Brain drain/ brain gain: Polish-German challenges and perspectives – Focus on the gender aspects of labour migration from 1989

The study analyzes the nature and manifestation of labor migration flows between Poland and Germany in three periods of time - 1989-2004, 2004-2011 and 2011-2015 – which represent three periods of major geopolitical, economic and social changes (the fall of the Soviet Union, the Polish EU accession, and the economic crisis). It also tackles the subjects of brain drain, brain gain, and brain loss and their effects on the economy and notably human capital and the labor market of Germany and Poland in recent years. On the background of the abovementioned topics, the study will specifically analyse the stakes related to the subject of female labor migration and female brain drain (gender inequalities, discrimination, skills mismatch and gender issues experienced by female labor migrants in the workplace and in the society of the receiving country). This focus on female brain drain is a relatively undiscovered topic which implies specific analysis.

The study will be accompanied by a seminar bringing together both partners of the project and relevant stakeholders (young researchers, students, policy-makers, university professors, etc.). The event will consist in the presentation of the study’s findings followed by a roundtable discussion among the participants and the authors of the study. The seminar will be broadcast through the partner’s websites and through the universities of Warsaw and Freiburg. The study and the seminar will be widely disseminated and promoted for an effective and universal access to information.

Publication: Female Brain Drain in Poland and Germany: New Perspectives for Research

Seminar: Female Brain Drain in Poland and Germany, December 15, 2016

Sponsors: Stiftung für deutsch-polnische Zusammenarbeit, Deutsch-Polnische Wissenschaftsstiftung.

Partner: Centre for European Policy

Experts: Izabela Styczyńska, Karolina Beaumont, Paul Lirette