Advancing inclusive recruitment: a practice lens on navigating barriers to refugee employment

Lee, E. S. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1593-9902, Szkudlarek, B. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8667-8872, Johnson, S. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4236-5211 and Brewster, C. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5314-1518 (2025) Advancing inclusive recruitment: a practice lens on navigating barriers to refugee employment. Human Relations. ISSN 1741-282X doi: 10.1177/00187267251363341

Abstract/Summary

Scholarly interest in refugee employment often centers on the barriers faced by this group of jobseekers. This study shifts focus to employers, exploring how their practices address recruitment challenges. Our qualitative investigation of 39 Australia-based employers identifies two sets of barriers—proximal and distal—and the corresponding practices employers adopt to overcome them. We find that these barriers differ in the assumed scale, locus of influence, and the nature of impact. Through a practice theory lens, we demonstrate how employers’ responses to these barriers have the capacity to reproduce or alter the socio-structural conditions in which refugee employment takes place. While most employers focus on adaptive practices targeting proximal barriers, transformative practices aimed at tackling the distal barriers play a key role in rectifying structural disparities in the recruitment of disadvantaged groups. Our study advances refugee employment literature by demonstrating how employers’ assumptions around the barriers can deter employer engagement and limit impact. We highlight the managerial implications by demonstrating how employers can drive meaningful change in areas traditionally considered the domain of other actors, effectively addressing challenges in the employment landscape.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://centaur.reading.ac.uk/id/eprint/124517
Identification Number/DOI	10.1177/00187267251363341
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	Henley Business School > International Business and Strategy
Publisher	Sage
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