Amplifying the Voices of Kenyan Women in Canada: The Implicit Contradiction of the Federal Skilled Worker Program

My own experiences and those of other women from East Africa as recently landed immigrants inspired this autoethnographic research paper regarding experiences under the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) in Canada and the challenges we have encountered socially, economically, and politically as we negotiate and adjust to a new culture. I wanted to make meaning of how African immigrant women negotiate race, gender, class, and ethnicity. This research responds to calls from scholars to examine why educated, racialized immigrants are experiencing downward mobility, economically and socially. It explores intersectional questions related to African women. I argue that advanced education and skill level for black African immigrant women decreases the need for targeted support and hence minimizes the need to access settlement programs and services, which can be a catalyst for falling into poverty.

Key words: Skilled African Women, Federal Skilled Worker Program, Intersectionality, Settlement programs, Stories