Opinion: My mother was proud of her work as a midwife. Then we came to America and her credentials didn’t count.

This year in the Legislature, a bill that would have given foreign-trained doctors a path to practice in the state died without reaching the floor. Measures like this highlight a pressing issue in Minnesota — the need for skilled immigrants to have access to more job opportunities.

Currently, there is a significant need for skilled labor in Minnesota, which has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the county. Simultaneously, advocates like myself are urging policymakers, employers, and community leaders to be active stakeholders in ensuring that skilled immigrants can overcome barriers to help fill the state’s workforce gaps.

I was born in Dadaab, the largest refugee camp in Kenya. In 1992, my mother and older siblings arrived there after escaping the civil war in Somalia. Although the camp provided safety from the war, it was a challenging environment for me to grow up in. Many people suffered from scarcity of food and water. Our survival depended on my mother’s work as a midwife.

My mother was proud of her work as a midwife, helping people give birth in the camp. I was 9 when we resettled in Boise, Idaho. My mother looked forward to helping people there, too. But once we had resettled, it became clear that her qualifications didn’t count in America. Nobody saw her potential to retrain and thrive, and she stayed at home. She never worked as a midwife again, and it was a sad loss to our family and the community.

Now I live in Minneapolis, having overcome various barriers placed in my path. I have demonstrated resilience and ingenuity and am able to contribute. I saw the harsh reality of my mother’s experience as a spur to better opportunities for refugee women.

Immigrants account for up to 16% of women in the U.S. workforce , and they play many essential roles. We make up 23% of those working in health care and social assistance, for example. But skilled immigrants face many barriers to contributing, including language challenges, a lack of credential recognition, cultural differences, and of course, discrimination.

I’m determined to change things. That’s why I recently launched a podcast called Voices Unveiled . It delves into the stories of educated and skilled immigrants in our communities. Each episode features powerful voices sharing their resilience and wisdom. I want us to challenge and change the narrative surrounding working immigrants.

One woman I interviewed recently reflects the challenge. Patricia Aguilar has two degrees in economics and worked in banking in Venezuela for years. She is highly motivated with adaptable skills. She had more than a dozen interviews at banks in Minnesota when she arrived, but they all turned her down. Many said she lacked “U.S.-based experience.” She ended up working for a resettlement organization helping refugees find housing. One day she found herself working with the same bankers who had turned her down for work.

Her story shows how the banks overlooked her brilliant experience and background. Employers are such a huge stakeholder in the shift we need to make. They’re also suffering a labor shortage. A study released in March by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce found there are 73 workers for every 100 open jobs in the U.S. It’s time for a change of mindset for employers when it comes to hiring refugees.

Pathways programs also help refugees to fill roles. I interviewed a Chilean immigrant, Melissa Rieger . She came to the U.S. in 2010, after earning her Ph.D. and spending three years in Spain doing cancer research. But she has spent more than a decade trying to get a medical residency. Finally, she found BRIIDGE , a nine-month pathway program that helped her prepare and apply for a U.S. residency. Meanwhile, she could have been working on a cure for cancer, research or delivering care to families in that decade.

We can invest in a host of solutions to avoid this “ brain waste ” in refugee and immigrant communities. Mentorship, networking, language, and skills training all help. We also can invest in cultural competency training and engaging employers, and in upgrading job-specific skills and work-related English requirements for state licenses. I’d also like us to offer licenses for work irrespective of immigration status. It removes another barrier to employment for skilled immigrants.

There are also successful programs like the nonprofit Upwardly Global . It’s a free program helping refugees and immigrants restart their careers in America. I’m also pleased to see investors looking at the value of refugee integration. Refugee Integration Insights ranked the top 50 global companies for investors last year. They showed how businesses can play a meaningful role in helping refugees resettle. Many of the top performers rolled out special training to give refugees a head start.

The state of Virginia has been making great strides and community movements to help skilled newcomers. For example, Governor Glenn Youngkin has signed a law that will create a pathway for foreign-trained doctors to fill health care gaps in that state.

And in Pennsylvania, legislation has been proposed in the House aimed at creating an Office of New Pennsylvanians. This office would serve as a focal point for coordinating policy initiatives and outreach efforts for immigrants and refugees.

The work of Minnesota’s Office of New Americans , which works to remove barriers between employers and immigrant communities, is a good first step. We need targeted policies in the areas of skill building, licensing pathways, and citizenship to ensure that all Minnesotans have equal opportunity to succeed.

I still remember when we came to the U.S. from Kenya. My mother packed all her papers and licenses, and was so excited to come. Having been the main breadwinner in our family, she had a sense of pride. But her recommendation letters and courses and experience didn’t help her here. It was a crushing experience. She was so disappointed to hear “no” for so many different reasons. It was a great injustice because I see that she could have been a community worker or a doula, if not a midwife. The barriers held her back and represented America at its worst. Now, I am determined for us to do better.

The post Opinion: My mother was proud of her work as a midwife. Then we came to America and her credentials didn’t count. appeared first on Sahan Journal .