Employment incongruity and gender among Middle Eastern and North African skilled migrants in Australia
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Accepted Manuscript (AM)
Author(s)
Faaliyat, Negar
Ressia, Susan
Peetz, David
Year published
2021
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Show full item recordAbstract
We investigate ‘employment incongruity’ among skilled migrants from Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) countries – that is, whether the jobs they achieve in Australia match the jobs they expect to be doing after they arrive or not – along with the factors that shape outcomes and the gendered dimensions of these outcomes. We analyse data collected from qualitative interviews with 15 females and eight male skilled MENA migrants, a median of seven years after arrival and apply an intersectionality lens and consider influences at the macro, meso and micro level that affect the power of female MENA migrants and shape their ...
View more >We investigate ‘employment incongruity’ among skilled migrants from Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) countries – that is, whether the jobs they achieve in Australia match the jobs they expect to be doing after they arrive or not – along with the factors that shape outcomes and the gendered dimensions of these outcomes. We analyse data collected from qualitative interviews with 15 females and eight male skilled MENA migrants, a median of seven years after arrival and apply an intersectionality lens and consider influences at the macro, meso and micro level that affect the power of female MENA migrants and shape their employment outcomes. We identify that what appears to shape employment incongruity are: organisational practices regarding recognition of overseas qualifications and demands for ‘local experience’; norms supporting discriminatory behaviour; the difficulties skilled MENA migrants have with accessing networks; and intra-family cultural norms. These findings are significant for current and future skilled MENA migrants, with the employment outcomes of most of the participants in this study revealing a mismatch between government immigration policies and organisational practices.
View less >
View more >We investigate ‘employment incongruity’ among skilled migrants from Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) countries – that is, whether the jobs they achieve in Australia match the jobs they expect to be doing after they arrive or not – along with the factors that shape outcomes and the gendered dimensions of these outcomes. We analyse data collected from qualitative interviews with 15 females and eight male skilled MENA migrants, a median of seven years after arrival and apply an intersectionality lens and consider influences at the macro, meso and micro level that affect the power of female MENA migrants and shape their employment outcomes. We identify that what appears to shape employment incongruity are: organisational practices regarding recognition of overseas qualifications and demands for ‘local experience’; norms supporting discriminatory behaviour; the difficulties skilled MENA migrants have with accessing networks; and intra-family cultural norms. These findings are significant for current and future skilled MENA migrants, with the employment outcomes of most of the participants in this study revealing a mismatch between government immigration policies and organisational practices.
View less >
Journal Title
Labour & Industry: a journal of the social and economic relations of work
Volume
31
Issue
1
Copyright Statement
This is an Author's Accepted Manuscript of an article published in Labour & Industry: a journal of the social and economic relations of work, 31 (1), pp. 47-65, 25 Jan 2021, copyright Taylor & Francis, available online at: https://doi.org/10.1080/10301763.2021.1878571
Subject
Human resources and industrial relations
Strategy, management and organisational behaviour
Policy and administration
Social Sciences
Industrial Relations & Labor
Middle Eastern and North African (MENA)
skilled migrants
Economics