Searching for Work in Australia: The Intersection of Gender and Race

Abstract

Early feminist literature focused on gender disadvantage in analysing difference between women and men. These issues were almost always viewed from a white middle-class standpoint, and issues of race/ethnicity, as well and many other social characteristics were not scrutinized. As the voices of Black feminist scholars began to emerge, they argued that their disadvantage was viewed through the privileged lens of the white-woman's experience. Kimberl頃renshaw (1989), a prominent Black female lawyer, insisted that gender and race be studied together to fully understand how they create multiple-disadvantage for women of colour, and coined 'intersectionality' as a way of theorising more deeply about gender and race issues. This paper focuses on the job-seeking experiences of skilled migrant women in Australia and the disadvantage they experience due to gender and race issues. The paper will also highlight how they deal with the added burden of family responsibilities. The combination of gender, race and family can result in migrant women finding employment in semi-skilled occupations at the expense of their professional careers.