Social Integration in the Workplace: Barriers and Challenges of Pakistani Migrant Women in Australia

The workplace experiences of culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) migrant women have received little attention in contemporary literature. This paper aims to address this research gap by focusing on the social integration of Pakistani Muslim migrant women in Australian workplaces. Drawing on interviews with 28 Pakistani women, this study examines the barriers they encounter during the process of workplace integration. By employing an intersectionality framework, the findings reveal that the intersections of gender, culture, religion and non-English speaking background produce significant challenges to their workplace integration. Additionally, certain organisational practices and experiences of discrimination further hinder the integration process. It is concluded that the current policies promoting diversity and inclusion are not effectively implemented in practice, leading to intersectional disadvantages for Pakistani migrant women in Australian workplaces.