Document Type
Article
Publication Date
7-2013
Keywords
interlocking oppression, intersectionality, employment discrimination, internationally trained immigrants
Abstract
Social work has a long history of engagement with immigrants and refugees. However, the demographic profile of immigrants to Canada and their needs are changing. The past few decades have seen an increase in the numbers of highly educated professional immigrants from non-traditional countries of immigration. Though not typically thought of in the social work profession as a vulnerable population, this group faces multiple oppressions in Canada. This article reports on the findings of 20 in-depth interviews with internationally trained engineers and their experiences of discrimination either while searching for work, or in the workplace after employment was secured. Two key findings that emerge from this paper have important insights for social work practice. The first indicates internationally trained engineers experience discrimination on multiple axes pertaining to their social identities. The second reveals that a few participants did not view themselves as victims of discrimination, even though they acknowledged discrimination to be at play when others like them were unable to secure jobs as engineers. The findings challenge traditional views of who constitute vulnerable populations and disrupt notions of immigrant populations needing social work intervention only at the point when they are unable to cope with their cultural and social adaptations. The findings highlight the need for social work education to train students in the areas of advocacy, anti-racism, and anti-oppressive practice in order to better meet the needs of these groups.
Faculty
Faculty of Applied Health & Community Studies
School
School of Community Studies
Journal
Canadian Social Work Review/Revue Canadienne De Service Social
Version
Publisher's version
Peer Reviewed/Refereed Publication
yes
Terms of Use
Terms of Use for Works posted in SOURCE.
Copyright
© Canadian Assn for Social Work Education 2013
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Original Publication Citation
Chaze, F., & George, U. (2013). The Interlocking Oppressions of Employment-Related Discrimination for Internationally Trained Engineers in Canada. Canadian Social Work Review/Revue Canadienne De Service Social, 30(2), 119-137.
SOURCE Citation
Chaze, Ferzana and George, Usha, "The Interlocking Oppressions of Employment-related Discrimination for Internationally Trained Engineers in Canada" (2013). Faculty Publications and Scholarship. 12.
https://source.sheridancollege.ca/fahcs_comm_publ/12
Comments
Reprinted with permission of the publisher.
16 September 2016: At the time of publication, Sheridan College author Ferzana Chase was associated with York University.