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Work experiences of professional West Indian immigrant women in the United States
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Barrett, Kyla-Gaye Simone. Work experiences of professional West Indian immigrant women in the United States. Retrieved from https://doi.org/doi:10.7282/T35H7GC6

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TitleWork experiences of professional West Indian immigrant women in the United States
NameBarrett, Kyla-Gaye Simone (author); Riggs Skean, Karen (chair); Boyd-Franklin, Nancy (internal member); Rutgers University; Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology
Date Created2010
Other Date2010-05 (degree)
SubjectOrganizational Psychology, Minority women executives--United States, Mentoring in business--United States, Women in the professions--United States, West Indians--United States, Minority women in the professions--United States--Interviews
Extentxii, 190 p. : ill.
DescriptionThis dissertation explores the work experiences of professional West Indian immigrant English-speaking women in the United States. Much study has been dedicated to the experiences and success of West Indian immigrant women and men in service and domestic roles. The study explores these professional immigrant women's experiences attaining career success in United States racial society. Data was obtained from 12 professional West Indian immigrant women using semi-structured interviews conducted by the researcher. These interviews explored: the participants'; experiences with immigration, their employment experiences as immigrants, the challenges they faced in their work environments, their experiences in attaining career success and their experiences interacting with non-West Indians and with individuals born in the United States. Major findings include migration motivated by financial and educational improvement, mixed experiences with West Indian cohesiveness and general job satisfaction. Challenges at work included cultural differences, ethnic/racial tensions, being excluded by Americans, low expectations for professional West Indian women, slower career progression, limited professional and social interaction with non-West Indians, greater efforts expended in balancing work-family demands, weakened family relationships with relations back home, and limited use and reliance on mentors and professional networks and associations. Qualitative analysis revealed a high level of career success among these West Indian women, attended by significant psychological, emotional, financial and professional costs. The challenges faced by these Black professional West Indian women in the United States mirror those encountered by African Americans in various studies. Due to their meritocratic outlook and socialization to de-emphasize race, the professional West Indian women of this study were initially unprepared to maneuver these challenges and some struggled to attain career success. Additionally, higher levels of social and professional interactions (for example mentoring relationships and professional networking) with non-West Indians and West Indians of these professional West Indian women were associated with higher levels of career success in the United States.
NotePsy.D.
NoteIncludes bibliographical references ( p. 174-178)
Noteby Kyla-Gaye Simone Barrett
NoteIncludes abstract
Genretheses, ETD doctoral
Persistent URLhttps://doi.org/doi:10.7282/T35H7GC6
LanguageEnglish
CollectionGraduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Organization NameRutgers, The State University of New Jersey
RightsThe author owns the copyright to this work.
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