Page 37 - valuing-diversity-guidance-for-labour-market-integration-of-migrants

Valuing diversity: guidance for labour market integration of migrants

discussion, cultural background. In the case of migrant workers, the salience of
roles of, for example, a south-east Asian person can be radically different from a
western person in each stage of life, generating very different priorities and
understandings of career.

2.1.2. Recent discussions
Career theory has evolved considerably, incorporating the idea of lifelong
development and of life-roles. However, according to a number of authors
(Watson, 2006; Arthur, 2006; Savickas, 2003; Stead, 2004) it has remained
arguably attached to a set of beliefs which make it less applicable among at-risk
groups: immigrants, ethnic minorities and, frequently, women. Some commonly
listed beliefs of career theory are:
(a) individualism and autonomy as a purpose, does not necessarily apply to all
cultures. In collectivist cultures, such as many of the sub-Saharan and
south-east Asian regions, individualism is seen as selfish and career
maturity might be rated in a very different way;
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(b) centrality of work ( ) (Greco, 2007); despite the consideration of different life-
roles, work is frequently held as a dominant role, which may not be the case
in many cultures. Other roles associated with establishing a family home or
taking care of the elderly may be more important;
(c) equal opportunities for all, based on western developed societies’
occupational structure; this idea relies on the belief that people will recognise
and want to insert themselves in an occupation described and regulated by
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the taxonomy ( ) of a post-industrial western society. However, this
taxonomy might not relate to notions of freedom, success or stability of
individuals from different cultures and thus not provide incentives for social-
economic integration. This challenge, strongly related to the previous issue,
is widely discussed in sociology (Bourdieu, 1980);
(d) a rational and linear process of career choice and development; in a way this
was never a reality for most immigrants in Europe, except for a few highly
qualified groups.

The consequence of these beliefs is that organisations and professionals
that provide career development services might be departing from notions which
are not adjusted to migrant realities: what constitutes maturity in career

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( ) About the context which allowed for the development of the discipline around work.
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( ) Although we can find more generally culturally rooted occupational taxonomies,
ISCO is a perfectly good practical example.

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