American Airlines, Pfizer and Globant are getting refugee women ready for the workforce

As an increasing number of refugees arrive in the U.S., employers are playing a pivotal role in guiding them toward jobs that can set them up for success. 

The State Department plans to admit 125,000 refugees into the U.S. in 2023, up significantly from 25,465 in 2022. But gaining entry is just the first step in a very long and daunting road to assimilation — language barriers and discrimination are just some of the major barriers to steady employment. Upwardly Global, a nonprofit that supports refugee and immigrant employment, estimates there are 2.2 million college-educated refugees that remain unemployed or underemployed. 

Creating those pathways to employment is the goal of the Tent Partnership for Refugees, an employer network dedicated to mentoring, upskilling and hiring refugees. In May, Tent announced a new initiative that will support and mentor refugee women through the career preparation and job searching process. Employers including American Airlines, Accenture, Pfizer and others have committed to mentoring 1,500 women over the next three years. 

"We're laser focused on how companies can hire, train and mentor refugees to make sure that they can give back to their communities and provide for themselves and their families," says Scarlet Cronin, vice president at Tent. "Companies have really stepped up to look at this population of refugees and have their employees team up with refugee women that are coming to the U.S., and provide them with a range of support to help them become job ready." 

Read more: This company is helping refugees find jobs

Cronin says women refugees enter the U.S. at a "double disadvantage," their challenges at finding suitable employment compounded by the same hurdles American women already face in the workplace. 

"Women in general face a ton of systemic gender disparities and prejudices and have trouble advancing in the workplace and don't get paid as much as men," she says. "For refugees, add on to that the fact that they don't know the local context of how to go about finding a job, they don't have a social network, they can't tap into for references of places that they might work." 

Tent's program seeks to partner refugee women with mentors for at least six months. Employer partners are provided with a guided curriculum, on topics like building a LinkedIn profile, leveraging an online social network, writing resumes and cover letters, and preparing for job interviews. 

The goal of this program is not to get mentees hired at the company, though Tent works with other employers on job placement. The mentorship is instead meant to facilitate connection, and provide a gateway for employers to engage with the refugee community, without having to commit to the often complex process of hiring from this demographic. 

"Our overarching goal is to get companies to hire refugees — we think that's the most important thing a company can do to really change the course of a refugee's life and their family," Cronin says. "But mentorship can be a much easier lift and a great avenue to pursue, especially for those who have a vested interest in supporting and advancing women. It's a natural fit."  

Read more: 5 hiring resources to help tap into overlooked talent 

For Globant, a professional services firm, working with Tent was a natural extension of their commitment to mentorship for current employees, while aligning with their broader goal of getting more women trained and hired in IT and STEM fields, says Nancy Anderson Bolton, the company's vice president of corporate affairs.

"We're very focused as a company on inclusion and education, and with an emphasis of working with underserved communities that face barriers to entering the workforce," she says. "As a technology company that's fueled by innovation, we also know that innovation, in turn, is fueled by diversity. We feel these populations have so much to contribute, and we want to help them make the transition." 

Globant will work with fifty mentees both in-person and remotely. The partnership with Tent is one of many mentoring and upskilling initiatives at Globant, which also partners with community colleges in the U.S. as well as other mentorship programs around the world. This focus on mentorship doesn't just benefit those in the program, but employees themselves and the business as a whole, Bolton says.  

Read more: Women can make $1 million more in their career through this free upskilling program 

"It allows employees to enhance their leadership skills, and gives them an opportunity to understand that diversity is what's going to drive business growth and innovation going forward," she says. "For companies that are focused on creating strong company culture and being purpose driven, it's a fantastic way of giving back." 

Cronin says mentors have shared that their experiences working with Tent have helped them be more empathetic to the challenges refugees face, and have broadened their view on the support an organization can offer. Some employers have even extended their mentorship programs beyond the six months, offering additional training and support on topics like financial literacy. 

For the mentees, the experience of feeling prepared for a successful job search can give them confidence and a support system that they didn't have when they first arrived, Cronin says. 

"We've heard from people that they never thought they would be going into an interview, and now they're thinking bigger about what their profession could look like here in the U.S.," she says. "That's just by having someone who believes in them."