Gender and Migration: The Experiences of Skilled Professional Women

Abstract

This chapter highlights the difficulties experienced by female migrants in Australia within the broader international context. Skilled migration programs are now the major pathway for migrants entering traditional settler societies such as Australia, Canada, New Zealand and, more recently, the United Kingdom. Prior to migration, women felt their job search would be relatively easy and they would find employment quite quickly, and so would continue to develop their professional careers. The chapter explores the experience of migrant women with professional skills and experience in a new country, and the difficulties experienced by them as a result of gender, race and family responsibility. Gender segregation in new labour markets means that women fight for work within even more unfavourable labour market segments than men encounter. The gendered expectations of caring for the family, together with problems of skill and qualification recognition, mean that women are less likely than men to experience 'economic betterment' as a result of the migration process.