Making Sense of Inclusion: the Role of Work in Narratives of Integration in Canada and the UK

We investigate identity negotiation among recent immigrants to Canada and the UK, focusing on work narratives as a means to establish oneself in society. While considerable research has addressed barriers to employment (e.g., Al Ariss and Crowley-Henry, 2013; Ramboarison-Lalao et al., 2012) and strategies to overcome those barriers (e.g., Al Ariss, 2010; Al Ariss and Syed, 2011; Person et al., 2012), less is known about the identity work required to navigate the pressures to contribute to society through work and related employment barriers. We draw on the master narrative framework (McLean & Syed, 2016), and examine the interplay between personal and societal narratives as individuals negotiate this tension.

We conducted a thematic narrative analysis (Riessman, 2008) of 116 texts written by economic immigrants to Canada and the UK. We identified four main types of narratives: stories of career success, in which positive professional experiences were the focus; stories of perseverance, in which the focus was on the process being undertaken to address the challenges to employment; stories of struggle, which focus on actions being taken towards achieving success and the insurmountable barriers encountered; and stories of contribution, in which migrants highlight the ways they contribute to society even if their work situation is not positive. As immigrants work to maintain a positive and coherent sense of self, their narratives alternatively push against and/or reinforce master narratives of immigrant integration through labor market contribution. By exploring this tension within individual narratives, we offer a novel perspective on the increasingly important discussion of immigrant inclusion.