Stories of identity work: A study of Sri Lankan skilled immigrant women in Australian workplaces

Skilled immigrant women make up almost 50% of the migrant population worldwide. However, until the last decade, skilled migration was considered a male-driven venture, limiting scholarly examination of skilled immigrant women in workplaces. In 2021, skilled immigrant women made up 47.4% of the skilled migrant population of Australia (Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021). Yet, despite their significant representation in the population, there is a dearth of studies that focus on the identity-related difficulties faced by skilled immigrant women in Australian workplaces. Informed by the critical management studies literature on identity work, this thesis takes a broadly sociological approach to investigating the lived experiences of Sri Lankan skilled immigrant women. It focuses on how they shape and reshape their identities in their interactions with others in the context of work and non-work social structures around them. The objectives of the study are threefold. The first is to understand the identity threats and challenges faced by Sri Lankan skilled immigrant women as multiply identified individuals with intersecting identities. Second, the study examines how they respond to such identity threats and challenges. Third, it investigates the role of identity work in these immigrant women’s responses to identity threats and challenges.