Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Geography & Environmental Studies

Program Name/Specialization

Human Geography

Faculty/School

Faculty of Science

First Advisor

Dr. Margaret Walton-Roberts

Advisor Role

Advisor

Abstract

While there are several studies that highlight the quantitative and statistical profiles of internationally educated nurses (IENs) from the Philippines who migrate to countries throughout Asia, the Middle East, Europe, the United States and Canada, there is little research that delves deeply into the qualitative review and analysis of their experiences in their own words. This study addresses that gap by applying the transnational feminist concept of “global care chains” in a single case study design that explores the experience of nurses who migrated to Ontario through permanent and temporary immigration streams and were interviewed in 2011 to 2012 to discuss their indirect pathways to professional practice. Twenty-eight Philippine IENs were surveyed and fourteen of those nurses participated in an interview. Findings indicate that social connectedness to social support systems and communities support the social and economic integration of Philippine IENs. Lack of pre-arrival information, barriers to foreign credential recognition, lengthy and costly examination, licensing and retraining result in the direct devaluation of IENs. Female IENs are more likely to experience delayed pathways to licensure and practice, unemployment, and disproportionate levels of unpaid caregiving labour, staying home to take care of their children, while their husbands find work first. Therefore, this thesis argues, as a result of (in)actions of the sending and receiving states, its social protections (e.g. affordable childcare) or lack thereof, and the role of private agents (e.g. agencies), gender inequality is perpetuated, caregiving labour demands primarily on women all along the global care chain is sustained, and Philippine female IENs are more likely than their male counterparts to experience fragmented, indirect pathways to practice and face permanent and gendered deskilling outcomes in Ontario.

Convocation Year

2022

Convocation Season

Spring

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