***Apologies for cross postings***
8th Equality, Diversity and Inclusion International Conference 6-8 July 2015, Recanati Business School, Tel-Aviv University Israel.
Theme: Dealing with Diverse Identities
Stream Proposal
Migrant Identity, Nationality and Work:
Crossing Boundaries and Affiliating to Place
Marguerite Cassin
Marguerite.Cassin@dal.ca<mailto:
Marguerite.Cassin@dal.ca> , Eddy Ng
Eddy.Ng@dal.ca<mailto:
edng@dal.ca>
Faculty of Management, Dalhousie University
Halifax, Canada
Labour migration brings with it challenges for inclusion and equality of workers and raises issues of identity and nationality. Labour migration has many faces.
Settler countries like Canada for example, are formed in majority of people from somewhere else and continue to depend upon immigration and various arrangements of temporary workers to grow both the labour force and economy. This is creating a complex set of social and ethical issues which include the creation of categories of workers as 'other' and challenge conventional notions about Canadian values. At the same time domestic labour migration is assured across provinces and regions as a right of citizenship. In the face of resistance to migration we see social policy tools including the Employment Insurance program being used to coerce a youthful labour force to move to sites of large industrial projects. This raises issues about identity and the attachment of people to place. In these circumstances how do born Canadians and newcomers affiliate to a Canadian nationality? Or do they?
The assurance of labour mobility in the European Union fosters the movement of workers to uncertain acceptance and possible hostility in host countries. Earlier notions that this migration would be temporary for individuals who would return to their birth countries after a period of work are giving way to realities that a lot of migration is permanent. In countries where nationality is understood and practiced as homogeneous, how are migrants being included and integrated? Are the changes in population composition changing what constitutes national identity? Are we seeing the advent of a European nationality?
These issues of migrant equality, diversity, inclusion, identify, nationality and work are not confined to settler nations or countries in the European Union. They are posing social, economic and political policy challenges internationally. We offer the comments above as provocative rather than definitive and invite discussion from any national and labour context. This stream encourages papers that explore equality, diversity and inclusion in view of work/labour, nationality and identity. We are interested in thinking on both the subjects and how to think about these subjects in view of the challenges they pose. We encourage authors who work from many different theoretical perspectives including those who are interested in exploring these subjects as embodied, social practices and lived realities.
Important dates:
* Abstract/Developmental/full paper submission: March 1, 2015 on:
http://www.edi-conference.org
* Response to authors (acceptance / rejection): April 15, 2015.
* Deadline for full papers and best paper nominations and submission of best papers to the relevant associated journal (as agreed by submitter): May 18, 2015.
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Ed Ng, PhD
F.C. Manning Chair in Economics and Business
Associate Professor, Management
Dalhousie University