Gender, Households and Identity in
British and Singaporean Migration to China
INTRODUCTION TO THE
PROJECT
There has been a significant increase in the
international migration of professional workers over the
past twenty years associated with the expansion of
companies’ activities overseas. While this trend has
been recognised from an economic perspective, very
little has been researched from a social angle. In
particular, there has been scant attention paid to the
gender composition of this population movement, and the
impacts of such migration on households, particularly on
women’s work patterns and the organisation of domestic
work. The migration experiences of such workers will
include not only possible changes in practical
arrangements, but also the potential for transformations
of identities, in gender, national and ethnic terms as
migrants move from one social setting to
another.
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This website summarises the main findings from a
collaborative project looking at these issues by
comparing British and Singaporean migration to China.
The collaboration was between Dr Katie Willis,
Department of Geography,Royal Holloway, University of London, UK (http://www.gg.rhul.ac.uk)
and Dr Brenda Yeoh, Department of Geography, National
University of Singapore, Singapore (http://www.nus.edu.sg/). Funding
was provided by the Transnational Communities Programme
(http://www.transcomm.ox.ac.uk) of
the Economic and Social Research Council (http://www.esrc.ac.uk) (Research
Grant No. L214 25 2007). This research also builds on
research conducted by Katie Willis and Brenda Yeoh
1997-1998 on Singaporean migration to China, funded by
the Lee Foundation of Singapore and HSBC Holdings Small
Research Grant Scheme administered by the Royal
Geographical Society (with The Institute of British
Geographers) (http://www.rgs.org/).
Why the UK and Singapore?
These two nations were selected for a number of
reasons:
- Although both countries have substantial
investments in China, their histories of overseas
ventures differ greatly, with Britain’s long colonial
history and the high profile of British multinational
companies, contrasting with Singapore’s foreign
investment dating largely from the 1986 launch of the
‘regionalisation drive’. Companies’ internal labour
markets are very important in skilled international
migration, but many Singapore companies have no
tradition of overseas postings.
- Migration decisions and experiences are affected
by the cultural norms in the source country. Our
1997-19998 research demonstrated that family
considerations represent obstacles to professionals’
mobility between Singapore and China, so this project
investigated whether such concerns are specific to
Singapore’s society based on ‘Asian values’, or
whether UK households have similar problems.
- So often the migration experiences of
‘non-western’ ethnic groups in ‘western’ cities are
the focus of research. This research investigated how
the British migrants adapt to living and working in a
difference cultural environment, with particular
emphasis on the negotiation of gender identities and
household strategies. The majority of Singaporean
international migrants are ethnic Chinese, so provide
a potentially fascinating comparison.
- The comparison of Singaporeans and Britons also
allows a comparison between the experiences of two
transnational communities motivated by similar
economic aims but bounded by different socio-political
and historical parameters. While Singaporean migrants
often (re)invent historical ‘ethnic’ roots and notions
of a return to their ‘cultural homeland’, British
counterparts, contending with the legacy of colonial
dominance, my draw on constructed difference between
‘western’ and ‘eastern’ technologies and ideologies in
doing business and social life.
- Pre-existing contacts in government and private
sector companies, as well research experience in
Singapore, provided practical reasons for the
selection of the two countries.
Main Aims of the Research
To explain the motivations behind migration and
non-migration and the gendered aspects of these
motivations.
To investigate the way in which migration to China
has affected the household strategies adopted by
managerial and professional workers.
To examine the ways in which migration has
affected the (re)construction of social identities
(i.e. the intersections of ethnic, gender and national
identities and ‘place’).
To compare and contrast the experiences of British
and Singaporean migrants in China in terms of
household strategies, social networks and group
identification.
To contribute to the debate regarding personnel
relocation policies within British and Singaporean
private sector companies, and to discussions around
the potential obstacles to Singapore’s regionalisation
drive.
Research Methods
Between October 1998 and June 2001, 150 interviews
were conducted with Singaporeans and Britons in the UK,
Singapore, Hong Kong and mainland China. Interviewees
fell into one of four groups:
- Individuals working in China.
- Individuals accompanying spouse/partner to China.
- Individuals working for companies where Chinese
postings a possibility, but they have chosen not to
take up an overseas posting.
- Individuals whose partner/spouse is working in
China, but they have stayed back in the UK or
Singapore.
Interviewees were found through a range of channels
including Singapore Clubs, British Chamber of Commerce,
personal contacts and Embassies/ Consulates.
Results
There are a series of linked webpages which highlight
the major findings of this project. Click on the
appropriate topic below.
Overview of
British and Singaporean communities in China
Household Strategies
Migration and Gender Identity
Migration and National/ Ethnic Identity
Company Policies – Indicators of Best Practice
Publications
Yeoh, Brenda and Willis, Katie (1997) ‘The
global-local nexus: Singapore’s regionalisation drive’,
Geography 355, Vol. 82, Part 2, pp. 183-186.
Yeoh, Brenda and Willis, Katie (1998) ‘Singapore
Unlimited: Configuring Social Identity in the
Regionalisation Process’, Transnational Communities
Programme Working Paper Series WPTC-98-08, Oxford. Can
be downloaded from www.transcomm.ox.ac.uk/working_papers.htm
Willis, Katie and Yeoh, Brenda (1998)
‘The social sustainability of Singapore’s
regionalisation drive’, Third World Planning
Review 20, 2, pp. 203-221.
Yeoh, Brenda and Willis, Katie
(1999)‘’Heart’ and ‘wing’, nation and diaspora: Gendered
discourses in Singapore’s regionalisation process’ in
Gender, Place and Culture 6,4, pp. 355-372.
Willis, Katie and Yeoh, Brenda (2000) ‘Introduction:
Gender and Migration’, in Katie Willis and Brenda Yeoh
(eds.) Gender and Migration Edward Elgar
‘International Studies in Migration’ series, pp.
xi-xxii.
Willis, Katie and Yeoh, Brenda (2000) ‘Gender and
transnational household strategies: Singaporean
migration to China’, Regional Studies 34:3, pp.
253-264.
Yeoh, Brenda, Huang, Shirlena and Willis, Katie
(2000) ‘Global cities, transnational flows and gender
dimensions: The view from Singapore’, Tijdschrift
Voor Economische en Social Geographie 91:2, pp.
147-158.
Willis, Katie and Yeoh, Brenda (2002)
‘Gendering transnational communities: A comparison of British
and Singaporean migrants in China’, Geoforum 33:4, pp.
553-565.
Willis, Katie, Fakhri, S.M.A.K. and Yeoh, Brenda (2002)
‘Introduction: Transnational Elites ’, Geoforum 33:4, pp.
505-507.
Yeoh,Brenda, Fakhri, S.M.A.K. and Willis, Katie (2003)
‘Introduction: Transnationalism and its edges ’, Ethnic and Racial Studies 26:2, pp.
207-217. Introduction to special issue on ‘Transnational Edges’ edited by Yeoh, Willis & Fakhri.
Willis. Katie and Yeoh, Brenda (2003)
‘Gender, Marriage and Skilled Migration: The Case of Singaporeans in China ’, in Nicola Piper
and Mina Roces (eds.) Wife or Worker? Asian Women and Migration
Yeoh, Brenda S.A. and Willis, Katie (eds) (2004) State/Nation/Transnation: Perspectives on Tansnationalism in the Asia-Pacific London: Routledge.
Conference Papers
Yeoh, Brenda and Willis, Katie (2000) ‘On the
‘regional beat’: Singapore men, sexual politics and
transnational spaces’. Presented at the Annual
Conference of the Association of American Geographers,
Pittsburgh, April 2000.
Willis, Katie and Yeoh, Brenda (2000) ‘Gendering
transnational communities: A comparison of British and
Singaporean migrants in China’. Presented at the
International Conference on Transnational Communities in
the Asia-Pacific Region: Comparative Perspectives,
Singapore, August 2000.
Willis, Katie and Yeoh, Brenda (2000) ‘Gender,
marriage and migration: The case of Singaporeans in
China’. Presented at New Patterns, New Theories: A
Conference on International Migration, Nottingham Trent
University, September 2000.
Yeoh, Brenda, Willis, Katie and Yap, Natalie (2001)
‘Singaporeans in China: Transnational Women Elites and
the Negotiation of Gendered Identities’. Presented at
4th International Asia-Pacific Migration
Research Network (APMRN) Conference, Manila, March
2001.
Yeoh, Brenda and Willis, Katie (2002)
‘Singaporean and British Transmigrants in China and the Cultural
POlitics of 'Contact Zones ’. Presented at
Annual Conference of the Association of American Geographer, March 2002
Willis, Katie and Yeoh, Brenda (2000) ‘Gendering
transnational communities: A comparison of British and
Singaporean migrants in China’. Presented at the
1st International Conference on Population Geographies, University
of St. Andrews, July 2002.
Copies of these publications can be obtained from Dr
Katie Willis Katie.Willis@rhul.ac.uk
This webpage is maintained by Dr Katie Willis,
Department of Geography, Royal Holloway, University of London,
Egham, Surrey TW20 0EX.
Email: Katie.Willis@rhul.ac.uk
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