Gender, Work, and Migration: Building Work Capital among Korean Women in Australia
Role
Principal Investigator
Description
In migrant societies, work functions as more than a means of subsistence. It serves as a critical foundation for building diverse forms of capital that facilitate long-term social integration and empowerment. Yosso (2005), in their study on migrant communities, identified six forms of community cultural capital - aspirational, linguistic, familial, social, navigational, and resistant. In particular, employment plays a central role in developing these capitals. For example, it sustains hope for upward mobility (aspirational capital), promotes language acquisition through workplace interactions (linguistic capital), strengthens family and community networks (familial and social capital), and provide financial stability. Furthermore, it enables individuals to navigate unfamiliar institutional environments effectively (navigational capital) and to challenge negative stereotypes while fostering a positive self-image (resistant capital; Kitayama & Imai, 2022). Among these, aspirational capital through employment is an important element in helping migrants maintain a vision and goals for their future in a new society. Australia is systemically dependent on immigration for both economic and demographic growth (Gamlen & Sherrell, 2022). It is recognised as a classical immigration country and a migration state, formed through continuous migration from the earliest Indigenous peoples who arrived up to 65,000 years ago to more recent settlers over the past two centuries. According to the 2021 Census, there were 102,092 Korea-born residents in Australia (45.0% male, 55.0% female), with 48% holding at least a bachelor’s degree. This proportion is significantly higher than the national average of 26.3%, suggesting that a considerable share of Korea-born migrants are highly educated and skilled. Therefore, they represent a population with the foundational capacity to develop work into capital, making the application of the Work Capital concept (Kim & Allan, 2024) particularly relevant. Work capital is a culturally sensitive conceptual and measurement tool that captures how occupational experiences are transformed into career development, economic stability, and socio-cultural integration. This research project places particular emphasis on the experiences of working female migrants. South Korea’s gender wage gap stands at 29.3%, notably higher than the OECD average of approximately 11.5% and significantly above Australia’s, which is around 11.3% (OECD, 2023). Sul Tcha and Lobo (2003) found that among Korean immigrants in Australia, women were more likely than men to perceive certain structural and environmental constraints as more significant. Building on this, the research focuses on how women who have experienced gender inequality in Korea navigate and overcome institutional and social barriers in Australia, and how they utilise work to strengthen their economic position. Previous research by Choi (2022) examined the formation of Korean entrepreneurial enclaves in Melbourne and Sydney but noted that the contexts, consequences, and implications of life, occupational choices, and business directions among migrants were insufficiently explored, calling for further research. This study will conduct a survey of 400 Korea-born residents in Australia using the Work Capital Scale developed by Kim and Allan (2024) to investigate how work capital is accumulated and utilised. The study will further examine how theoretically informed contextual factors (such as childhood and current social class and downward classism) and vocational factors (including work volition, career adaptability, and decent work) function as antecedents and outcomes of work capital (Kim et al., 2024). In addition, in-depth semi-structured interviews will be conducted to explore the specific career experiences and barrier-overcoming strategies of Korean female migrants. This research will constitute the first empirical investigation of work capital among Korean immigrants in Australia, thereby extending the theoretical scope of migration integration studies and offering policy-relevant insights to support the economic self-reliance and career development of female migrants. Furthermore, it will contribute to comparative migration research between Australia and Korea. In doing so, the project will advance the field of Korean studies by deepening understanding of the experiences of Koreans abroad, while also strengthening knowledge exchange and collaborative ties between Korea and Australia.
Date
01 Feb 2026 - 31 Jan 2027
Project Type
N/A
Keywords
career development;immigrant;women;gender research;work
Funding Body
National Research Foundation of Korea, The Academy of Korean Studies
Amount
13450
Project Team
Monica Jurin