The Migration of Professional Women from Nigeria to the UK: Narratives of Work, Family Life and Adaptation

Based on interviews with women who were professionals in different fields in Nigeria prior to migrating, The Migration of Professional Women from Nigeria to the UK examines the ways in which professional, middle-class women make sense of their lived experiences, their roles in migration decision-making and their experiences of adaptation in the UK. Drawing on the thought of Mead on the symbolic reconstruction of the past from the standpoint of the present, and employing a feminist approach to qualitative research, the book considers the reflexive construction of women’s narratives concerning their lived experiences in Nigeria and sheds light on their decisions to migrate. Using intersectionality and critiquing the concept of Strong Black Woman , the author analyses participants’ narratives of integration, adaptation, and work and family life in the UK. Rejecting the notion of culture shock as a means of explaining immigrants’ early experiences, the use of a person-by-situation approach is proposed to accommodate the nuances of individual narratives.

A rich, theoretically informed study of the narratives of skilled migrants, whose experiences are often subsumed into studies of African migration more broadly, this volume will appeal to scholars of sociology, anthropology and cultural geography with interests in migration, gender and the sociology of work and family life.