the barriers that may intersect along their integration pathways.
These two perspectives highlight a key point: truly inclusive integration depends not only on policies, but also on people’s concrete ability to access opportunities, resources and tools that enable them to develop skills, knowledge and autonomy and to participate fully in society.
As Europe continues to develop its approach to integration, it is important to recognise that migrants have different experiences, needs and pathways. Taking this diversity into account when designing policies, services and practices can help make participation in society and a sense of belonging more accessible and inclusive.
Understanding barriers is the first step, but building the tools and opportunities needed to overcome them is necessarily the next.
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