Donya* came to Germany in 2016. The trained midwife fled from Afghanistan with her 19-year-old son after her husband disappeared and she received death threats. "On my first night in Germany, I slept better than I had in years. I will never forget that night," she told DW. While Donya appreciated the security offered by Germany, she continued to be tormented by sporadic fears for her own life and that of her son. Trauma is not quickly overcome and it makes concentrating difficult — a prerequisite for taking up a job. Despite her traumatic experiences, Donya made it back into employment. She has been working as a care worker for the elderly for two years now after completing an eight-month training program — and German language courses. The 53-year-old says she feels her work is unchallenging, but she cannot cope with switching careers again. The former midwife has also been helped by Work for Refugees, a project that is run by GIZ / Society for Intercultural Coexistence and other cooperation partners, and funded by the Berlin Senate (SenASGIVA). It is one of a number of publicly funded projects and nonprofit organizations that have been launched to address the diverse challenges facing refugees and help dismantle recruitment obstacles. Donya seen from behind, with a counsellorDonya seen from behind, with a counsellor Donya received counselling through the Work for Refugees projectImage: Afsaneh Afraze Female refugees face threefold disadvantage After eight years, some 68% of people who fled violence or conflict in their home countries to come to Germany found work, according to a rolling survey launched in 2016. But the representative study from the Institute for Employment Research (IAB), Germany's Federal Office for Refugees (BAMF) and the Socioeconomic Panel (SOEP) also shows that female employment levels are much lower than that of men. Some two-thirds of women refugees remain unemployed after eight years. That is in contrast to 15% of adult male refugees. "Studies show there is a threefold disadvantage for refugee women. They are disadvantaged as women, immigrants and refugees," explained Maye Ehab, an IAB researcher. Many men who flee to Germany are single, while many of the women come with young children. "That puts them at a disadvantage when it comes to attending German courses or taking up various services provided by the government," Ehab told DW. A shortage of child care workers means space at day care centers is not easily available. The difficulties in finding child care have also been an obstacle for many of the Ukrainian women who fled with their children to Germany after the start of the Russian invasion in 2022. While in 2015 and 2016, most of Germany's 1.2 million asylum-seekers came from Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq and were disproportionately male, three-quarters of the Ukrainians seeking refuge are female. Some female refugees never worked at all in their home countries or worked in sectors, like education or health, which require considerable language skills and are highly regulated in Germany, according to Ehab. "Men can work in jobs that don't require good German skills, such as the construction sector or the services sector. That makes it easier for them to jump this hurdle," she added.