Job satisfaction of foreign-born women employed in personal care and household services: the case study of Italy

Using the ad hoc module of the 2021 Italian Labour Force Survey, this study provides a nuanced and comparative analysis of job satisfaction among foreign-born women employed in Personal care and Household Services (PHS). Regression models show that foreign-born women employed in PHS do not report lower levels of job satisfaction than their native counterpart. Work-related characteristics associated with job satisfaction, however, differ between the two groups: discrimination at work and part-time employment are significantly associated with lower job satisfaction among native PHS workers, whereas underemployment and overeducation are significantly associated with lower satisfaction among foreign-born PHS workers. Relative Weight Analysis further indicates that foreign-born and native PHS workers assign different importance to specific dimensions of job satisfaction, reflecting divergent expectations, trajectories, and constraints: foreign-born women place greater emphasis on ‘tangible’ aspects such as wages and working hours, while native women prioritise intrinsic and developmental dimensions, including interest in the job and career opportunities.