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High-Skilled or Highly Privileged? European Women’s Diverse Migratory and Professional Trajectories in Nouakchott

par Sizaire, Laure
Référence Local Jobs, Global Lives? High-skilled migrants navigating transnational mobility and local embeddedness (11–12 December: Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands)
Publication Non publié, 2025-12

Communication à un colloque

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Résumé :

Research on “high-skilled” migration has predominantly focused on South-North and North-North flows, portraying highly educated migrants as cosmopolitan professionals moving within the global economy. This paper challenges that narrative by drawing on ethnographic research in Nouakchott, Mauritania, and exploring North-South migration through the case of European women with varied pathways. Some arrived through employment contracts in development, education, or international cooperation; others settled after personal journeys, including long-term travel or relationships with Mauritanians. Although nearly all hold a master’s degree, the label “high-skilled migrant” obscures the diversity of their positioning and experiences. Building on Robertson and Roberts’ concept of middling migration, this paper examines these women’s paths through the lens of ambivalent privilege, shaped by contracts, mobility routes, gender, race, nationality, and religion. Whiteness and Europeanness often serve as capital, providing access to opportunities rarely available to equally qualified locals. However, privilege is neither uniform nor guaranteed, and some may face challenges from their community of origin; for instance, wearing a veil can restrict job prospects, while a long-term local contract in the country might later lead to precarious positions (with no pension and no chance to return to France). This study expands high-skilled migration research by revealing the complex and varied ways in which European women navigate mobility, rootedness, and social hierarchies within a South-based context.