“I was always told to fit in, but never to excel”: Men’s Post-Migration Practices of Success in the Public Sector

Abstract

What post-migration practices of success at the labor market do migrants employ on their way to attaining senior professional positions? This paper offers new insights to the study of migration by focusing on success and masculinity among Ethiopian men, a marginalized group in the Israeli labor market. Using findings from 27 semi-structured interviews and six semi-structured interviews with experts or professionals, we investigate the relationships between career success, gender, and migration through a transnational perspective. Migrant success continues to be assessed and viewed primarily through the lenses of the nation-state and integration, in comparison to the native population in general and in the labor market in particular. This paper analyzes the post-migration practices of success described by migrant men who have achieved senior positions in the public sector, with the aim of illuminating the mechanisms and circumstances, as they understand them, that contribute to achieving success. The findings challenge the concept of integration in the context of migrant men’s success which defines success as fitting in and mediocrity rather than excellence both on the personal and societal level. Although limited to Ethiopian men who have achieved labor market success, this study provides an opportunity to demonstrate the value of examining migrant men’s success from the perspective of cultural capital and views migration masculinity as a dynamic concept.