Volunteering: A Path to Integration by Taiwanese Middle-class Female Immigrants in Canada
Resource
地理學報, 57, 071-096
Journal
地理學報
Journal Issue
57
Pages
071-096
Date Issued
2009-12
Date
2009-12
Author(s)
Chiang, L.H.N.
Abstract
While the proportion of Taiwanese female immigrants in Canada has consistently surpassed the proportion of males, the Taiwanese female status in the labor force remains insignificant. Most of the women in this research study are middle-class women who had careers in Taiwan prior to emigration, but became full-time home-makers upon arrival in Canada. Based on a qualitative study of 43 Taiwanese women in 2005-2009, using in-depth interviews, focus group research and participatory observation, this study hopes to give voice to middle-class female immigrants who are engaged in volunteering as a major part of their civic participation, as a significant aspect of citizenship. The women who belong to split households, with children in Canada and husbands in Taiwan, have played a particularly active role in volunteering.
The major questions raised for this research are: 1) What types of volunteering work do they do and why? 2) What does volunteering work mean for them and the Taiwan community? It is found that civic participation is a way for them to be integrated or incorporated into the host society, as a “Canadian experience” that may prepare them for formal employment, enable them to form new social networks in the host society, and raise their self-esteem. While experiencing pleasure in volunteering work, most of them found this as a way to engage with society, promote a good image of and give back to Canadian society. The large diversity of volunteering activities is not only related to Taiwan organizations, but also linked closely with Canadian society. Further studies would be needed to compare differences in genders and places, between immigrants and non-immigrants, and impacts on the cultural and social fabric of Canada.
Subjects
臺灣中產階級婦女移民
志工活動
加拿大
公民
多樣性
Taiwanese female immigrants
volunteering
Canada
citizenship
diversity
SDGs
Type
journal article