by Ọláyínká Damilola Ola-Lawson and Ọláyínká Àkànle
Abstract
The increase in international migration since the 1980s has raised new and fundamental gender issues that merit further study and understanding. This is especially so within gender and feminist scholarship because as the numbers of international migrants grow, new gender and feminist realities and contestations will emerge. This intersection is noteworthy and particularly deserving of study among Nigerian immigrant women in Canada as they increasingly migrate and confront the established belief that women are usually left behind in international migration. Migration is creating new gender in/equalities, class relational ethos, and tensions that are worthy of study. This article, therefore, contributes to understanding how Nigerian immigrant women in Canada respond to the tensions of competing work-life demands and at what cost. It is based on a purely qualitative study conducted among Nigerian immigrant women in Canada in 2024. Findings suggest that they face continuous and shifting challenges and adopt strategies as they struggle to balance work and life. Hence, women experience work-life balance differently, with varying degrees of conflict between work and family responsibilities and implications for their quality of life. We conclude that Nigerian immigrant women in Canada continue to face the brunt of family-life imbalance, exacerbated by pre-immigration cultural factors associated with patriarchy.
Read the full article below or download here.
Feature-3_Nigerian-migrant-women-in-Canada