‘I’m a migrant, but I’m the right sort of migrant’: Hegemonic masculinity, whiteness, and intersectional privilege and (dis)advantage in migratory academic careers

Abstract

Comparatively little attention has been paid to the international careers of many academics, with gender and ethnicity frequently ignored in discussions of migrant academics. Through the lenses of intersectionality, hegemonic masculinity and whiteness, this study explores experiences of migrant academics in Australia and New Zealand, understanding how gender and ethnicity intersect to shape experiences of relative privilege and disadvantage. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 30 academics at various stages of their careers in both Australia and New Zealand. The data reveals the complex patterns of (dis)advantage which characterize the experiences of migrant academics. While some migrant academics may experience disadvantage, for Anglo white male senior academics, considerable privilege is (re)produced through the migration experience. As such, this article suggests migratory experiences can be better understood through the intersectionality of hegemonic masculinity and whiteness to reveal how privilege is maintained.

Academic and teacher expatriates: Mobilities, positionalities, and subjectivities

“…Although the term has increasingly been used since the turn of the new century, usage, however, has been almost solely confined within education literature. Academic expatriates have more often been described in existing literature by interchanging terms such as “foreign academics” (Burford, Uerpairojkit, Eppolite, & Vachananda, ), “internationally mobile academics” (Bauder et al, ; Teichler, ), “mobile academics” (Kim, ), “international academics” (Richardson, ), “migrant academics” (Kahn & Misiaszek, ; Morley, Alexiadou, Garaz, González‐Monteagudo, & Taba, ; Ortiga, Chou, Sondhi, & Wang, , ; Sang & Calvard, ), “migrant faculty” (Ortiga et al, ), and “international faculty members” (Kuzhabekova & Lee, ; Lee & Kuzhabekova, ). Alternative terms used to refer to teacher expatriates are less varied, albeit still loose and indefinite, often alternating between “international school teachers” (Bailey, ) and “foreign teachers” (Bunnell, , ).…”

“…Originating from Black feminism (e.g., Hooks, ), intersectionality rests on the idea that inequality, exclusion, and discrimination do not occur on a single axis of difference but on multiple, overlapping axes (Hopkins, ). For example, Sang and Calvard () uncovered how gender and ethnicity (read: whiteness) work to privilege certain academic expatriates and not others. Shinozaki () analysed the intersection of citizenship and gender in academic expatriates' career inequalities, while Johansson and Śliwa () analysed the interaction between “foreignness” and gender in shaping the differentiated experiences of female academics of non‐UK origin in the UK.…”

“…An emerging body of work primarily in education and human resource management literature (McAlpine, ; Richardson, ; Sang & Calvard, ) moves beyond the economic to explore wider aspects of expatriation. They seek to counter the positive and celebratory portrayals of academic and teacher expatriate mobilities, casting attention to the challenges, limitations, and downsides of expatriation.…”

Mobilidades no labirinto: tensionando as fronteiras nas carreiras de mulheres

“…The spheres are distinguished from each other by four main contexts: a) global; b) society and culture; c) origin; and d) work (MAYRHOFER, MEYER and STEYRER, 2007). Although gender is an issue discussed in the context 'society and culture' (MAYRHOFER, MEYER and STEYRER, 2007;COHEN, DUBERLEY and RAVISHANKAR, 2015), it is also present in others since both the context of the origin (ANDREWS and SHAHROKNI, 2014;FERNANDO and COHEN, 2014) and of work (including new configurations that emerge as a result of international mobility) (KEMP and RICKETT, 2018;RODRIGUEZ and SCURRY, 2019;SANG and CALVARD, 2019), reveal careers with distinct tasks and challenges for men and women. These contexts are marked by gendered historical constructions and the dynamics of mobility and immobility.…”

“…According to Andresen, Dickmann, and Suutari (2018), mobility has gained space in the discussion on global careers with an emphasis on studies focused on expatriation (BERRY and BELL, 2012;BARUCH, DICKMANN, ALTMAN et al, 2013;ROOS, 2013;RAMASWAMI, CARTER and DREHER, 2016) and migration (SANG, AL-DAJANI and ÖZBILGIN, 2013;ANDREWS and SHAHROKNI, 2014;RESSIA, STRACHAN and BAILEY, 2017;RIAÑO, 2016;SANG and CALVARD, 2019;TAPIA and ALBERTI, 2019). In the organizational space, there is an increasing appreciation of availability for mobility, which is an issue addressed in Brazilian studies focusing mainly on expatriate professionals (GONZÁLEZ and OLIVEIRA, 2011;GALLON, SCHEFFER and BITENCOURT, 2013;GALLON, FRAGA and ANTUNES, 2017;PRESTES, GRISCI and FRAGA, 2016).…”