ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the ways in which an ecological perspective can be used in social policy analysis so that cultures, backgrounds and strengths of immigrant and refugee women are better recognized, and positively and appropriately supported within multicultural societies. It describes various traditions and ways of being that women bring to Canada and the losses when they make decisions to give up or not share these. The chapter focuses on ways in which women understand their settlement needs and the various ways in which they have addressed these needs. It discusses that Human Ecology provides a framework through which policymakers and community workers can maintain focus on the richness and benefits that newcomer women bring to their new homelands. The chapter explores how a Human Ecological framework can maintain focus on the multiple stories and voices in order to enhance the ways in which we respond to the settlement and integration needs of immigrant and refugee women in Canada.
