The aim of this article is to study the experiences of highly skilled migrants from an intersectional perspective. Based on a case study of a group of skilled migrants in Finland, this article explores the interplay of various social identities and categorizations in their everyday life. I argue that although class markers are an important element in the self-defined group identification for skilled migrants, they are also subjected to intersecting social categorizations, stereotyping and assumptions based on gender, ethnicity, race and nationality, creating different experiences and belongings for different skilled migrants. Anthias' concept of 'translocational positionality' is used to highlight how these intersections are highly situational, context specific and relative to other actors in the Finnish context.
This article introduces a concept of a “migrant hierarchy,” a framework that is formed from Finnish society's perceptions of different types of immigrants. The hierarchy places value on immigrants in Finland based on their ethnicity, socio-economic status, and various other interlinking factors, dividing them into differently valued categories. Against this framework, the relevance of such a hierarchy to the everyday lives of highly skilled migrants in Finland is explored, using data from ethnographic fieldwork and interviews. The data are used to describe these migrants’ experiences of being categorized and perceived as particular types of immigrants, and the relevance of these experiences to their social lives and their self-defined group identities. The data show, firstly, that highly skilled migrants in Finland are aware of the migrant hierarchy, and that it has an impact on their lives. Secondly, although they object to its homogenizing and hierarchizing aspects, the categorizations of the hierarchy are still internalized to a certain extent, affecting identity constructions. Exploring these issues reveals boundaries that imply underlying problems in regards to the social integration and feelings of belonging by highly skilled migrants in Finland.
Tous droits réservés n°5 2010 57 New explorations in Finnish migration studies: the emerging case of the skilled migrantsKaisu Koskela inland has traditionally not been a country of immigration. The number of immigrants is still comparatively small. Research in the field has concentratedon culturally distant groups and their problems in integrating into Finnish society. The first studies of 2 nd generation immigrants have recently also added to the academic discussion.However, a new field within Finnish migration studies is now emerging, that of the study of the highly-skilled migrant labour force. This is still a very small group within the immigration statistics, but one that differs vastly from the immigration that Finland has previously received. The skilled migrants are generally seen as an economic concern, and much of the research reflects this.Therefore issues related to the social sphere and integration have been to a large extent ignored. This article will look at the initial results of this emerging research field, and offer recommendations for future research while drawing links between relevant research and policy making.
This article is about self-defined social identities, other people's perceptions of us and the potentially conflictual relationship between these two. Building on a Barthian focus on group boundaries, the article takes the interplay between external categorizations and internal group definitions as its point of departure to examine how individuals negotiate the boundaries of their social identities. Based on a case study of skilled migrants with racialized ethnicities in Finland, I look at how they express their self-defined identity as well-to-do, skilled professionals in the face of contradicting categorizations of them as un-skilled, lowerclass migrant subjects. I identify two types of complementary approaches employed by the skilled migrants in boundary making strategies to their identity negotiations: those de-emphasizing ethnicity (or its importance), and those emphasizing class status. These approaches are two sides of the same coin; coming from different perspectives, they both aim at a more positively viewed identity, and for individuals to be seen as well-to-do, educated, working professionals, rather than as ethnic migrant subjects. As such, the article also highlights the interconnection of class and ethnicity for the social identities of skilled migrants in Finland.
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