Abstract
Migrant professionals are becoming increasingly diverse in terms of their background (e.g. country of origin, ethnicity, gender, education), and the migration of this group has been on the rise over the last few years. Today, the drive behind the migration of these professionals can be attributed to factors such as globalization, the increase in tertiary-level education, the economic crisis in many countries in Europe, as well as the importance given to international experience for a professional career. ‘Migrant professionals’, the specific term chosen in this edited book, ‘expatriates’ or ‘highly skilled migrants’, are often viewed as a ‘placeless elite’. This collection of case studies, however, aims to bring forth a new lens on the topic of migrant professionals by focusing on the experiences of this target group, particularly at the local level. The selected studies also seek to contribute to understanding the impact that the city has on their identity and everyday lives.
Very different in their topics and in the target group of their study, the chapters included in Migrant Professionals in the City range from Russian professionals in a research centre in Germany, to Japanese expatriates in Jakarta, highly skilled French migrants in London, skilled migrant organizations in Oslo, Polish migrant entrepreneurs in the UK, as well as Colombian and Puerto Rican software engineers in Boston, just to mention a few. The variety in the types of profession the migrants hold, their nationalities and locations allow the reader to travel along in each chapter through these different settings, and to understand, in a wider context, their experience, relationship and interaction with the city. This book shifts from the common transnational, international, or global view of migrant professionals, to focus on the local perspective.
Despite the diverse selection of case studies, what brings them together is not just the particular attention to migrant professionals, but most importantly, the common interest they share in the city or locality as it reveals to be relevant to migrants’ social identity or experience. After all, as emphasized by Meier in his introduction, in spite of being considered a highly mobile group, these migrants have to settle down and rest, and are not on the move at all times. They all have experiences with the city, the community and their workplace and colleagues, which are often overlooked by researchers. Thirteen different chapters are included in this book, all of which are based on qualitative case studies from fieldwork, including interviews and participant observation, to understand professional migrants’ everyday experiences in specific cities. The collection is divided into three parts: ‘Considerations of the City’, ‘Local Incorporation and Work’ and ‘Local Encounters and Identities’.
Its third chapter, ‘Seeing Difference Differently’, a study by Gabrielle Désilets, for example, approaches the experiences of professional migrants’ children – ‘Third Culture Kids’ (TCKs) – in Melbourne, Australia, and Singapore. Based on a 19-month ethnographic study, Désilets carried out participant observations and interviews to understand how TCKs use and perceive the term ‘different’, and how the city affects their experience. She compares those in Melbourne with those in Singapore. Unlike the other case studies found in this book, the research carried out by Désilets does not examine professional migrants themselves, but their children, who are raised transnationally, without having a say about when or where they must move. This study explores matters such as identity, integration, being international or different, being part of ‘international bubbles’, as well as the impact of schools (international or regular) in the lives of TCKs. Among her findings are that TCKs are both drawn towards using the term ‘different’, as well as to socializing with people that have had similar international experiences. These participants’ struggles with identity have a strong relation to the idea of ‘being international’. In addition, the meaning of ‘home’ to this studied group is their family, friendships and belongings that have been collected along the years, in many international moves.
‘Socializing Spouses in Gabon’, the seventh chapter in this book, is based on 17 months of field research by Lisa Toccafondi Shutt in Port-Gentil, Gabon, in particular on the Petroleum Wives’ Club (PWC). This case study centres on the women who were members at the time of her fieldwork, and their experiences in this club and in the city of Port-Gentil. Shutt, who was a member of the PWC at the time of her fieldwork, observes and speaks to members during the many activities organized by the Club, such as monthly meetings, coffee mornings and picnics. The Club caters mostly to Western women from different nationalities, most of whom are accompanying their husbands who work in the oil industry in Port-Gentil, although it allows exceptions. It aims to create the opportunity for social gatherings between women and families, as well as allowing for people of similar situations to connect. Shutt analyses how her participants imagine the city and how that affects their identity. Shutt’s work provides a glimpse into what it is like to be a member of the PWC. The findings from her study include the fact that PWC serves to ‘structure social life and physical space’, as well as to create narratives and social categories, which are learned through member participation. In addition, participation in the PWC bolsters ideas of ‘Westernness’, with Western culture being considered superior to African, and with power structures, within the city of Port-Gentil, controlled by Westerners.
In ‘Londres Accueil’, the ninth chapter, Jon Mulholland and Louise Ryan explore mobility, place, identity and their interactions with regard to highly skilled French migrants in London. Similar to Shutt’s research, this study also analysed its target group’s imagining and symbolism of the city, in particular London as a cosmopolitan city. The research is based on an 18-month study, featuring interviews and a focus group. The authors identify and explore the expat ‘French bubble’ in London, with South Kensington as the location highlighted by most participants. They also notice the influence of schools on French migrant professionals regarding identity, integration, imagining of the city, and on their choices. Mulholland and Ryan make use of works such as that of Cinar and Bender, to understand how London is imagined by these migrants as a global city and at the same time a mix of localities. They also resort to Benedict Anderson’s ideas on imagined communities, to explain the construction of these professional migrants’ social identities. Bourdieu’s concept of distinction is employed as an important means to understand the reproduction of ‘Frenchness’ in South Kensington, London, because participants may be practising or constructing distinction based on economic class. Some of the findings from this study include the importance to the participants of passing on French culture and identity to their children, which is made apparent by their choices of school. Although participants on the one hand try to distance themselves from the French in London, they also wish to reproduce the French culture and national identity in themselves and their children.
Though there is room for exploring more locations and different target groups in future research, this book places on the agenda the relevance of conducting research on skilled migrants specially at the local level. It contributes with different case studies on the everyday experience of skilled migrants in specific cities, giving attention to matters of identity, integration, work and the city.