Gender a výzkum / Gender and Research 2018, 19 (2): 135-162 | DOI: 10.13060/25706578.2018.19.2.429

Unequal Start? Intersectional Analysis of the Professional Life of Young Vietnamese in the Czech Labour Market

Lenka Formánková, Marta Lopatková

Based on 14 biographical-narrative interviews, using an intersectional approach to examine multiple discrimination based on age, gender, and ethnicity, we analyse the subjective reflections of young Vietnamese migrants from the second and the 1.5 generation on their integration into the Czech labour market. We analyse ethnicity and gender as socially constructed identities in the specific context of the labour market, school, and family. Important advantages that appear in the biographies of young Vietnamese migrant women and men influencing their positions in the labour market are their level of education, their knowledge of Czech and Vietnamese culture and language, and specific work experience. Focusing on potential discrimination and marginalisation, we can say that the young Vietnamese we interviewed often move between two identities - Czech and Vietnamese - to overcome potential disadvantages. Due to a high level of acculturation, they more frequently identify themselves with the Czech majority. At the same time, they derive benefits from the social and cultural capital of being a member of the Vietnamese minority. On the other hand, this advantage can inverse into disadvantage and young Vietnamese could fall into the trap of only occupying work positions that relate to their ethnic origin. For the reasons mentioned above, the Vietnamese in our study seek to acquire the highest possible cultural capital - the highest possible education and position in a prestigious profession, regardless of gender - as their strategy for overcoming potential disadvantage and avoiding the trap of 'migrant' labour-market niches their parents occupied.

Keywords: integration, intersectionality, ethnicity, gender, age, social class, labour market, migration, Vietnamese origin

Published: June 1, 2018Show citation

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Formánková, Lenka and Marta Lopatková. 2018. "Unequal Start? Intersectional Analysis of the Professional Life of Young Vietnamese in the Czech Labour Market." Gender a výzkum / Gender and Research 19(2):135-162.
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