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    From the margins : Filipina skilled migrants tell their stories : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Psychology at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2017) Sevillano, Lilia Maria
    For decades, the Philippine government has sent many of its citizens overseas as part of its labor migration policy. Filipinos also leave home due to the economic instability, graft and corruption that have plagued the country post-colonially. When feminized labor demand increased, around the 1990s, the phenomenon of mass Filipino women migration began and continues to this day. Filipinas living or working overseas are often ethnically stereotyped as either ‘maids’ or ‘mail order brides.’ The dominant focus of previous research on Filipina domestic workers and mail order brides has, in some respect, reproduced and reinforced these racial, sexist and classist stereotypes. This literature has all but neglected the fact that many Filipina migrants are skilled professionals. Except for the nursing profession, the migration experiences of skilled Filipina professionals remain invisible in the literature. This study addresses this gap in the literature and creates a space for the experiences of Filipina professionals living and working in New Zealand to be brought to the fore. I conducted repeat interviews with seven Filipinas who migrated to New Zealand. The interviews focused on their migration experiences, how they made sense of their migration, and how they negotiated their identities as women and as migrants somewhere new. Using a narrative approach, I was guided by feminist and Sikolohiyang Pilipino research principles that placed the women’s voices and narratives at the center throughout the whole research process. More specifically, I used Brown and Gilligan’s (1992) voice-centered relational method to analyze the transcriptions. This method complemented both feminist and Sikolohiyang Pilipino principles because it allowed the women’s voices to be heard more clearly and provided a sensitivity to the diverse perspectives that emerged. Although the women were all Filipinas, the diversity across their migrant experiences ranged from feeling humiliated by participating in menial household tasks, to drawing closer together as a family, through to feeling proud of being able to accomplish many tasks alone. There were also commonalities with regard to the physical, social, and professional transitions that they encountered. As a whole, the women made successful transitions as they assimilated into New Zealand society. These women were happy about the decision to make New Zealand their home. This research contributes a new narrative to Filipina migrant experiences that celebrates the stoicism and successes of the Filipina.
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    Skilled women ethnic immigrants : is there any point at which being a multiple minority becomes an advantage, as predicted by Dual Process Theory? : a thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Psychology, Massey University, Auckland, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2017) Madambi, Farai
    Previous research on bias has focused on selection bias in recruitment. This research explores the issue of Treatment Bias (lack of advancement or promotion opportunities). The context for the research is potential treatment bias against skilled immigrant women from a range of different ethnic backgrounds, some of whom may experience bias yet others not. The purpose of this research is to test the theories of treatment bias in particular to find out whether Dual Process Theory can help close the gap in understanding of why some skilled immigrant women may not always be accepted in sustainable (respectful, recognition of skills) forms of livelihood in New Zealand workplaces. The research examines the interplay of psychological theories of similarity attraction, social identity, social dominance and realistic conflict with minority influence theory, which suggests that minority status might actually become an advantage for consistent minorities, e.g., minorities that are a minority across multiple criteria (such as “woman” AND “immigrant” AND “ethnic”). Sixty-five immigrant women with approximately 6.35 years’ experience working in a diverse range of New Zealand organisations completed a scenario-type questionnaire based on their direct experiences of working in New Zealand. Participants ranked employers’ perceived preference for promotion, perceived similarity/cultural fit to the majority culture/workplace, perceived status in the workplace and perceived threat or competitiveness for promotion opportunities. Employees were presented in the scenarios as equally skilled, qualified and all performed at the same level. In a 2x2x2 factorial design, majority and minority status for each employee to be ranked was systematically varied by gender (male/female), ethnicity (ethnic/non-ethnic) and immigration status (immigrant/non-immigrant). Despite equality of qualifications, experience and performance, there was no point at which being a minority presented an advantage as predicated by the minority influence theory. Instead, the mean ranking for perceived preference for promotion revealed that the majority was consistently preferred over single (e.g., female, or immigrant, or ethnic) then double (any combination of two of the above minority criteria) then treble minorities. There was also co-variation between minority status on the one hand and social dominance, social identity, realistic conflict and similarity attraction on the other, suggesting a combined explanatory role for each construct (similarity, identity, etc.) in treatment bias. With each step from single, double to treble minority status there was a consistent decrement in perceived preference; the results showed clear preference for the majority with no particular preference or advantage for the minority at any stage. Discussion focuses on opportunities for future research and improvements regarding the methodology for future research.
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    "She's me, the whole of me" : constructing mentoring as a feminine gendered connection for women's professional identity : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Psychology at Massey University, Manawatū, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2016) Haemmerle, Bianca Claire
    Despite the increased numbers of women in the New Zealand labour market, gendered segregation of the workforce, pay inequality and a lack of women in leadership roles are still gendered issues facing women in employment today. Mentoring is a widely accepted strategy to improve women’s employment issues and career opportunities. While the promise of mentoring seems to offer women many rewards at work, this study reveals mentoring for women is complex, with gender implicated in the complexities. This study is informed by feminist poststructuralist theory. The basis for analysis is a Foucauldian Discourse framework. Unstructured, conversational interviews with nine New Zealand, mid-career, professional women were used to gather mentoring narratives at work. The women discursively drew on various constructions of a ‘connection’. Connectedness talk with mentors was constrained and/or enabled through two key elements of mentoring: institutionalised relationships and positioning. Institutional mentoring with managers and partners as mentors and the resulting power relations, constrain the women’s ability to make meaningful connections with mentors. Importantly, women actively position themselves and their women mentors through feminine discourse. This takes into account the psycho-social and emotional qualities of women at work and their various work-mothering responsibilities. A ‘feminine gendered connection’ enables the women to positively transform how they view themselves and their professional identity at work.
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    An exploration of influences on the careers of professional women planners : a 152.803 research report presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the Master of Business Studies at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2016) Campbell, Phillipa Jean
    The literature which explores key influences on women’s career pathways suggests women’s careers are a blend of the work and non-work facets of their lives. The kaleidoscope career model (Mainiero & Sullivan, 2005, 2006) portrays the attributes of authenticity, balance and challenge as constants in a woman’s life and drivers which move constantly to shape her career at any particular point in its trajectory. The model seeks to explain why women ‘opt-out’ or work in different ways throughout their career. There is little knowledge or research on professional women planners and the influences on their careers. The report explores key influences using thematic analysis to analyse interview data from six participants. The results show professional women planners are adept at crafting their careers and taking into account their own particular objectives, needs and life criteria. They are able to work in a range of ways throughout their careers, from the corporate and local government sectors through to running their own consultancy practices in the private sector. The report finds they are able to do this without ‘opting out’, and integrate the facets of the kaleidoscope career model to take into account their own particular circumstances.
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    Social identity theory and intergroup relations in gender dominated occupations : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2001) Baird, Christina Margaret
    Previous research has found that men and women have quite different experiences of working in opposite gender dominated occupations. The effect of societal status on the processes that occur in gender dominated occupations often results in negative outcomes for women and positive outcomes for men. The study aimed to explore the attitudes and beliefs of individuals working in gender dominated occupations. It focussed specifically on how people who work in gender dominated occupations react to their group's position as a numerical majority or minority and the groups' attitudes towards their situation. Social Identity Theory (SIT, Tajfel & Turner, 1979) was adopted as a guiding framework for the research. The sample for the study consisted of male and female volunteers working in gender dominated occupations. 110 male and female nurses and 97 men and women working in two male dominated occupations (engineers and prison officers) participated. To achieve the aims of the study specific areas of SIT were measured. The areas included identification with the gender group, how prominent gender and occupation were in the self-concept, and whether gender was used as a basis for categorisations of others. Also measured were perceptions of the status of the groups and beliefs about how fair and open to change the intergroup situation was. In addition, perceived acceptance of the ingroup and acceptance towards the outgroup, beliefs about changing the groups' position and the support or rejection of outgroups' beliefs were measured. The following specific measures were used: the Spontaneous Self-concept, the Gender Salience Scale, and Hinkle, Taylor, Fox-Cardamone and Crook's (1989) measure of group identification. SIT makes specific predictions about how beliefs about the intergroup situation and identification with the group are related to social change beliefs. Results showed that gender affected choice of social change beliefs for achieving positive distinctiveness, with men being higher on social mobility beliefs, and women higher in social creativity and social competition beliefs. Engineers were higher in social mobility beliefs and social creativity beliefs than nurses. Status also affected social change beliefs with low status groups being more likely to choose social competition strategies than high status groups. Women showed less support for social competition and social creativity beliefs in the outgroup than men. Women showed more support for social mobility beliefs in the outgroup than men. Nurses showed less support for social mobility beliefs in the outgroup than engineers. Nurses had lower social competition (maintaining status) beliefs than did engineers. Status also affected support of the outgroup's social change beliefs. The low status group showed higher support of social mobility beliefs in the outgroup than the high status group, and higher social competition beliefs than the equal and high status groups. The equal group showed less support for outgroup social competition than did the high status group. The results of regression analysis showed that gender was the best predictor of ingroup social mobility beliefs and ingroup social competition beliefs. Gender also was the best predictor of attitudes towards outgroup social mobility beliefs and ingroup social competition (to maintain status) beliefs. Gender identification was the best predictor of ingroup social creativity beliefs, and support for social creativity beliefs in the outgroup. Legitimacy beliefs were the best predictor of support or rejection of the outgroup's social competition beliefs. The results of this study highlight the importance of using an approach that explores the different variables that predict each social change belief rather than focussing on the relationship between identification and differentiation as previous studies have done.