Paper short abstract:

In this presentation I am drawing on findings from an ethnographic study on relatively privileged Colombian female migrants living in Melbourne, Australia to challenge traditional conceptions and representations of female migrants from the Global South migrating to the Global North.

Paper long abstract:

Literature on relatively privileged female migrants from the Global South moving to the Global North is scarce.

However, with changing visa regimes more and more relatively privileged and highly skilled women from the Global South move for reasons such as work, education, personal development or an adventure to countries of the Global North.

Tracing how privilege unfolds transnationally I am drawing on findings from an ethnographic study of seven middle- to upper-class and white Colombian female migrants living in Melbourne, Australia. Hereby, focusing on the life stories of three of the women, I am using an intersectional and translocational lens to understand the experiences of privilege of these Colombian female migrants.

In this presentation I am discussing the women's reasons to migrate which I argue are influenced by their privilege as well as their gender position in Colombian society. Further, I am presenting some of the effects of migration on these women's privileges in Australia. For example, they lose some of their class and white privileges but they gain more liberties as women through moving away from Colombia. These findings highlight the variety of experiences of female migrants and the importance of an intersectional lens when analysing these experiences.