EMPLOYMENT
Several studies focus on the intersection of gender and migration. McKay et al (2005) explored the scale and demographics of migrant workers in the East of England, their age and gender, their levels of education and skills and the transferability of those skills, issues related to language and communication, and a range of work-related issues. A key finding was that the labour market experiences of male and female migrants reflected traditional labour market divisions between the sexes. Women were more likely to be found in the ‘caring’ sectors of employment and men in the ‘heavy’ or manual sectors. Thus migrant labour is on the whole likely to experience the same occupational segregation as the rest of the UK labour force: on that basis, migrant women workers are likely to encounter greater discrimination in the workplace, compared to male migrant labour. However, there are also more male migrants, for example Zimbabweans, in feminised sectors such as care (McIlwaine et al, 2006; McGregor, 2007). In relation to deskilling, as evidenced by the percentage of degree holders in managerial and professional posts (Table 6.6), women migrants are generally less likely to be in such employment. However, this varies by nationality, with a higher percentage of Bangladeshi women in such employment. Among new arrivals, such as the Polish, both men and women experience deskilling, but women to a much greater extent (Drinkwater et al, 2006; Sriskandarajah et al, 2007). Table 6.6 Workers with a degree1 working as managers or professionals2, by nationality and gender (per cent) Nationality UK Australia Bangladesh China Poland Portugal India Nigeria Ireland
Males 86.7 96.6 59.8 62.1 40.0 47.3 78.9 71.7 87.2
Females 80.7 93.2 81.1 61.7 28.6 45.3 69.7 82.8 92.1
All 83.9 95.0 69.4 61.8 35.4 46.6 76.3 74.9 89.7
Source: LFS, 2006 (annual average of four quarters). Notes: (1) People whose highest qualification is a degree or equivalent. (2) Occupation group 1, 2 or 3 (see Table 6.1).
New divisions are emerging both between women and men, and among women themselves, on a range of dimensions, especially skill levels (Kofman et al, 2005). As a result, women may accrue very different bundles of rights, have different settlement outcomes, and experience migration and settlement in very different ways. We have seen that the proportions of women and men entering through different routes differs, and that the valuation of skills embedded in each tier of the points-based system 87