Migration, gender and low-paid work: on migrant men’s entry dynamics into the feminised social care work in the UK
Hussein, Shereen;
Christensen, Karen;
(2017)
Migration, gender and low-paid work: on migrant men’s entry dynamics into the feminised social care work in the UK.
Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 43 (5).
pp. 749-765.
ISSN 1369-183X
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183x.2016.1202751
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The literature on workers in gender atypical occupations has been dominated by a focus on women doing men’s work. Much less attention has been paid to men in women’s work, and even less to the impact of migration. Based on 28 in-depth interviews with migrant men having experiences of working in hands-on social care in England, this article is a contribution to the understanding of migrant men’s entry dynamics into a female-dominated occupation. Focusing on migrant life experiences, it discusses how they actively engage in three entry dynamics: (1) facing barriers and negotiating them, (2) ‘stumbling upon’ women’s work, then developing compensating strategies and (3) migratory/temporary settling into the sector. The article suggests a theory about lifelong ‘travelling’ when entering women’s work: a continuing process of negotiating work options within a specific historical sector context, the intersection of gender and migration being part of this.