The effect of race and migration on the managerial advancement of women

Although the issue of women’s advancement into management positions has received considerable attention for some time, how women’s career experiences vary as a function of their other identity characteristics remains a largely unexplored topic area (Purdie-Vaughns and Eibach, 2008). This state of affairs means that much of what we know is based on studies of Western women, and fails to take into account the power and privilege hierarchies that make up any society (Pearce and Xu, 2010). In response to this gap in knowledge, this chapter reports on the findings of Australian research into women’s career experiences where the intersection of migrant status, race and gender is considered. In so doing, we add to the small literature available on women migrants (Ariss et al., 2010; Al Arissand Özbilgin, 2010) while at the same time providing a richer description of the diversity of women and their career barriers and facilitators.