A Foot in the Australian Employment Door: A Qualitative Study of Highly Skilled Migrant Women

In the recent years, Australia has been seeking highly skilled migrants to close the skill gap and increase economic participation in the labour market. Although women are predominant among recent migrants in Australia, they experience higher unemployment rates than male migrants. Previous research has shown that one key challenge they face is their family responsibilities that hinder them in the employment market. In this study, factors in gaining Australian employment for highly skilled migrant women are highlighted. Drawing on 27 semi-structured qualitative interviews with such women, the analysis identified three main factors in gaining employment in Australia: (1) leveraging social capital; (2) accumulation of human capital; and (3) prior, home-country work experience. These factors are not mutually exclusive but interplay to assist highly skilled migrant women in obtaining employment in Australia. These findings have contributed to the migrant employment literature in filling an empirical gap and supporting human capital theory, as well as presenting micro, meso, and macro implications for policy.