Korean Migrant Women in Australia

The Korean migrant woman who does not speak English§is rendered silent and incommunicado. Little further§justification is required for her lack of inclusion§in mainstream society of which the labour market§features. Labour market participation is a form of§symbolic interaction that is manifested by§acceptance, financial reward and the granting of§particular working conditions and opportunities. The§function of communication, here the English language,§is concealed as a measurable and necessary skill, and§operates to permit or prevent entry into the§Australian labour market organisation.§Even where entry is allowed and the Korean woman§appears to be accepted, the lack of substantive and§total inclusion, recognition and opportunities ensure§that the Korean woman is constantly reminded that she§is marginalised, at some distance from the dominant§Australian English-speaking culture. The dominant§culture, as Bourdieu (1991) describes, measures§different subcultures in terms of distance from§itself, creating a hierarchy based upon proximity.§This hierarchy is expressed through the exclusion or§inclusion of people at designated levels in the§labour market organisation.