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Female polish migration to
the Netherlands
Bachelor thesis: a qualitative research about the
migration motives of highly educated female
Polish migrants in the Netherlands
University of Amsterdam
Author: Noud Egberts, noud.egberts@hotamil.com Student number: 10770925
Study: Human Geography
Dennis Arnold (supervisor) Bas Hissink Muller (second reader)
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Introduction ... 4
The current situation of the Polish economy and the BSS ... 5
Why study migration ... 6
Gap in academic literature ... 7
Literature review ... 8
Education and labor market participation ... 9
Migration motives ...10
Social networks and contacts ...11
Religion and gender roles ...12
Theories and methods used in previous research ...14
Theoretical framework ...15
Neoclassical economic theories ...16
Neoclassical migration theory ...16
Push-pull framework ...17
Structural approach to migration ...18
World systems theory ...19
Dual labor market theory ...19
Cumulative causation theory ...20
Networks and systems ...22
Migration systems theory ...23
Migration networks theory ...24
Transnationalism ...26
Research methods ...27
Searching for literature and recruitment of respondents ...28
Description of research participants and sampling ...29
Researcher approach ...29
Ethical considerations ...30
The interview process and transcription ...31
Data analysis ...32
The motives for migration ...32
Desire for new experiences ...33
Self-development: learning a new language ...34
Career opportunity and working environment ...36
The business services sector ...38
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Gender Equality and religion ...41
Husband or partner ...44
Discussion ...46
Conclusion ...48
Literature ...51
Appendix A. Personal information about the respondents ...62
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Introduction
Worldwide the portion of female international migrants in migration streams has been growing. Within and between developed regions it is not uncommon to see that the portion of women is larger than that of men in migration (O'Neil, Fleury & Foresti, 2016).
When Poland was added to the European Union in 2004, the number of Polish intra-European migrants grew rapidly as a result of the free mobility of intra-European citizens within the European Union (Duda-Mikulin, 2012). One of the main destinations of Polish migrants within Europe was the Netherlands. Looking at graph 1 it can be seen that for a long time there has been a steady flow of Polish migrants towards the Netherlands and that the number of women has always been larger than that of their male counterparts. Currently, there are 161.158 Polish people living in the Netherlands, making them the second largest group of European migrants in the Netherlands (CBS, 2017a). More than half of these Polish migrants are female, 85.270. Of these Polish female migrants, 46% is identified as being a labor migrant, which is a migrant who migrated to find work (Dagevos et al., 2011).
Graph 1: the increase in the number of Polish men (blue) and women (red) in the Netherlands, vertical axis shows number of Polish migrants *1.000
Source: CBS 2016b
Moreover, of all Polish women that are active on the Dutch labor market (62.800), over 65% is working in the Business Services Sector (BSS) (2017b). For more information on the different sub-sectors that fall under the BSS see appendix B. Table 1 (CBS, 2017b) gives a good impression of the uneven distribution of Polish women across different labor market
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sectors and the relatively strong growth of the Number of Polish women in the BSS between 2006 and 2014. Finally, a large part of the female Polish migrants has a tertiary education diploma (27%). When looking at the current status of the Polish economy and more specifically the Polish BSS these statistics about Polish women in the Netherlands raise questions as will be shown in the next section.
Table 1.
Number of Polish women working in each sector of the Dutch labor market x 1.000 in the Netherlands in 2006 and 2014
Labor market sectors x 1.000
2006 2014
Agriculture, forestry, and fishing 2.3 6.9 Industry (no construction) and energy 0.6 2.6
Construction industry 0.1 0.2
Trade, transport, and catering 2.0 7.3
Information and communication 0.1 0.3
Financial services 0.2 0.3
Rental and trade of real estate 0.1 0.1
Business services 5.7 41.3
Government and care 1.8 3.1
Culture, recreation, other services 0.2 0.7
Total 13.1 62.8
Source: adapted from CBS, 2017b
The current situation of the Polish economy and the BSS
At the moment Poland has one of the fastest growing economies in Europe (Bogdan et al., 2015). In the 1990s the state control on the Polish market began to reduce and the
economy grew. Over the last 25 years, the Polish economy doubled in size in terms of real GDP and it is now the number eight largest economy in the European Union in terms of GDP (Bogdan et al., 2015). Within the Polish economy, the BSS is one of the most promising sectors and within this sector, the annual growth of employment is 20%. According to PRO (2012), Poland is already the leader in the BSS in Central and Eastern Europe. With this growing BSS also comes a growing demand for educated workers (OECD, 2000). Women are very active in the BSS, the average number of female employees in the BSS in Poland is 54% (ABSL, 2017). Moreover, on the glass-ceiling index, which provides an indication of the chances of equal treatment in the workplace, the Netherlands is ranked 24th whereas Poland scores much better and is on the 5th place (The Economist, 2017).
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To recapitulate the preceding sections, the number of Polish women in the
Netherlands is growing. 46% of these women are categorized as labor migrants, and most of them work in the BSS in the Netherlands. The Polish economy is growing rapidly and the BSS in Poland is the most promising sector within the Polish economy and already leading in Central and Eastern Europe and moreover the BSS is demanding educated workers and the working environment for women is better in Poland than in the Netherlands. So the question arises as to why these Polish women come to the Netherlands? It seems as if the Polish women do not migrate because of economic factors even though this is something that is implied because of their categorization as labor migrant.
Why study migration
Migration in itself is a very interesting phenomenon. Migration causes changes in both the receiving and sending country both social changes and others such as economic and political changes. As stated previously a significant portion of the Polish women in the
Netherlands has a tertiary education diploma, and especially the migration of these people has a big impact on the sending country because of so-called brain drain. Brain drain is the loss of skilled or educated individuals by a country through the process of migration (Dumitru, 2014). Moreover, migration can also cause de-skilling which happens when migrants work in occupations that do not suit their level of skill and education, the consequence of this is that a lot of human capital is not utilized (Currie, 2007). Various researches have emphasized that de-skilling can manifest itself in gender-specific ways, especially for Eastern European women because female migrants are unable to access the labor market in host countries as easy as their male counterparts which results in them being more vulnerable to de-skilling (Currie, 2006; Kontos, Anthias & Morokvasic-Muller, 2013). Brain drain and de-skilling are just two examples of the potential consequences of migration which stress the importance of studying this topic. Moreover, migration also has a very strong spatial aspect. Migration causes spatial reallocation of labor from low to high productivity countries or regions (Clemens & Pritchett, 2016). A research by Johansson & Rauhut (2006) even identifies migration as the prime driver behind regional population development. Moreover, migratory movements differ in different regions. Certain geographical differences promote migration and others weaken the migratory movement. Thus, migration is inseparable from space; geographical differences change and are changed by migration.
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Gap in academic literature
Until the 1970s most of the academic literature on migration was very androcentric. This is explained by the fact that most research on migration focused on economic aspects and at that time the role of women in the labor market was still assumed to be irrelevant, moreover, women were portrayed as mere followers of their husband (Zlotnik, 2003; Erman, 1997). In the 1970s and the beginning of the 1980s, gender analysis first emerged within migration studies. In the beginning, gender was simply explained as a reflection of different sex roles (Boyd & Grieco, 2003). From the mid and late 1980s, an important shift can be seen in studying gender in the academic literature on migration. Gender was no longer studied as being a contrast between men and women but it was studied as a system of relations which is influenced by migration and the academics shifted their focus to studying the underlying models which help to explain migration in relation to gender (Nawyn, 2010; Boyd & Grieco, 2003). Recent research has shown that gender is very important in studying migration because women and men have different migration experiences, use different social networks, have different motives for migration and gender can also affect the extent to which one can profit from moving (IOM, 2004; Nawy, 2010). Thus, gender plays a very big role in determining: who moves, how those moves take place, what the consequences of those moves are and how well one can profit from these moves. Nevertheless, a lot of research focusses on migrants as one big group, failing to address important gender-specific characteristics which can help to better explain and understand contemporary migration.
Thus, the focus of this research will be on the motives for migration of educated Polish women in the Netherlands that work in the Dutch BSS. Existing literature is of a quantitative nature and even though this provides some useful data it lacks a more in-depth explanation and description of the reasons that these women have for coming to the
Netherlands. Most research that does focus on female migrants fails to look beyond
economical migration motives, and as stated earlier in the introduction, there are various other motives for migration among migrant women. The choice to study women in the Dutch BSS has been made because a disproportional part of the Polish women in the Netherlands works in this sector. This makes this sector a good choice due to due to availability and access to participants. Moreover, the opportunities and circumstances within the Polish BSS seem to be excellent which makes it even more interesting since current knowledge portrays these
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aim of this research is not to find out why so many Polish women work in this sector. The research question is:
What are the migration motives of highly educated female Polish migrants that work in the Dutch business services sector?
This research is of qualitative nature, and data is collected using semi-structured one on one interviews. Because of the lack of information about the group of migrants in the Netherlands this research will be an exploratory research. In total 9 female Polish migrants will be interviewed, because of the nature of this research and the relatively small number of respondents, the research findings cannot be generalized, though the results will be very useful for further research on this topic. The first section of this research discusses the findings of previous research. These findings will help to better understand and explain the findings of this research and provide comparative material. Next, an overview is given of the different theories on migration. Then an extensive description of the research methods is presented followed by the results and discussion of these results and finally the conclusion in which the research question is answered.
Literature review
The literature review that will be presented in this section will be thematically organized, meaning that this section will not just sum up the different studies one by one but the studies will be discussed in relation to different themes. This chapter will start with a brief overview of what is currently known about the group of Polish migrants in the Netherlands, information such as their level of education and labor market participation will be provided. Subsequently, an overview is given of existing knowledge about the migration motives of Polish women, drawing on research which has been conducted in the Netherlands as well as in other European countries. Next, various themes are discussed such as social contacts, social networks, religion and views on gender. Reviewing and discussing the current knowledge will show what has already been done on this topic and thus shows what gaps there are in the academic literature on this topic. Understanding and analyzing previous research also provides tools for interpretation of the current research.
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The most extensive study on Polish migrants in the Netherlands has been executed by a Dutch Scientific Institute called the Sociaal Cultureel Planbureau (SCP). This research used data which has been collected with the use of a survey among 602 Poles that have been living in the Netherlands since 2004 (Dagevos et al., 2011). It should, however, be noted that this is a relatively old source, but there are no better or newer researches which are so extensive in terms of sample size and research topics. There are also various qualitative studies that have focussed on Polish migrants in both the Netherlands and in other countries. Not all research findings that will be discussed in this section refer specifically to Polish women in the Netherlands. Weltevrede et al. (2009) discuss, inter alia, the migration motives of different Eastern European migrants in the Netherlands. Of all the 21 interviewees in this research, 17 were Polish. Another research by Main (2016) focusses on the migration motives of Polish women who live in Barcelona and Berlin. Next a research by Scullion & Pemberton (2010) is discussed which explores the motivation of migrant workers from Poland that live in
Liverpool in the United Kingdom. And finally, a study by Nijhoff (2016) which studies Polish migrants in The Hague is discussed.
Education and labor market participation
According to Dagevos et al. (2011), 63% of all Polish migrants in the Netherlands are labeled as labor migrants, there is some variety of men and women. Of all Polish female migrants, 46% are labor migrants against 81% of the men. Another large part of the Polish women is either a follower of a Polish partner or parent (20%) or migrated because of a Dutch partner (23%). When looking at the labor market position of Polish people the data shows that they are vulnerable to unemployment. This is attributed to the very nature of the work Poles do in the Netherlands, which is mostly short-contract and work in sectors with a laborious inflow of workers (Dagevos et al., 2011). A large number of the Polish migrants are employed in the Dutch BSS, 16,7 thousand Polish women and 14,9 thousand Polish men (CBS, 2017b). The second biggest sector in terms of employed Polish migrants is the so-called transport, trade, and catering industry in which 5,3 thousand men and 5,8 thousand Polish women are employed (CBS, 2017b). For men, the third biggest sector in terms of employed Poles is industry and energy in which 3,9 thousand men work and for women, the third biggest sector is government and health care (CBS, 2017b). The unemployment rates of Polish men and women are higher than that of Dutch men and women. 10% of all polish men are unemployed
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against 3% of the Dutch men and 16% of Polish women is unemployed against 4% of Dutch women, this high number of unemployment amongst Polish migrants is for the largest part due to high unemployment amongst younger migrants (Dagevos et al., 2011). Moreover, 38% of the men and 30% of the women have a temporary labor contract which his much higher than the percentage of Dutch men and women who have a temporary labor contract which is respectively 5 and 6%. There is also a large amount of Polish migrants which does not have a job that matches their education. 62% of all Polish migrants are educated for something else or are too highly educated for their current job. Research on the educational level of Poles has shown that about 22% has only finished primary education, and 34% of the Poles have a higher education diploma (Dagevos et al., 2011).
In short, most of the Polish men women came to the Netherlands for work and are thus categorized as labor migrant. Polish migrants have a precarious labor market position due to the fact that they usually have short-term labor contracts. There is also a large difference between the unemployment rate of Polish women and Dutch women, which is explained by very high unemployment among young Polish women. Finally, it is found that more than half of the Polish migrants are educated for something else or too highly educated for their current job.
Migration motives
Reviewing the existing literature revealed that in all studies economic motives played a major role in the decision to migrate among Polish migrants (Weltevrede et al., 2009; Main, 2016; Scullion & Pemberton 2010; Nijhof, 2016). The research by Scullion & Pemberton (2010) emphasizes that a combination of high unemployment and the lack of economic opportunities in the labor market in the country of origin together with more perceived employment opportunities in the destination country is what has driven migration. This is in line with the findings by Dagevos et al. (2011) who identified most migrants labor migrants. Adding to this is the findings by Dagevos et al. (2011) that the availability of employment opportunities is an important factor to stay in the UK once settled. But as previously mentioned, non-economic motives also play an important role in explaining migration and this is confirmed by the various researches that are reviewed in this section. Among these non-economic motives, greater educational opportunities are pointed out as being a very
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important motive. Education is used by migrants to ''have a better life'', and related to this is the statement of various migrants that they migrated because they want to learn another language (Main, 2016; Scullion & Pemberton, 2010). Moreover, also curiosity about a different culture and lifestyle is identified as a migration motive – a good example of this is that various respondents in the reviewed researches mention that they are attracted to the multicultural character of some destination countries or areas. Finally, husbands or partners are also important causes of migration (Main, 2016; Nijhof, 2016).
Social networks and contacts
According to previous research, Polish people do not form an isolated social group in the Netherlands and thus the social distance between Poles and Dutch people is small
(Dagevos et al., 2011). In general, most Polish migrants have good contact with both Dutch people and other Poles, one in three Poles has daily contact with Dutch people and one in five has no contact at all with Dutch people. When focussing on gender differences, Polish women have more contact with Dutch people then Polish men. 54% of the Polish women have weekly contact with Dutch people against 52% of Polish men. More specifically, highly educated Polish migrants tend to have a larger social network (Dagevos et al., 2011). The Poles with a low education tend to have more contact with other Poles and less with Dutch people
(Dagevos et al., 2011). The qualitative researchers, however, show a different image. According to Nijhof (2016), social contacts with Dutch people are low, which is not in line with the findings of the research by Dagevos et al. (2011). Language is said to be a barrier for some respondents to participate in the Dutch society and maintain and develop social
contacts, moreover, the respondents say existing stereotypes in the Dutch society impede social contact with Dutch people. The reason that Dagevos et al. (2011) and Nijhof (2016) have found could have different explanations. The researches come from different years and the sample that is used by Dagevos et al. (2011) contains people from all over the
Netherlands. Nijhof (2016) has used a small sample of Polish people in The Hague. Scullion & Pemberton (2010) found varying levels of contact between Polish people and add to this that most contacts were through work. Moreover, Weltevrede et al. (2009) found that contact outside work was hard for some respondents. In contrast to what is said in the previously discussed research by Dagevos et al. (2011), these qualitative researches show that contact
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between migrants and indigenous people is not exclusively good and contact seems to be primarily through work.
Not much is known about social networks of Polish migrants in the Netherlands and their role in the migration process. One thing that Dagevos et al. (2011) do mention in relation to social networks, is that most Polish migrants do not have functional social networks. The social networks that Dagevos et al. (2011) refers to are social networks in the Netherlands, which are formed post-migration. Some qualitative researches which have been reviewed paid more attention to this topic. Nijhof (2016) mentions that all the respondents had contacts or networks before they migrated, and these networks are said to be important in the choice of the migrants to migrate to a certain location where they have a social network. The same is found in the research by Scullion & Pemberton (2010) who found that the social networks were especially important before the migrants actually migrated. The networks helped the migrants for instance to gather information about accommodations and employment in the UK. So, the social networks can increase the likeliness of migration by increasing the ability of migrants to gather information on the destination country which can improve the possible benefits of their movements the social networks (Scullion & Pemberton, 2010).
In summary, Dagevos et al. (2011) and the different qualitative researches both show a different image of the Polish migrants in relation to social contacts and networks. Dagevos et al. (2011) state that in general, most Polish migrants have good contact with Dutch people and that women and highly educated migrants tend to have better contact than men and lower educated migrants. The different qualitative researches, however, show that contact between migrants and indigenous people is not exclusively good and add to this that contact is
primarily through work. Where Dagevos et al. (2011) states that most Poles do not have social networks the other researchers have found the opposite and stress the importance of these networks (Nijhof, 2016; Scullion & Pemberton, 2010). According to the qualitative researches, social networks increase the ability of migrants to attain information on the destination country and because of this increase the possible benefits of migration. Social networks will be discussed in greater detail in the theoretical framework.
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Dagevos et al. (2011) found that 75% of the Polish migrants in the Netherlands are religious, most of them roman-catholic but that most of them do not often go to church. Only 17% visits the church every week and these are mostly highly educated migrants.
Nevertheless, 62% of the Polish people have indicated that religion plays an important role in their life (Dagevos et al., 2011). Moreover, Polish migrants have a modern view on
emancipation. 28% of the Polish migrants agree that women are responsible for the household against 27% of Dutch people (Dagevos et al., 2011). 57% states that they totally disagree with the statement that women should stop working when she has a child against 78% of Dutch people (Dagevos et al., 2011). Further, more than half of the people disagree on the statement that income is more important for men than for women. Finally, the research shows that highly educated Poles tend to have more modern views on emancipation than lower educated Poles. One study that focusses specifically on Polish migrant women and the role of gender in the migration process is that by Duda-Mikulin (2012). In this research 32 in-depth interviews were conducted among female Polish migrants and it is argued in this research that migration is an opportunity to positively change a women's view on gender because through migration these women are exposed to different social and cultural settings (Duda-Mikulin, 2012). Many women in this research state that the gender roles are very traditional in Poland. It should, however, be mentioned that various women mention that these gender roles are changing in a positive way. According to most respondents, the gender roles in the UK are much better, and they mention that they prefer partnership what according to them means that they get some assistance in domestic and care work at home (Duda-Mikulin, 2012). These findings are in line with the findings by Dagevos et al. (2011) who found that Polish migrant women in the Netherlands think that household tasks should be a shared responsibility between men and women. Siara (2013) who also carried out in-depth interviews with 30 Polish women in the UK also found that many Polish migrant women view the gender roles in Poland as very traditional. Moreover, she also states that many women think that religion is still very important in Poland and that the church in Poland has a negative influence on the gender roles (Siara, 2013).
Thus, what these different studies show is that Polish women tend to have a modern view on emancipation and that they think that household tasks are not exclusively the responsibility of women. It is also shown that many migrant women view the Polish gender roles as very traditional and that the church negatively influences this. Dagevos et al. (2011) found that most of the Polish migrants in the Netherlands are religious but that they often do
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not go to church but in-depth understanding of the views of Polish migrant women in the Netherlands is still missing, the existing knowledge results from survey research which produces statistics that do not give a comprehensive understanding of the views of women on this topic.
Theories and methods used in previous research
All of the literature that has been discussed in this section except the research by Dagevos et al. (2011) has used interviews as the method for data collection and this has proved to be a very useful method for collecting data for this type of research. The same method for data collection will be used in the current research. Much can be learned from critically reviewing the methods that other researches have used in similar studies, therefore several of the previously discussed writings will now be discussed.
The article by Main (2016) is most similar to the current research. The researcher specifically focusses on finding out why Polish women which are settled in Barcelona and Berlin migrated. 58 interviews were carried out and the respondents were gathered with the help of friends and relatives, with the help of different institutions and also via social media. These methods for gathering respondents could also be very useful for the current research. The most important aspect of this study is approach this research takes to analyzing the data. The approach that is used for analyzing the data is called thematic content analysis, which is the opposite of a deductive approach where the researches test pre-existing theories or
expectations. Thematic content analysis is a qualitative data analysis method for detecting and analyzing themes in qualitative data (Javadi & Zarea, 2016). Qualitative data, such as
interview data is analyzed and patterns are identified. These patterns are then grouped together and merged into categories or themes (Javadi & Zarea, 2016; Bryman, 2012c). This method is very flexible and relatively quick and easy (Braun, Clarke, 2006).
Further the research by Duda-Mikulin (2012) - who researched how women use migration as a way of improving their own wellbeing - has a very strong theoretical
framework. This theoretical framework not only discusses theories that can be useful to the research but also gives an overview of all the ‘'classic'' theories and in this way really gives a complete and clear picture of the existing theories on migration (Duda-Mikulin, 2012). This theoretical framework really strengthens the rationale the study, because it is clearly showed
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that most theories on migration focus on the economic aspects too much and that the existing theories on migration do not fully capture the complexity of contemporary international migration and that research on this topic is needed (Duda-Mikulin, 2012). Thus by critically reviewing all theories in relation to the research problem and uncovering all the strengths and weaknesses of these theories this researcher has constructed a very solid and functional theoretical framework. The main gap and important motivation for this study are very obvious, namely that little or nothing is known about Polish migrant women in the
Netherlands even though they form a large group. Further many of these researches do not focus on finding out why these women migrated but focus on the consequences of their migration. So even though the number of Polish women in the Netherlands is increasing it is still unknown what motivates these women to migrate to the Netherlands. The research that does focus on Polish migrants in the Netherlands is of quantitative nature and because of this does not give an in-depth understanding of the complexity of migration motives. Another aspect that is missing in most of the migration research is paying attention to or recognizing gender differences. The researches tend to focus on Polish migrants as one group, thus failing to take into account the differences between men and women.
Theoretical framework
Even though migration has been occurring as long as humanity exists, the scientific study of migration started relatively recently. Ravenstein's papers which were published in the 1880s are the first examples of scientific studies on migration and form the foundation of most modern research on migration (Grigg, 1977; Greenwood & Hunt, 2003). This section of the research will form the theoretical background of this study and has three major functions. First, it gives an overview of the current knowledge on migration. Second, it will be helpful to understand, analyze and explain the qualitative data that will be collected in this research. Third, this section, by critically reviewing the existing theories on migration and thus also showing the shortcomings will stress the need for more research on migration. The theories in this section are categorized into three categories. Firs are the neoclassical economic theories. Second the structuralist theories and finally the theories that approach migration as networks and systems. Each theory is briefly explained and followed by a discussion of the benefits and shortcomings.
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Neoclassical economic theories
The theories in this section have in common that they all assume that migration is the result of geographic inequalities, in specific wage inequalities. The movement of people is explained as being an attempt to maximise benefits and gains (Kurekova, 2011). Moreover, migration is seen as something positive, leading to equilibria. The first theory that will be discussed in this section is the neoclassical migration theory.
Neoclassical migration theory
A well-known migration theory is the neoclassical migration theory. This theory has two very distinctive scales of focus. The first one is the macro-scale. At the macro-scale, the theory argues that migration is caused by geographical differences in the supply and demand for labor. These differences cause people to move from the low-wage regions to the high-wage regions (De Haas, 2008). Moreover, the neoclassical migration theory sees migration as being positive for both the sending and receiving countries. Migration is argued to boost economic development by allocating labor from rural sector towards the urban industrial sector – both between and within countries. The labor is said to move in one direction and capital flows in the other way. When the wage levels at the sending and receiving countries are converging the migratory process comes to a hold (De Haas, 2010; Castles et al, 2014). The second scale of analysis is the micro-scale. Migrants are seen as rational and individual actors which decide to migrate in order to maximise their benefits, the decision to migrate is based on a cost-benefit calculation (Kurekova, 2011). Thus, migration is seen as an
investment decision and supporters of this theory argue that the outcomes are influenced by the individual's personal assets also referred to as human capital.
Most critique of neoclassical migration theory focusses on the fact that the central assumptions are unrealistic (Kurekova, 2011; Morawska, 2007). The fact that the theory claims that people make cost-benefit calculations implies that people are rational actors who migrate in order to maximise their income or utility (Kurekova, 2011; Castels et al., 2014). Associated to this is that in order to make the cost-benefit calculations potential migrants are assumed to have full access to information of the characteristics such as wage level and the
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labor market in the destination country. Finally, the assumption that markets are perfect and accessible for everyone is unrealistic (Castles et al., 2014). The neoclassical migration theory thus suggests that Polish women migrate to countries or regions where their net-returns are expected to be the largest.
Push-pull framework
Strongly related to the neoclassical migration theory is the push-pull framework (King, 2012). This theory combines the assumption of migration being a rational choice and the geographic inequalities which are assumed to cause migration. Migration is said to be driven by negative factors associated with the area of origin, the so-called push-factors and negative factors associated with the area of destination, so-called pull-factors. Further, there are also the so-called intervening obstacles. The intervening obstacles refer to for example the physical distance between two regions or cultural differences (king, 2012; Kurkova, 2011; Morawska, 2007)). At the micro-scale migrants are again assumed to be individual rational actors who make cost-benefit calculations. Despite the apparent ability of the push-pull framework to take into account some important factors that influence migration decisions, the framework is not very useful. The framework is criticized for just being a descriptive model, it does not give insight in how migration factors combine and cause migration, the framework just produces a list of migration factors without explaining how they add up and cause
migration (De Haas, 2008; Castles et al, 2014). Moreover, the push-pull model ignores the heterogeneity of societies and thus fails to recognize the fact that people in different societies react differently to push and pull factors. (De Haas, 2008). Finally, the framework is also criticized on the fact that the push and pull factors are usually mirrored. When it is said that migrants move because they are pulled by a high wage in a foreign country also comes with the mirrored push factor of apparent low wage in the country of origin, and it is then unclear whether the push of the pull factor is dominant (De Haas, 2008). Thus, although this model is very simple and has the ability to take into account most of the factors that influence
migration it has some major shortcomings.
Even though these models have some internal logic they fail to explain reality. These theories cannot explain why so few people migrate. Neither can they explain why people when they migrated return to their country of origin even though the initial circumstances
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which made them migrate are unchanged (Rajendra, 2017). Further, these theories fail to explain why some people migrate even though there is no significant income difference (Rajendra, 2017). These theories are also criticised for the fact that they have a very narrow focus, namely wage differentials. Other criticism states that these theories are economically deterministic, exclusively focussing on economic motivations for migration while there are many other important factors (King, 2012; Anitha & Pearson, 2013). Both theories fail to see the heterogeneity of people and societies, it is assumed that people's aspirations are identical across societies and over time. Thus, people in different countries and societies are assumed to react in the same way to external factors (De Haas, 2011). As De Haas (2011) puts it, the theories seem to conceptualize humans as being atoms which are pushed and pulled in and out of the space without having the ability to make individual choices. Based on the neoclassical migration theory, it is expected that the Polish migrants move from low-wage (Poland) to high-wage (Netherlands) regions. The migrants in this theory are rational and individual actors which migrant in order to maximise their benefits, the Polish women are thus expected to have knowledge of the possible gains of moving to the then Netherlands based on this theory. The push-pull framework adds to this that migrants are pushed and pulled by factors associated with the country of origin and the destination, in the results section it will become clear whether this is true or not.
Structural approach to migration
Very different from the neoclassic economic theories are the theories in the structuralist paradigm. Structuralist theories assume that political and economic power is unequally distributed in the world economy (De Haas, 2008). This unequal distribution is said to be the result of global capitalist expansion. This expansion enlarged inequalities and
strengthened the stratified economic order in which the underdeveloped countries were trapped by their disadvantages position and also created the conditions in which migration takes place (Anitha & Pearson, 2013; King, 2012; De Haas, 2010). In this paradigm migration is seen as something negative, it is argued to distribute labor in ways that benefit the rich countries and deprives the already scarce resources of the poor countries (De Haas, 2011). Migration thus enlarges the already large disequilibria and worsen the problems of
underdevelopment (King, 2012; De Haas, 2011). In short, structuralist theories view
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economic theories imply that individuals have a free choice to migrate, the structuralist theories argue that people are forced to migrate.
World systems theory
The first of these structuralist theories is the world systems theory. This theory links migration to the structure of the global capitalist economy (Morawska, 2007). Advocates of this theory argue that the world consists of peripheral and core regions and via migration, these peripheral regions are exploited in favor of the core regions (Duda-Mikulin, 2012). The incorporation of the peripheral regions into the global capitalist economy has uprooted the labor markets and economies in the peripheral regions which resulted in the mobilization of people into national and international migration streams in which flows of people move from the periphery towards the core regions (Kurekova, 2011; Morawska, 2007). The core regions control the world economy and the peripheries are dependent on these core regions, this relationship is based on the unequal resource distribution between the core and the periphery.
Criticism on this theory focusses on the fact that this theory explains migration as generated solely by economic structures (Morawska, 2007). Moreover, it is argued to be exclusively applicable at the global level (Kurekova, 2011). Finally, this theory is criticized for failing to recognize individual decision making and portraying migrants as passive victims of global economic forces (De Haas, 2011). The strength of this theory lies in the fact that it can help to understand how the interaction between societies can cause migration (Jennissen & Wilhelmina, 2004)
Dual labor market theory
The second structuralist theory is the dual labor market theory. This theory, like the world system theory, connects structural economic changes to migration. The difference is that this theory focusses on the demand side (Kurekova, 2011). This theory makes a
distinction between two types of labor market sectors that exist in the capitalist economies of industrialized countries (King, 2012). The first type of labor market sectors is called the primary sectors. These are characterized by secure, non-precarious, high wage and
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skilled jobs. The second type of labor market sectors is called the secondary sector and is characterized by precarious, low-status jobs with a low wage (Anitha & Pearson, 2013; King, 2012). There is a structural demand for labor in this secondary sector which is satisfied by migrants which are recruited by firms in the advanced economies (Morawska, 2007). The main reason that these the demand in this sector is satisfied by migrant labor is that jobs in this sector are unattractive to native workers because for native workers wage and jobs reflect social status and prestige (Hagen-Zanker, 2008). The migrant workers are willing to work under these poor and deteriorating conditions because they view the jobs in the secondary sector purely as a way to earn income and separate work and social identity. Moreover, they assess the working conditions with the standards of their home country and wages and jobs are still better than the unemployment and wage levels in their country or origin (King, 2012; Morawska, 2007).
Criticism on this theory focusses on the fact that the theory puts an unjustified focus on the demand or pull factors in explaining migration and fails to recognize important push factors, it thus excludes sending countries in its analysis (Morawska, 2007). Moreover, the theory states that the recruitment by firms in the receiving country is what pulls most migrants into migratory streams, but this has been invalidated by researches that provide evidence on the existence of other channels of migration (Morawska, 2007). The theory is also criticised because the distinction between the primary and secondary sectors is unclear. Although some major criticism on this study, it helps to understand the coexistence of a persistent demand for migrant workers alongside a structural unemployment in the advanced economies (Kurekova, 2011).
Cumulative causation theory
Another theory which similarly to dual labor market theory and world systems theory in that it has a pessimistic view on migration is the cumulative causation theory. This theory argues that capitalist development is inseparable from growing spatial welfare disparities (De Haas, 2010). This theory argues that migration is a self-perpetuating and self-sustaining process, and this theory identifies multiple factors that shape these migratory movements (Morawska, 2007; Kurekova, 2011). According to the cumulative causation theory, migration erodes regional and national economies in developing countries by depleting these countries
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of valuable material and human capital (De Haas, 2010). This material and human capital are depleted for the benefit of other industrialized countries or elite groups within the developing economies themselves (De Haas, 2010). Further, this depletion of the regional and local economies increases the dependence of these countries and regions on the industrialized economies which triggers more migration and in turn, the productivity in the developing economies is further decreased which worsens the underdevelopment (De Haas, 2010). Moreover, migration is argued to change the context in which following migration decisions are made, through the establishment of migration streams feedback mechanisms are created which make subsequent movements more likely (De Haas, 2008). Researchers which have applied this theory to their study have discovered several conditions which are affected by migration and which promote more out-migration, two examples of these conditions will now be discussed (Morawska, 2007). The first one is pretty straightforward, the increased income of migrants is argued to motivate others in the country of origin to migrate. Second, migration is said to establish a so-called culture of migration in which migration becomes accepted or even a norm in communities or countries which increases the likeliness and thus the number of migrants (Morawska, 2007). The migration has such destructive consequences since the migrants are mostly young, physically able young men from rural areas. Their migration causes a deficit in agricultural production. Moreover, the people who migrate are often the already better educated and employed people which increase the inequality in the
communities they leave. Their remittances and other benefits also seem to settle with the people in the sending communities which are already in an advantaged position (De Haas, 2010). These are just some examples of how migration boosts subsequent migration and how migration increases instead of decreases the underdevelopment of the less developed
economies.
This theory possesses several advantages. First, it is a model which can be applied on both the national and international scale, which expands its usability. Second, it is an integral approach which takes the socio-cultural context of migrants into account (Elrick, 2009). Third, it has the ability to explain the perpetuation of migration. On the other hand, this theory is critiqued for not giving insight into mechanisms that weaken migration streams, it also fails to explain how migration systems decline over time (Kurekova, 2011). Further, this theory is only able to discuss migrants which have connections with their country of origin and it is argued that this theory only focusses on the migration from agricultural societies and fails to explain the outmigration and its consequences on urban regions (Morawska, 2007; Liang,
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2014). Last this theory contains a noticeable error, the theory implies that the migration process with its previously described consequences for the migrants sending and receiving continues infinitely (Morawska, 2007).
The theories in this section all have in common that they view migration
pessimistically. In complete opposite to what the neoclassical economic theories thought, namely that migration increases spatial inequalities, these theories see migration as increasing these inequalities. They are however criticized for being too deterministic, which excludes the possibility of heterogeneity in the impacts of migration across different places (De Haas, 2010). Further, these theories seem to imply that the depletion of the less developed
economies is never ending and worsening without considering mechanisms that weaken these detrimental processes, the assumption that this process of underdevelopment is never-ending is very unrealistic (De Haas, 2008). Finally, these theories portray migrants as merely passive actors which are subservient by the structural processes of great powers, migrants are the victims of global capitalism who have no other choice than to migrate in order to survive (Castles et al., 2014). So far neither the neoclassical economic theories nor the structuralist theories have achieved to fully explain contemporary migration. According to De Haas (2010), the heterogeneity of migration-development interaction and outcomes are too high to be predicted by these theoretical schemes which are deterministic (King, 2012; De Haas, 2010). The world systems theory will not be of much use in this research since it is
exclusively focussed on the global level. Moreover, this theory explains migration from the periphery regions towards the core, which is not the case in the migration of Polish women to the Netherlands. The dual labor market theory argues that there is a demand for workers in the secondary sector of the economy in advanced economies which is satisfied by migrant
workers. This implies that the Polish women are recruited by Dutch firms to work in the secondary sector, this could be true but this research focusses on women in the primary sector, so this theory won't be of much use in this research. The cumulative causation theory could be useful in explaining how migration is a consequence of prior movements.
Networks and systems
Both the structuralist theories and neoclassical economic theories that have been discussed in the previous sections fail to explain the complexity of migration. They
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overemphasize the role of capital and portray human beings as being passive actors and thus fail to take the notion of human agency. Human agency refers to the ability of humans to make individual decisions and changes their structural conditions (Goller, 2017; Castles et al., 2014). The first theory in this section has a systems approach which is recognized to be an inclusive and effective approach for studying migration (King, 2012). This theory is not only concerned with the direct social environment of migrants but rather focusses on the economic, social, cultural and institutional conditions in both the origin and destination countries and regions which according to this theory are altered by migratory movement (Wimalaratana, 2017; King,2012). The second theory in this section, the migration networks theory is closely related to the migration systems theory but instead of a background in geography, this theory is rooted in sociology. Migration networks theory is mainly concerned with the importance of personal relations between migrants and non-migrants (Kurekova, 2011). Third in this section is the theory of transnationalism which argues that migration is transnational process, the theories explain how migrants activities take place across national borders and their activities range from political and economic to religious and cultural activities (King, 2012)
Migration systems theory
The migration systems theory allows us to understand migration within the broader processes of social transformation and development (Castles et al., 2014). This theory studies so-called migration systems. A migration system is a system consisting of a group of
countries which are connected by large flows and counterflows of migrants, goods, ideas and information and migration is studied in relation to these flows (De Haas, 2008; Jennissen & Wilhelmina, 2004). These flows and counterflows are argued to be spatially clustered (De Haas, 2008). Alike the migration network theory and the theory on transnationalism, which will be discussed further on in this section, this theory stresses the importance of links and connections between different social actors and different areas across space. The theory however differs from other theories on migration in that it examines both ends of these flows, moreover the theory argues that the countries in migration systems are not only connected or linked by the flows of people but it also recognizes other connections and flows (Jennissen & Wilhelmina, 2004; Castles et al., 2014). The key assumptions of migration systems theory are that one form of exchange brings about others, this is one of the strongest aspects of this approach since it gives the ability to study migration as a two-way, interdependent,
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causal process (king, 2012). The theory thus attempts to define the feedback mechanisms within migration systems which make migration a self-perpetuating system. Sagynbekova (2016) states in his research that the linkages in a migration system can be classified in four different categories: state-to-state relations, migrant agency activities, mass culture
connections and; family and personal networks. The theory implies that migration results from existing connections between sending and receiving places such as colonial ties or flows of capital and resources (Kurekova, 2011). The theory also takes a notion of human agency. By arguing that pioneer migrants exercise agency and choice. Pioneer migrants choose to migrate – before the structures, paths and linkages that shape and support migration exist - and as a result of this decision structures arise which allow other migrants to follow these pioneer migrants. This shows how the migrant's agency has the ability to actively shape and initiate a migration stream and that people are not simply passive actors who move according to the structures within and between the sending and receiving countries (Grabowska,
Garapich, Jaźwińska & Radziwinowiczówna, 2017).
A major advantage of this theory is that it is applicable to multiple scales of analysis such as the micro-scale in which for instance friendship systems are studied or macro-scale systems in which political and economic systems are analyzed (Wimalaratana, 2017). Further the theory allows migration to be studied as more than just a linear movement, migration is studied as a two-way process in which changes in one part of the system can be traced through the whole system and because of this it strengthens the view that migration is a dynamic process (King, 2012; De Haas, 2008; Fawcett, 1989). This theory also takes the notion of human agency which was an important point of critique on the previously discussed theories (Kurekova, 2011). Moreover, critics mention the fact that this theory is solely
descriptive and that it is not able to explain the deterioration of migration systems over time (Kurekova, 2011). Neither does migration systems theory explain the mechanisms through which migration is impeded (Castles et al., 2014).
Migration networks theory
Migration networks theory focusses on the mechanisms at work to sustain migration rather than looking at what initiates migration. Migration networks are defined by King (2012) as:
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''Sets of interpersonal ties that connect migrants, non-migrants and former migrants in
webs of kinship, friendship and shared origin. They can be considered a form of social capital stretched across migrant space, and therefore facilitate the likelihood of international movement because they provide information which lowers the costs and risks of migration'' (p. 21).
Especially the second part of the quote is important since it highlights that the (social) networks facilitate migration which is a key assumption of this theory. The reason for this is that the networks are argued to lower the hazards that are accompanying migration and increase the potential benefits. Social networks can, for instance, increase the ability of migrants to find a job in the destination country (Morawka, 2007). The networks are formed by migrants themselves which create and maintain connections such as interpersonal ties between migrants and non-migrants, family ties and so forth. When the number of connections reaches a certain threshold, the migratory process becomes self-sustaining (Castles et al., 2014). The assumption that the existence of networks is what sustains migration, is strengthened by the fact that promoters of this theory have proven that even when the circumstances that triggered migration improve, migration continues. This continuation is sustained as long as the translocal social networks are sustained (Morawka, 2007).
One of the benefits of the migration network theory is that it allows us to review individual and social-structural reasons for migration (King, 2012). The theory presents so-called mesoscale factors. Meso-scale factors are intermediate mechanisms which help to connect the micro and macro-scale factors and link individual, social and structural reasons for migrating (King, 2012). By connecting the individual and social-structural factors in the migration process, this theory also makes a good effort in incorporating human agency (King, 2012). Further, the theory also helps to explain how human’s agency helps to create and maintain the networks through which migration takes place (King, 2012). Finally, the theory also helps to explain why migrants are not evenly distributed across regions (Kurekova, 2011). One obvious critique on this theory is that the network theory focuses only on the perpetuation of migration and not on its decline over time (Morawksa, 2007). Additionally, there is critique to the central assumption of this theory, namely the exclusively positive view on migration networks without explaining the constraining factors of migration networks (De Haas, 2008). This assumption is criticized since academics argue that strong migration
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networks also tend to exclude certain non-group people and other outsiders from these networks (Wimalaratana, 2017).
Transnationalism
A more recent approach to migration is the theory of transnationalism. It is argued that migration systems today have a transnational character. Like the other theories in this sub-section, this theory has a positive stance towards migration and it focusses on the links and connections of migrants across space (Castles et al., 2014). Transnationalism does not see migration as causing permanent breakdown of the links that migrants have with their home society but rather it focusses on the conservation of links, these theories recognize the fact that the lives of migrant's span across national different boundaries (Piche, 2013). More specifically, transnational migration is the process by which migrants form and sustain social links and relations that link the country in which they settle with their country of origin (Sagynbekova, 2016). Transnationalism argues that globalization has made it possible for migrants to sustain networks between sending and receiving countries. Technological innovation such as internet and telephone and air travel which are integral aspects of
globalization have not directly increased migration, but what these changes did do is allow for migrants to sustain close links with their societies of origin and with this the mobility of migrants increased (Duda-Mikulin, 2012; Castles et al., 2014). Migrants can now have various identities and localities (Sagynbekova, 2016).
One downside of transnationalism theory is that it focusses solely on migrants which lead ''transnational lives'', but only a small part of the migrants do this (King, 2012). Despite this, this theory helps to explain that migration is a two-way migratory process and it gives insight into how links of migrants are sustained across space. Moreover, this theory questions the previously discussed linear push-pull theory which does not take any notion of return migration and sees migration as breaking all ties with the country or regions of origin (King, 2012).
These theories are primarily concerned with the factors which cause, form and sustain migration. Together these theories allow us to understand how migration changes over time. These theories challenge the neoclassical economic and structuralist theories in showing how migration and development complement instead of replacing each other (De Haas, 2008).
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Moreover, these theories help to understand how human agency plays an essential role in the formation of the structures that initiate and make the migration process self-sustaining (Castles et al., 2014). These theories, however, just like the others, fail to explain the deterioration of migrant networks and systems over time. Their exclusive focus on the migration perpetuating factors implies that migration is an eternal process (Castles et al., 2014). The migration systems theory can be useful for identifying more than just flows of people, these theories can help to understand how other flows such as capital or information can be linked to migration. It could also help to explain how the friendship, family and kinship systems increase or cause migration. The migration networks theory can be very useful in the current research. It can help to explain the role and benefits of social networks in relation to migration. It can also explain the perpetuation of migration when the circumstances that triggered migration improve. Finally, the theory of transnationalism argues that some migrants live transnational lives. In connection with other theories on networks and systems, this theory can help to better understand how migrants with transnational lives can strengthen the connections and links with the home country. The next section of this research discusses the research methods that have been used.
Research methods
In this section, the methodology of the research will be discussed. For this research, a qualitative approach has been chosen for several reasons. In the exploratory phase, the first step was defining the research topic through desk-based literature study and narrowed it down to the current unit of analysis. After extensive literature study, the choice has been made to use a qualitative approach since this is most suitable for this topic. The main reason for this is that this research explores the complex underlying reasons for migration and for this
qualitative research is most suitable since this research strategy has the ability really dive into the problem and explore complex human behavior (Bryman, 2012a). Since this research focusses on an understudied topic, flexibility is desirable and qualitative research strategy is best for this.
For this research, the choice has been made to use a case study research design because this design has the ability to examine a research question within in a setting that contains a multitude of contextual variables (Schell, 1992). Off all different research designs,
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the case study is the most flexible which is useful when studying real life, uncontrollable events. According to Schell (1992), case studies select examples of a social entity within its normal context. The social entity in this case study is female migrants, the ''example'' of this social entity are Polish women. This research is a so-called exploratory case-study. This research design is very useful when a research problem is not extensively studied and in this case very little is known on female Polish migrants in the Netherlands, there is little academic work to predict outcomes on (Zainal, 2007). Through exploring this understudied group of migrants in the Netherlands a door is opened for subsequent research. Even though this
research will not result in results which can be generalized it will provide valuable insights for future research.
Searching for literature and recruitment of respondents
Literature for this research has been collected using different sources. The most extensively used sources for online literature collection are UvA-catalogue, CataloguePlus, and Google. In addition to online articles, various printed books have been used which have been borrowed at the UvA library. Statistical data such as graphs, demographic statistics and other numerical were found with the help of Google but also manually on the CBS website and the website of the Central Statistical Office of Poland. The search language was mainly English with a view exception.
In order to recruit individuals for this research different methods have been used. The most important one has been attending a meeting of a group called Polish Professional Women in the Netherlands. By searching on Google for organizations and association for Polish women in the Netherlands this group was found and after contacting one of the board members the possibility arose to attend one of their monthly meetings, at one of these meetings various contacts have been gathered which directly or indirectly resulted in interviews. Another technique that was used was a public message on Facebook which resulted in one individual which was willing to be interviewed. Finally, the researcher's own social network was consulted which resulted in respondents for the research.
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Description of research participants and sampling
There are different ways of sampling participants for qualitative research and in this case, a probability sampling method will be used to collect participants. A
probability sample is a sample which is not randomly selected. Two specific types of non-probability sampling that have been used are snowball sampling and convenience sampling (Bryman, 2012b). A convenience sample is a sample that is chosen simply because it is accessible. Snowball sampling can be seen as a form of a convenience sample since it is a sampling method which uses a contact or group of contacts to gain access to more people that can be relevant for the research (Bryman, 2012b). For this research, the choice has been made to focus on Polish women that are working in the BSS. The women in this research have been living in the Netherlands for at least one year, this is done to improve the chances that women in this sample have a good picture of the Netherlands. Further, the women are all highly educated as is explained in the introduction (for more information on the research participants see appendix A).
Researcher approach
Within qualitative research, it is of great importance to review the position of the researcher and the potential influence this has on the research outcomes. An interesting fact about qualitative research is that the researcher is the key instrument (Cresswell, 2007). The researcher, in this case, collects the data with the help of an instrument – interview – but this instrument has been designed by the researcher. Because of this important role of the
researcher, it is a necessity to discuss the potential of the researcher to influence the collection and analysis of the data (Pezalla, Pettigrew & Miller-Day, 2012). As is written in the article of Pazella et al. (2012):
''Researchers use their sensory organs to grasp the study objects, mirroring them in their consciousness, where they then are converted into phenomenological representations to be interpreted. It is through the researcher’s facilitative interaction that a conversational space is created – that is, an arena where respondents feel safe to share stories on their experiences and life worlds'' (p. 167).
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This quote really describes the way in which the researcher is involved in the research. As is expected for this type of research, a feminist research approach is used. Although there is no agreement on what the feminist research approach is or should be there are some key points on which academics agree (Hussain & Asad, 2012; Pezalla et al., 2012). First of all, feminist research is involved with studying topics which concern women. Moreover, it researches social dynamics and relationships in society from the viewpoint of women. This is extremely relevant for this research since academic writings on migration have for most of the time been androcentric (Duda-Mikulin, 2012). The focal point of feminist research is on the reality and experiences of women, incorporate them in academic knowledge and in this way empower them (Gelling, 2013). The feminist approach clearly influences the research question for this article which is focused on shedding light on an under-researched group of women in the Netherlands. It must be stressed that this research is not aiming at shedding light on the difference between men and women, the aim is to clarify the motives of migration from the perspective of women but no attempt is made to identify the difference with that of men.
Ethical considerations
Of great importance to this research are ethical considerations. In order to conduct the research in a responsible and ethically correct way, different ethical principles have been followed which will be discussed in this section. There are different associations which all handle different research ethics so for this research the guidelines of the Social Research Association (SRA, 2003). Of utmost importance are the so-called obligations to subjects which contain the two main ethical principles of this study; informed consent and
confidentiality. The former principle refers to providing the respondents with information about the research and usage of collected data (SRA, 2003). It is very important that respondents are aware of the fact that they can refuse and withdraw the data that they have provided at any point. In order to meet this principle, the respondents are extensively informed with an email prior to the interview and again before the start of the interview the nature of the research, usage of data and the right of the respondent to withdraw the collected data at any point is discussed. The respondents are also asked whether they agree on being voice recorded. Finally, at the start of the research, participants are asked whether they understand and accept the research proceedings. The second principle – confidentiality –
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refers to ensuring that the collected data, personal information such as email, name, address, voice recordings and so forth are strictly confidential (SRA, 2003). To ensure this the names of the respondents will be converted into a number which can only be linked with the help of a secured document on an online drive. If a research participant does not give consent on being voice recorded hand-written notes will be taken. During the research and data collection, the researcher pays attention to possible emerging ethical difficulties.
The interview process and transcription
Qualitative data has been collected with the help of semi-structured interviews. This type of interviewing is especially useful when one wants to gain insight into an issue from the perspective of a participant (Bryman, 2012a). When conducting semi-structured interviews, there is an outline of questions but there is a possibility to go more deeply into a certain topic when the interviewee could provide more information when diving deeper into a certain topic or answer. The freedom the interviewer has with this kind of interviewing technique is a great benefit. The interviews have been conducted at different locations. Some interviews were held at the Roetereiland Campus and others were conducted over Skype or at a lunch bar in
Amsterdam. During the interview, voice recordings were made a part of these recordings have been transcribed with the use of a free HTML tool called oTranscribe (Bentley, n.d.). Another part of the recordings has been transcribed with the use of YouTube. The audio file of the recording has been converted into a video file so it could be uploaded to YouTube as a video, next the automatically generated subtitle function of YouTube was used and the transcript or in other words the full list of subtitles was downloaded and corrected. The choice has been made to only transcribe the relevant material from the voice recordings. So, for instance, if someone says that they do not hear the question and ask to repeat it, this will not be included in the transcript. In order to increase the legibility of this research, the sentence structure of some of the quotations has been changed and some words have been added or left out, so the reader should bear in mind that not all quotations are literal. All of the interviews were held in English except from the interview with interviewee 8, this interview has been translated subsequently.
