Immigrants enrollment in language training and gendered experiences on digital housing platforms in Sweden

Using longitudinal Swedish register data, Samaneh Khaef’s article examines when immigrants enroll in Swedish for Immigrants (SFI), how long they remain in the programme and which factors shape their participation. The study focuses on immigrants who arrived in Sweden between 2000 and 2016 and follows their participation for up to ten years. The results show that most participants enroll relatively soon after arrival, while enrollment declines sharply after the first three years. Participation patterns vary according to education, income, age, gender, family situation, language background and migration category. Higher-educated, higher-income and younger participants tend to leave SFI sooner, whereas women, unemployed people, individuals at risk of poverty and parents of young children generally remain longer.

In a related policy insight, Khaef investigates whether the employment benefits of SFI vary depending on where immigrants settle. The study finds that immigrants who attend SFI enter their first employment more quickly than those who do not, but that the effect differs across regions. The employment advantage of language training is strongest in metropolitan areas and large cities, particularly where many jobs require strong communication skills. In sparsely populated areas, immigrants tend to enter employment relatively quickly regardless of SFI participation, although language training still provides an additional benefit. The findings highlight the importance of adapting language-training policies to local labour-market conditions rather than treating the national programme as equally effective everywhere.

Lenita Kefala’s article examines subletting as an informal and increasingly important part of Sweden’s housing market, focusing on how digital platforms such as Facebook shape women’s experiences as subtenants in Stockholm. Based on in-depth interviews, the study shows that housing advertisements and interactions on digital rental platforms often reproduce expectations of the “well-behaved female tenant.” Gender can therefore function both as a resource and as a constraint: women may strategically draw on gendered expectations to improve their chances of securing housing, while also facing unwanted sexual advances and the persistent risk of harassment from men. The article contributes a feminist perspective to research on digital housing platforms by showing how digital infrastructures can mediate both exclusion and exposure, raising broader questions about dignity, access and justice in contemporary urban housing systems.