Migracijske i etničke teme (Apr 2011)
Gendered Configurations: Transborder Professional Careers of Migrant Women
Abstract
In this paper an analytical model within the framework of life course analysis is outlined, aiming at the multidimensional analysis of professional careers of migrants. Additional to the work cycle, reproduction as well as migration processes are included in the analysis of the occupational biography of migrants. By this, gender and gender relations as well as migration are systematically included in the reconstruction of the life course. This model is presented with reference to a research project on the labour market integration in Germany of highly qualified migrant women from post-socialist states, being qualified in the natural sciences and technology. Focusing on the professional careers of migrant women, the significance within migration studies of labour and migrant women’s chances of employment according to their qualifications is highlighted. After sketching the research project in the context of migration history and the regulation of highly skilled migration in Germany, the analysis of professional careers of migrant women in the life course perspective is conceptualized and discussed.
