Calls for papers

 

International Journal of Learning and Change

 

Special Issue on: "The Inclusion of Highly Skilled Migrant Women in the Global Workforce - Opportunities and Obstacles: A Socio-Economic Perspective"

Guest Editors:
Payal Kumar, Glocal University and XLRI, India
Neha Chatwani, Grenoble Ecole de Management, France

This special issue will publish papers that address the increased feminisation in migration flows as a reality that includes the worldwide mobility of highly skilled professional women (i.e. those who have gained tertiary education) in a variety of industries and professions. These women, who either choose to migrate as a career strategy resulting in self-initiated expatriation or choose to relocate for personal and family reasons, face particular circumstances and are often unable to continue their professional careers and find adequate employment after they relocate. Furthermore, highly qualified female migrants risk being pushed into underemployment or lower-skilled occupations with negative consequences at economic and social macro and micro levels.

Despite the global fight for talent in highly skilled professions, it appears that there are a number of challenges and obstacles hindering the smooth transition and the mobilisation of female talent. For example, the evident de-skilling of highly skilled women relocating with their families results in a lost opportunity for building human capital, innovation and economic growth, and consequently in “brain waste” at the levels of society, organisations and individuals. Moreover, for these individuals, the lack of career wellbeing and loss of professional identity negatively impacts their family and social relationships and results in differentiated economic and social consequences.

This call for papers seeks to advance and contribute towards the global debate on the migration of highly skilled professional women. Furthermore, research is needed to fill in the current gaps in understanding the diverse experiences and trajectories of these highly skilled female migrants. Specifically, we aim to receive papers with an interdisciplinary research approach that, on the one hand, investigate the improvement of integration systems and collaborative initiatives that are likely to better support the integration of skills and experience of professional migrant women into labour markets for the benefit of society; and on the other hand, that illustrate mechanisms for personal resilience and success for a more personal perspective, from which other highly skilled migrant workers can learn.

Subject Coverage
Suitable topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Key elements in creating equal opportunities for highly skilled migrant women in the global labour market
• Multilevel and interdisciplinary perspectives when investigating the dynamics behind temporary and permanent migration
• Initiatives aimed at leveraging the talent of highly qualified migrant women
• The socio-economic measurement of "brain waste" and the "de-skilling" of highly qualified migrant women
• The focus on human capital and other forms of capital in female migration
• Assessment of mentoring or placement programmes aimed at highly skilled migrant women and their critical success factors
• The role of highly qualified mobile females in the global fight for talent
• Specific challenges faced by highly skilled migrant women with regard to their integration into new labour markets and their personal success strategies to tackle these
• Institutional and organisational dynamics that hinder international careers of minorities, such as this target group
• The impact of different entry channels for migration and marital status on the severity of migrant women's de-skilling
• Psychological effects of de-skilling and underemployment in the lives of highly skilled migrant women working in occupations below their levels of education and professional experience

Notes for Prospective Authors

Submitted papers should not have been previously published nor be currently under consideration for publication elsewhere. (N.B. Conference papers may only be submitted if the paper has been completely re-written and if appropriate written permissions have been obtained from any copyright holders of the original paper).

All papers are refereed through a peer review process.

All papers must be submitted online. To submit a paper, please read our Submitting articles page.

Important Dates

Deadline for paper submission: 30 April, 2014

Deadline for final versions: 31 August, 2014