Table Of ContentExpatriatE idEntitiEs in
postcolonial organizations
studies in Migration and diaspora
series Editor:
anne J. Kershen, Queen Mary college, University of london, UK
studies in Migration and diaspora is a series designed to showcase the
interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary nature of research in this important field.
Volumes in the series cover local, national and global issues and engage with both
historical and contemporary events. the books will appeal to scholars, students
and all those engaged in the study of migration and diaspora. amongst the topics
covered are minority ethnic relations, transnational movements and the cultural,
social and political implications of moving from ‘over there’, to ‘over here’.
also in the series:
Multifaceted Identity of Interethnic Young People
Chameleon Identities
Sultana Choudhry
isBn 978-0-7546-7860-1
The Invisible Empire
White Discourse, Tolerance and Belonging
Georgie Wemyss
isBn 978-0-7546-7347-7
Lifestyle Migration
Expectations, Aspirations and Experiences
Edited by Michaela Benson and Karen O’Reilly
isBn 978-0-7546-7567-9
International Migration and Rural Areas
Cross-National Comparative Perspectives
Edited by Birgit Jentsch and Myriam Simard
isBn 978-0-7546-7484-9
Accession and Migration
Changing Policy, Society, and Culture in an Enlarged Europe
Edited by John Eade and Yordanka Valkanova
isBn 978-0-7546-7503-7
Expatriate identities in
postcolonial organizations
Working Whiteness
paUlinE lEonard
University of Southampton, UK
First published 2010 by Ashgate Publishing
Published 2016 by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017, USA
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
Copyright © Pauline Leonard 2010
Pauline Leonard has asserted her right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be
identified as the author of this work.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any
form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented,
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Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for
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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Leonard, Pauline, 1957-
Expatriate identities in postcolonial organizations :
working whiteness. -- (Studies in migration and diaspora)
1. Postcolonialism--Social aspects. 2. Organizational
sociology. 3. Foreign workers--China--Hong Kong--Social
conditions. 4. Whites--Employment--China--Hong Kong.
5. Whites--Race identity--China--Hong Kong.
I. Title II. Series
331.6'217409-dc22
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Leonard, Pauline, 1957-
Expatriate identities in postcolonial organizations : working whiteness / by Pauline
Leonard.
p. cm. -- (Studies in migration and diaspora)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-7546-7365-1 (hardback)
1. Whites--Race identity. 2. Aliens. 3. Postcolonialism. 4. Organizational change. I.
Title.
HT1575.L46 2010
305.9'0691--dc22
2010004777
ISBN 9780754673651 (hbk)
ISBN 9781315581453 (ebk)
contents
Series Editor’s Preface vii
Acknowledgements ix
1 introduction 1
2 contextualizing Whiteness and Work 19
3 researching White identities 35
4 Becoming a White Expatriate 55
5 organizing Whiteness through organizational practice 73
6 gender, Work and Expatriate life 93
7 Expatriate places and spaces 109
8 returning Home 129
Bibliography 141
Index 159
This page has been left blank intentionally
series Editor’s preface
in recent decades the image of the immigrant has been one of negativity; of
poverty and threat; of individuals migrating due to necessity rather than desire.
in contrast, British expatriates are perceived as privileged – middle or upper class
– individuals who, whilst living overseas, continue to retain their national identity
and separation from the mainstream; inhabiting a notional, or actual, ring-fenced
community of whiteness within which the ‘organization’ (employer) and the
club are the focal points of expatriate life. it is the acting out of the role of the
working expatriate through the intersection of race, gender, class and nationality
that pauline leonard explores in this thought provoking volume which centres
on her empirical research amongst British expatriates in Hong Kong. Using a
poststructuralist methodology grounded in theoretical strands which are indebted
to, amongst others, Foucault and derrida, leonard highlights the way in which
whiteness is central to the construction and maintenance of expatriate identity,
behaviour, and control.
Expatriates fall into two main categories: retirees and those whose employment
by multi-national organizations or government bodies has taken them overseas. in
this book leonard focuses on working expatriates, the majority of whom began
their employment before the handover to china. By so doing she has enabled
the reader to evaluate the way in which the transition from British expatriate in a
British colony to British worker in an asian country impacts on self, and outsider,
perceptions of identity. Unlike the often harsh and exploited immigrant experience,
expat life in Hong Kong – even after the handover – is shown to be well paid,
luxuriously accommodated and protected; as one interviewee explains, ‘... it was
fantastic’. in the workplace, racial and managerial superiority endowed workers
with a possessiveness that distanced them from their indigenous colleagues.
the traditional perception of expatriate life has been viewed through a gendered
lens. in the colonial era the expatriate worker was male and middle class, his wife
the ‘trailing spouse’, her role played out in strictly domestic and social territories.
Even in the twenty-first century employment opportunities for expatriate wives
within the expatriate community remain limited. those wives that want to occupy
themselves beyond the social spaces are often forced to position themselves on the
margins in order to carry out voluntary or paid work; either of which is perceived
as despoiling the purity of the expatriate image. Yet, changes are taking place. in
the global world single women are becoming independent expatriates, though, as
the author illustrates, rarely at the same level as their male counterparts. However,
whilst the gender expatriate balance is changing and new blood is entering the
arena, others who appear in this volume are considering retirement. Significantly
viii Expatriate Identities in Postcolonial Organizations
leonard found amongst those she interviewed that their British identity had begun
to fade; having become disillusioned with the nation’s politics and lifestyle, not all
would be retiring home to the United Kingdom. some were considering staying on,
others looking at pastures new. For those that do return, resettlement will demand
a renegotiation of identity. Whiteness, gender and work will play different roles,
while the organization, if present at all, will take a minor part.
the expatriate experience is shown to be a very different one to that of
the independent immigrant. Whilst the latter has to make his or her own way,
integrating to a greater or larger extent with the mainstream, the expatriate leads a
sheltered and nurtured existence. to fully appreciate the nuances that separate the
two, a reading of this book is a priority.
anne J. Kershen
Queen Mary University of london
spring 2010
acknowledgements
i am very grateful to the University of southampton for funding aspects of this
research which made this book possible. thanks also go to colleagues at the
various conferences and workshops on whiteness, professional migration and
expatriate life who provided me with invaluable and insightful feedback on
earlier stages of this research and caroline Knowles who was a co-researcher and
travelling companion at early stages of the project. Many thanks to all colleagues
at southampton for support of various kinds: in particular susan Halford, Bernard
Harris and derek Mcghee; and family and friends guy, Will, Frances, Ed, Emily,
Molly, guinness, gill, Murphy, annabel and nell.
