Socio-Professional Trajectories of Refugees in France: An Identity Work Perspective

Shiva Taghavi; Hédia Zannad; Emmanouela Mandalaki

doi:10.37725/mgmt.2024.7753

Shiva Taghavi Department People & Organisations, NEOMA Business School, Mont-Saint-Aignan, France
Hédia Zannad Department People & Organisations, NEOMA Business School, Mont-Saint-Aignan, France
Emmanouela Mandalaki Department People & Organisations, NEOMA Business School, Mont-Saint-Aignan, France

DOI: https://doi.org/10.37725/mgmt.2024.7753

Keywords: Refugees, acculturation, discrimination, identity work, professional trajectories

Abstract

This qualitative study investigates refugees’ socio-professional trajectories in France. Our findings suggest that refugees follow different socio-professional paths shaped by identity work and acculturation mechanisms as they go about integrating in the French context. We identify three socio-professional trajectories: ‘adjusting’, ‘enhancing’, and ‘detaching’. This study contributes, firstly, to research on refugees’ socio-professional adjustment and vocational adaptation, and secondly, to the literature on identity work. It does so by offering novel insights into the processes of repairing, reorienting, and reconstructing cultural and professional identities in the context of refugees’ relocation to host countries, in this case, France.

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Author Biographies

Shiva Taghavi, Department People & Organisations, NEOMA Business School, Mont-Saint-Aignan, France

Shiva Taghavi is an associate professor at Neoma Business School, concurrently serving as the co-director of the Future of Work area of excellence. With a primary research focus on multiple identification, inclusion, and work engagement, she investigates how various identities intersect to predict workplace behavior. Her current research topics, in particular, encompass women in male-dominated professions, refugees and migrants, and moral identities. Her scholarly contributions extend to various book chapters and articles published in leading journals, including the Journal of Business Ethics and International Studies of Management & Organization.

Hédia Zannad, Department People & Organisations, NEOMA Business School, Mont-Saint-Aignan, France

Hédia Zannad is an associate professor at Neoma Business School where she leads a master of science in international project management, teaches diversity and run workshops on career shaping. Holder of a master’s degree in psychology and sociology, and a PhD in management sciences, she combines these three disciplinary fields in her academic research. She studies in particular the topics of social equity and inclusion, focusing on the career ceiling linked to gender and qualifications, religion and refugees.

Emmanouela Mandalaki, Department People & Organisations, NEOMA Business School, Mont-Saint-Aignan, France

Emmanouela Mandalaki is associate professor of organizations at Neoma Business School and coordinator of the research group Inclusion, Diversity, Equality. In her research, Emmanouela engages with critical, feminist theories, methodologies and epistemologies to explore alternative ways of engaging with questions of embodiment, ethics, gender, diversity, inclusion, social inequalities and affect in organizations. Emmanouela serves as editor for the Feminist Frontiers section of Gender, Work and Organization. Her work appears in international book volumes and international academic outlets.

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