Exploring The Working Lives of Zimbabwean Women In Britain

在千年之交，大批津巴布韦经济移民和寻求庇护者为躲避穆加贝政权下的经济和政治动荡而涌入英国海岸(Bloch，2005)。联合国经济和社会事务部(2013年)的数据显示，散居海外的津巴布韦人从1990年的估计263,085人增加到2013年的973,200人，在短短20年多一点的时间里增长了300%以上。其他消息来源估计，目前大约有600万津巴布韦人生活在海外。移民学者认为这是“津巴布韦移民潮”(塔维拉，2010)。英国的“津巴布韦移民潮”的重要之处在于，它主要是由津巴布韦黑人妇女领导的。根据英国国家统计局国际移民统计的数据，自2002年以来，在英国的津巴布韦女性人数明显高于津巴布韦男性。2017年，出生在津巴布韦或自认为津巴布韦人居住在英国的女性比男性多2万人。随着津巴布韦移民女性化，大量津巴布韦妇女独立于男性伴侣移居英国，并能够获得就业和高等教育，尽管抵达英国后面临许多挑战。这项跨学科研究的重点是这一未得到充分代表和研究的女性群体。

At the turn of the millennium, an influx of Zimbabwean economic migrants and asylum seekers arrived on Britishshores fleeing economic and political turmoil under the Mugabe regime (Bloch, 2005). Data from the United NationsDepartment of Economic and Social Affairs (2013) shows that the population of Zimbabweans in the diaspora grewfrom an estimated 263,085 in 1990 to 973,200 in 2013, an increase of over 300% in just over two decades. Othersources estimate that there are around 6 million Zimbabweans living in the diaspora today. Migration scholars havetermed this the "Zimbabwean Exodus" (Tavera, 2010).What is significant about the "Zimbabwean Exodus" in the UK specifically, is that it has been primarily led by blackZimbabwean women. According to data from the ONS International Migration Statistics, since 2002, the number ofZimbabwean women in the UK is significantly higher than that of Zimbabwean men. In 2017, there were twentythousand more women than men who were born in Zimbabwe or identify as Zimbabwean residing in the UK. Thefeminisation of Zimbabwean migration has seen significant numbers of Zimbabwean women migrating and settlingin Britain independent of male partners and being able to secure employment and higher education, despite facingmany challenges upon arriving in Britain. This interdisciplinary study focuses on this underrepresented and underresearched group of women.