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BJSW Advance Access published online on November 22, 2007
British Journal of Social Work, doi:10.1093/bjsw/bcm126
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© The Author 2007. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The British Association of Social Workers. All rights reserved

Article

Emancipating and Empowering De-Valued Skilled Immigrants: What Hope Does Anti-Oppressive Social Work Practice Offer?

Ransford Danso 1 *

1 School of Community and Liberal Studies, Sheridan College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning, 7899 McLaughlin Road, P.O. Box 7500, Brampton, Ontario, Canada L6Y 5H9

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
Ransford Danso, E-mail: ransford.danso{at}sheridanc.on.ca


  Abstract

Globalization and the transnational movement of people have intensified the migration of highly educated people from developing countries to the industrialized countries of the North. While causing a serious ‘brain drain’ or ‘talent shortage’ in developing countries, these migrations have also produced profound ethnic, cultural and racial diversity in receiving countries. Even as developed countries lure and vie for high-calibre immigrants in order to gain or maintain a competitive advantage in the ‘knowledge-based’ global economy, structural barriers in the labour markets of these countries exclude and deny immigrants access to occupations and jobs commensurate with their training and expertise. Denying people access to hiring opportunities for reasons unrelated to their abilities or industry is discriminatory, oppressive and unjust. This paper argues that anti-oppressive practice is an effective social work practice tool for gaining a better understanding of the oppression, marginalization and exclusion of skilled immigrants of colour in Western societies. In working with visible minority immigrants, anti-oppressive practice becomes a powerful instrument of resistance and for advocating for structural change that would emancipate and empower immigrants in Canada and other immigrant-receiving countries.

Keywords: anti-oppressive practice, globalization, oppression, skilled immigrants of colour, social justice.
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