Volume 7

Issue No. 4

K.G. Basavarajappa
"Living Arrangements and Residential Overcrowding among Older Immigrants in Canada," Vol. 7 (4), p. 409-432, 1998.

Because older immigrants arriving in Canada are not eligible for government transfer payments or welfare benefits for up to 10 years, many of them choose to live with their relatives or sponsors in crowded three- or more than three-generation households. Cultural preferences also influence this tendency and the propensity of immigrant groups from developing regions to live in three- or more than three-generation households ranges up to 18 times those of their Canadian-born and immigrant counterparts from the developed regions. Variables such as average income, percent receiving Old Age Security payments, percent widowed and duration of residence in Canada are significantly associated with proportions of immigrants living in such arrangements, and explain about 84 percent of birthplace variation for males and 81 percent for females.

Ching Lin Pang
"Invisible Visibility: Intergenerational Transfer of Identity and Social Position of Chinese Women in Belgium," Vol. 7 (4), p. 433-452, 1998.

The effects of migration on identity and the social position of Chinese women in Belgium were examined from an intergenerational perspective. At the macro level, policies and the general discourse on migration and migrants in Belgium were examined to assess the level of inclusion or exclusion of Chinese women. At the meso and micro levels, in-depth interviews suggest that the intergenerational transfer of identities and affiliations requires a significant amount of goodwill and ability to reinterpret and re-create adaptations that are acceptable to first and second-generation migrants. Social mobility among the first generation was mainly financial independence and autonomy, which opened up educational opportunities for their children. Those in the intermediate generation (those born in Hong Kong but who grew up in Belgium) realized that educational success was an important avenue for social mobility, particularly for daughters. In the patrilineal system of Chinese families, which persisted in Belgium, daughters are considered dependent members of the family and they have to fend for themselves if they want to be the author of their own life. The experience of a small number of successful Chinese female professionals supports this point. Presently, an increasing number of second-generation youngsters are attending school. They experience discrimination in varying degrees, suggesting that the othering process of Chinese females remains a problem in the realization of a truly pluralist society.

Helen Ralston
"South Asian Immigrant Women Organize for Social Change in the Diaspora: A Comparative Study," Vol. 7 (4), p. 453-482, 1998.

The paper uses a feminist theoretical perspective and methodology to explore the lived experience of South Asian immigrant women. It operationalizes empowerment in terms of community organization. It examines various organizational activities which unite and empower the women. The paper draws on qualitative comparative data from original research among women in Atlantic Canada (n=126), in British Columbia, Canada (100 women), in Australia (n=50) and in New Zealand (n=10). The field work, which was conducted in Atlantic Canada between 1988 and 1991 and the remainder between November 1993 and May 1995, involved one-to-one interviews and limited participant observation in the women’s everyday activities. The research has suggested that patriarchal relations of ruling in family, community and society, race, gender, class discrimination, and region of settlement, are major factors in South Asian women’s lived experience of subordination, oppression and disempowerment. Nevertheless, a large number of community organizations provided services which gave them a self-conscious awareness of a new identity and a measure of control over

Takayoshi Kusago
"Individual Aspiration or Family Survival: Rural-Urban Female Migration in Malaysia," Vol. 7 (4), p. 483-523, 1998.

This paper analyzes the determinants of female migration to export processing zones (EPZs) in Malaysia. A comparison of the individual and household migration models reveals interesting and important contrasting results. First, the role played by the expected net income gains is opposite in the two models: negative in the individual model, positive in the household model. Second, family migration experience is significant in the individual model but not in the household model. Third, attitudes matter to the household decision on a daughter’s migration but not in the individual model. These contrasting results suggest that explaining the daughter’s migration decision may require more than separation of the individual motives and familial needs.