Learning to care: work experiences and identity formation among African immigrant care workers in the US

Abstract

Drawing from ethnographic data, this article investigates the work experiences of a group of African immigrants in the US care industry. By highlighting their strategies for coping with their entry into care work, this article presents the realities of professional, yet downwardly mobile, immigrants who care for vulnerable, minority ethnic populations. It extends the focus on gender, which has been central to the literature on migration and care work, to argue that the identity-formation processes of migrant care workers are shaped by their racial/class location, the contexts within which the work occurs and the specific care needs of care recipients.