Lee, J: Korean Migrant Women in Australia

The Korean migrant woman who does not speak Englishis rendered silent and incommunicado. Little furtherjustification is required for her lack of inclusionin mainstream society of which the labour marketfeatures. Labour market participation is a form ofsymbolic interaction that is manifested byacceptance, financial reward and the granting ofparticular working conditions and opportunities. Thefunction of communication, here the English language,is concealed as a measurable and necessary skill, andoperates to permit or prevent entry into theAustralian labour market organisation.Even where entry is allowed and the Korean womanappears to be accepted, the lack of substantive andtotal inclusion, recognition and opportunities ensurethat the Korean woman is constantly reminded that sheis marginalised, at some distance from the dominantAustralian English-speaking culture. The dominantculture, as Bourdieu (1991) describes, measuresdifferent subcultures in terms of distance fromitself, creating a hierarchy based upon proximity.This hierarchy is expressed through the exclusion orinclusion of people at ated levels in thelabour market organisation.