Racialised and gendered workplace discrimination: The case of skilled Filipina immigrants in Melbourne, Australia

This article shows how skilled immigrant Filipinas resist gender and racial prejudices in Australian workplaces. By activating their rights, they reassert their multiple identities as Filipina immigrants, Australian citizens, and skilled workers, although many agonise for a long time before seeking redress. Experiences of discrimination affect them in various ways, ranging from stalled career progression to negative effects on their self-esteem and psychological well-being. For many, workplace prejudices have made them more aware of their cultural difference from the majority population; but for others, their health and esteem have been so dented that they have resigned from their jobs. Looking through the lenses of gender, race, and class intersectionality, this article also explores the ramifications of the stigmatisation of Filipinas as mail-order brides in the workplace, and, to some extent, in Filipino immigrants' social circles.