An institutional ethnography analysis on skilled Chinese immigrant mothers’ experiences in Canada

ABSTRACT This research follows Dorothy Smith’s Institutional Ethnography (IE) approach to explore skilled Chinese immigrant mothers’ post-migration experiences in Canada. Empirical evidence reveals that these immigrant women undertake intensified childcare responsibilities by acting as primary caregivers and educators for their children with reduced familial support after migration. These immigrant women are also compelled to participate in paid work as income producers and supporters with inadequate employment-related support from the host society. These skilled Chinese immigrant mothers’ experiences are constructed by multiple discourses that continue, converge, and compete. Under these discourses, skilled Chinese immigrant mothers experience intensified work after migration, but receive limited familial and social support, which leaves them subservient to the patriarchal demands in both private and public social structures.