Gender, migration and the global race for talent

by Anna Boucher

Overview

The global race for skilled immigrants seeks to attract the best global workers. In the pursuit of these individuals, governments may incidentally discriminate on gender grounds. Existing gendered differences in the global labour market related to life course trajectories, pay gaps and gendered divisions in occupational specialisation are also present in skilled immigration selection policies. Presenting the first book-length account of the global race for talent from a gender perspective, Gender, migration and the global race for talent will be read by graduate students, researchers, policy-makers and practitioners in the fields of immigration studies, political science, public policy, sociology and gender studies, and Australian and Canadian studies.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781526133748
Publisher:	Manchester University Press
Publication date:	11/12/2018
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x (d)

About the Author

Anna Boucher is Senior Lecturer in Public Policy and Political Science at the University of Sydney

Table of Contents

List of figures viii

List of tables ix

Acknowledgements xi

List of abbreviations xiii

Introduction 1

I The global race for talent: global context

1 Skill and gender: navigating the theoretical terrain 13

2 Gender awareness of skilled immigration policies across the OECD: presenting the GenderImmi data set 32

II Gendering skilled immigration policy in Australia and Canada, 1988-2013

3 Gendering the policy process: venue shopping and diversity-seeking 55

4 Changing the mix, 1988-2003: the shift from family to skilled immigration 69

5 New selection grids: points tests and gender effects, 1993-2003 94

6 Targeting skills during the global financial crisis, 2007-13: gendered winners and losers? 110

7 Mining booms and Nanny-Gate: the gendered terrain of temporary economic immigration, 2007-13 132

8 Activist mobilising, state sponsorship and venue shopping capabilities 154

Appendices

1 Elite interviews conducted with relevant Australians 182

2 Elite Interviews conducted with relevant Canadians 185

3 Methodological appendix 189

Bibliography 192

Index 238

Editorial Reviews

'Gender, migration and the global race for talent addresses a key concern for twenty-first century governments: how to recognize and eliminate gender discrimination in skilled immigration policy. Anna Boucher offers a well-documented and critical cross-national comparative examination of skilled immigration policies across twelve OECD countries, across the past several decades, and proposes an overhaul of antiquated policies based on a "male breadwinner/female trailing spouse model" that do not match the realities of the twenty-first century skilled work force or employer needs, and do not align with values of diversity and equity.'
Karen Garner, SUNY Empire State College

From the Publisher