White Anglo patriarchal possession in organizations: Unequal vertical career progressions among Anglo White & non‐Anglo White highly skilled immigrant women

Abstract

AbstractWithin the discussion of highly skilled immigrant women workers in organizations, dominant discourses continue to pay little attention to the gender/racial dimension in relation to career progression. Although research of skilled immigrant women has revealed important insights into how the intersection of gender, race, and class shape women's work experience, the White Anglo colonial male promotion practices inscribed on Australian organizations in relation to skilled immigration remain little researched in Australia. This article explores the differences between the career progressions of cisgender, highly skilled immigrant women of different racial and ethnic backgrounds employed in a variety of industries. It reveals how both Anglo White and non‐Anglo White highly skilled immigrant women were affected by colonial patriarchal power relations, which served to hinder their career progression. However, the Whiteness of the top levels of the Australian capitalist colonial labor market benefitted the White Anglo group's vertical career growth.