DLR

DANNI PENG & SUDESHNA MAHATA

Chinese Immigrant Mothers in Vancouver A research document that investigates financial, cultural, and emotional barriers recent Chinese immigrant mothers face after moving to Vancouver, Canada

DESIGN-LED RESEARCH

introduction

Cultural Context The City of Vancouver is a coastal city located in Western Canada and it is also known for being one of the popular destinations for Chinese immigrants. Since 1886, three waves of Chinese immigration originated and occupied by Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Mainland Chinese, contribute to the rapid growth of the Chinese community and reshape the social geography in Vancouver. According to statistics, the Chinese population in Vancouver is likely to double to 800,000 and is also likely to be the first majority-Chinese city outside Asia by 2031. Among new Chinese immigrants, an increasing number of Chinese parents moved to Canada to offer their children a better educational and living environment. However, such migration usually requires at least one person (usually the mother) of the family to give up their professional life in China to take on the primary role with childcare in the new country.

We are particularly interested in this cultural phenomenon, and the barriers immigrant mothers face in relation to their willingness to stay in Vancouver at different stages of life.

Table of Context

1

2

3

PRIMARY & SECONDARY RESEARCH

SYNTHESIS & ANALYSIS

INSIGHTS

The Shift in Chinese Immigrant Demographics Historically, Chinese immigrants moved to Canada to seek economic opportunities. However, In the past decade, the Chinese immigrants gradually shifted from skilled migration to investment immigration, which is mainly occupied by wealthy and skilled upper-class Chinese population. According to the research report by Li Yu, the instructor at Langara College Asian studies, the new cohort of Chinese immigrants moved to Vancouver for two primary reasons: 1. A better social, natural, and educational environment compared to their home country, and the belief that the social justice system in Canada is more fair, ethical, and respectful.

2.To secure their financial assets and seek a future haven in case their fortunes are lost and confiscated in their home country.

This shift in immigrant demographics also led to an interesting cultural phenomenon “astronaut family” among recent Chinese immigrants in Vancouver, Canada. It refers to the enduring split family situation where an immigrant family needs to live separately for financial and childcare purposes. In most cases of astronaut families in Vancouver,

Astronaut family

1.1

Secondary research

the fathers work and live primarily in China to financially support the family, where the mothers live in Vancouver to take on a primary role with childcare. The father will occasionally visit his spouse and kid(s) in Vancouver for a reunion(usually once or twice a year), but the family remains living apart for the majority of time during the year.

Today, Chinese immigrants make up around one-fifth of the Vancouver population with 12,400 new Chinese immigrants each year. However, there is also a growing trend of young to middle-aged immigrants permanently moving back to China for its booming financial market and job opportunities, and it is one of the major causes of the split family situation. While an increasing number of Chinese immigrants (generally male) moving back for a more stable income, their spouses stay in Canada to take care of children and wait for Canadian citizenship. The split situation usually lasts for more than three years, and is jokingly referred as “sitting in immigration jail”. After getting Canadian citizenship, the spouses usually return back to the home country to join their partners, whereas their children continue their education in Canada.

THE IMMIGRANT COUNTRY

HOME COUNTRY

$ Father: the primary source of income

Mother: The main caregiver

Conducting Interviews Based on Journey Maps

The first interviewee is a young immigrant mother who moved to Canada to offer her kids a better education. She recently gave birth to her second child and is currently in the recovery process. One of the biggest challenges she faced was to give up her previous job in China and restart her career in Canada with no North American approved educational certificate and working experience. She described moving to Canada as a “sacrifice” for her children.

The second interviewee (the daughter) mentioned that her mother did not participate in the decision-making process of moving to Canada, thus her willingness to stay in the country started low and gradually moved up as she joined and takes up an important role in local communities.

Now, she is at the point where she no longer needs to take care of her grown-up children and her willingness to stay has minimal impact on her decision of staying in the country or not.

The father we interviewed mentioned that his wife went through dramatic emotional ups and downs as she experienced isolation, cultural, and language barriers in the new country. After living in Vancouver with her daughter for over five years, her daughter eventually decided to move back to China for a better employment opportunity. “My wife felt she was betrayed as my daughter moved back,” the interviewee said, “her life has been centralizing around our daughter, but she is now gone.”

+ THE WILLINGNESS TO SETTLE DOWN IN THE NEW COUNTRY

Our research focused on the mother’s role in a recent Chinese immigrant family. Through interviews, we discovered that mothers we interviewed moved to Vancouver primarily for their kids instead of themselves. We wanted to know what barriers immigrant mothers faced after moving to Canada in relation to their willingness to stay in Canada in different stages. To learn from different perspectives, we interviewed a young recent Chinese immigrant mother, a daughter of a Chinese immigrant family, and an immigrant father who primarily works in China from three different families. We started the conversation with interviewees and mapped out main barriers that immigrant mothers faced at different stages based on a given journey map.

MAIN BARRIERS & UNIQUE INSIGHTS

1.2

Primary research

STAGE ONE

STAGE TWO

STAGE THREE

STAGE FOUR

FUTURE

a recent immigrant mother, 28 The interviewee moved to North America last year to offer her children a better education. She recently delivered her second child, and is in the process of restarting her career in a new country.

THE WILLINGNESS TO SETTLE DOWN IN THE NEW COUNTRY

+

Decided to move to offer kids better education Gave up her previous job

Started researching existing education resources + learning a new language

Get her first part-time job

Language & cultural barrier Started considering to return back to the professional world

not used to the local food + weather The excitement toned down

Became more familiar with local culture & value

Emotional barrier

Start going to a local language school Educational & professional gap

Had “little” things sorted out

Dealt with a new healthcare + government system

MAIN BARRIERS & UNIQUE INSIGHTS

1.2

Journey map

BEFORE MOVING Planning & uncertainty: Since this interviewee never studied aboard before, she doesn’t know how life would be after moving. Her primary focuses at that time were learning English and searching education-related resources for her kids, not so much on researching job opportunities and the local market in the new country.

Limited resources: Since she had limited social connections in the new country, she got most of her information from the government’s website.

AFTER MOVING TO A NEW COUNTRY

GAVE BIRTH TO THE SECOND CHILD

GOT THE FIRST PART-TIME JOB

Local weather, food & environment: The interviewee mentioned that she did not like the city at first and took her a while to adapt into the local environment and to actually “like” the new country she lives in.

“Small humanist gestures” at the local hospital: she really appreciates the human-centred humanist approach at the local hospital.

Emotional barrier: she is hoping to return to the professional world as soon as possible, but she has to struggle and even scarify to find a balanced point between childcare and professional life. She wants to be there for her children for important stages of their lives.

Unfamiliar with local healthcare systems: it generally takes 3 months for the interviewee to receive a healthcare card, before that, she had to pay for everything (eg. regular check-in) when she first arrived, which could be a huge financial burden.

Had “tangible” “small” things sorted out make she actually want to settle down: The interviewee built deeper connections with the new country through tangible things: 1.Purchased Car 2.Enrolled the older kid in daycare 3.Applied for Canada Child Tax Benefit 4.Enrolled in local language school 5.Got a part-time job 6.Purchased a new houses 7.Bought furniture

“In my home country, people at the hospital didn’t treat me with respect, but people here gave me both physical and emotional support I needed. This is the moment when I started to appreciate the local culture more.”

Educational & professional gap: Before moving to the new country, the interviewee had a very decent job in her home country. Since she doesn’t have related experience and degree in North America, her unfamiliarity with local culture and context makes her less competitive. She mentioned a lot of immigrants work in entry-level jobs when they first moved there, but she cannot convince herself to work in such professions for the sake of adapting to society. Even if she has to, she wants to do something that she truly enjoys.

FUTURE PLAN “Should I choose a profession based on my own interests and experience, or the needs in the local market?”

The interviewee is considering opening her own business in the new country. Since she is unfamiliar with local market and culture, she doesn’t know if she should continue her previous profession or switch to a more popular local profession. Both can be challenging, she is still at the stage of figuring out her life.

a daughter of a chinese immigrant family, 23 This interviewee’s family moved to North America 10 years ago. Her mother gave up her job in order to take on a primary role with childcare, whereas her father stayed in the home country to make money.

THE WILLINGNESS TO SETTLE DOWN IN THE NEW COUNTRY

+

Took on a more important role in the organization

Continuously worked in the organization

At a stage where the level of willingness has almost zero impact on the decision of staying in the country or not

Occasionally visited her home country

Actively participated in the Buddhist Society Joined the Buddhist Society Moved to a new country Started to experience language/cultural barriers Being informed to move

Quited Job

Had fixed social circles

Father passed away

Husband went back to home country Went to a local ESL school kids started school

Built connections within the neighbourhood Felt isolated

MAIN BARRIERS & UNIQUE INSIGHTS

1.2

Journey map

BEFORE MOVING Decision-Making: before moving, the interviewee’s mother worked at a hospital as a nurse. She was notified that the family would move to a country and did not participate in the decision-making process, thus her willingness and motivation were low from the beginning. The primary reason for immigration was to offer her kids a better education.

Daughter: “my mom did not express her feeling much at the time, but she later told me she was in a passive position. I would be mad (or even divorced) if I was her because she was excluded from the decision-making process.”

THE FIRST 1-5 YEARS Isolation & Social Connection: the first 1 to 5 years was the toughest moment for interviewee’s mother because she lived apart from her husband and took on a primary role with childcare.

She experienced language and cultural barriers, and the isolation got worsen when her kids went to school and developed their own social circles. As the interviewee started to develop social connections within the neighborhood and the local language school, these tangible connections and associations make her want to stay more.

5-6 YEARS Participated in Local Organization: In 2010, the interviewee mother joined the Buddhist society and gradually took a more important role in the society. This is when she started to develop long-term and stable connections with the new country and her willingness gradually went up during this period.

Having a religion also brought great comfort to the loss of her father and strengthened her relationship with the country.

AFTER 10 YRS Willingness gradually went up and stabilize

FUTURE More freedom of choice: according to the interviewee, since she and her brother are both independent, the mother has more freedom in choosing where to live and no longer need to take on a primary caregiver role. In some ways, staying in the new country is no longer an obligation for her.

She may move back to the home country to reunite with her husband and other family members, but it depends on different situations. The willingness to stay will likely stay stabilized in the future, and will not influence her decision to stay or not.

an immigrant father, 55 The interviewee’s family moved to Canada 5 years ago. The interviewee primarily lives and works in China, whereas his wife takes on a primary role with childcare. His daughter recently moved back to China to seek better employment opportunity.

THE WILLINGNESS TO SETTLE DOWN IN THE NEW COUNTRY

+

Prepared immigration application

Moved to the new country Experienced financial shortage

Daughter got sent to an international school, experienced emotional ups and downs

Owned a house

Husband returned back to the home country Mother got sick Developed fixed social circles and a sense of belonging

Went back + forth between two countries

conflicts with husband

Daughter started college

Started building her own house

Daughter moved to another country

At a stage where the level of willingness has almost zero impact on the decision of staying in the country or not

Got a part-time job

Started go to the local ESL school

MAIN BARRIERS & UNIQUE INSIGHTS

1.2

Journey map

Experienced isolation in the new country

IMMIGRANT APPLICATION (4 YEARS IN TOTAL)

AFTER MOVING TO THE NEW COUNTRY

THE 2-3 YRS

Moving for a better education: the primary reason for immigration is to offer the Interviewee’s daughter a better education and to escape from the result and solution-driven educational system in his home country.

Financial burden: since the city and the area they moved to were mainly constituted by rich new immigrants and the local housing price is very high. They felt financially pressured and did not purchase a house until the second year.

“Before handing in the immigrant application, We had been hearing a lot of good words of the educational system in North America, it’s free (in some regions) and would allow our daughter to grow up in a more diverse and creative learning environment.”

Isolation: the interviewee left after the first three months to take care of his own company. His wife started to experience isolation from cultural and language barrier.

It was also hard to maintain a long-distance relationship since the interviewee and his wife never lived separately before. This is the stage when he and his wife relationship got worse, the level willingness to stay dropped to its lowest point.

Social connections: The interviewee’s wife started to develop local connections with friends from the ESL school. Building social connections allowed her to feel a sense of community and belonging. His wife also got a part-time teaching job through her connections in the new country, which strengthened her relationship with the local environment and boosted up her willingness to stay.

Political and financial aspects: since the political situation is not very stable in his home country, the interviewee and his wife are planning to transfer their income in a more secure place.

“My relationship with my wife got so much better after she got the part-time job, she is now spending the majority of the time learning and teaching. I think she finds the new passion of her life.”

THE 3-5 YRS Responsibility: The interviewee’s mother in law was sick and his wife has been going back and forth between their home country and the immigrant country. His wife was in a dilemma because she already adapted to the new living environment and does not want to move back. However, she thinks she needs to obey her responsibility by taking care of her mother.

Local Property: The interviewee mentioned that his wife decided to design and build their own house in the immigrant country.

Having a physical property also strengthened her bond with local community and environment.

Change/shift in the future plan: The interviewee’s daughter decided to move back to her home country to pursue her career. For his wife, the primary focus of her life is based on her daughter and she almost felt “betrayed” after her daughter left.

FUTURE More freedom of choice: since the daughter is getting more independent, it gives more freedom for the interviewee and his wife to choose where they want to live. The interviewee suggests that they are open to all kinds of possibilities, and they will even consider spending time in both immigrant country and their home country.

“We gave up so much for our daughter but she is at the stage where she wants to live separately and start her own life. I think it is the moment when we should start focus on ourselves and what we want.”

2.1

Synthesis & analysis

Interview Highlights + Potential Touchpoints As we explored and analyzed the journey of chinese immigrant mother’s through various lenses, perspectives and stages of the transition, we discovered the interesting insights of the various barriers faced by them. The barriers faced by them can be categorized into the following three categories. .Emotional barriers: Lack of community and support resulted in severe impact of their mental wellbeing. The challenge of living in a foreign land and having to be the primary caregiver for the children without the support of a spouse was emotionally exhausting. Also, maintaining long distance relationships with partner’s also caused challenges as the couples faced such a situation for the first time. Additionally, other factors like inability to cater to responsibilities towards their parents especially when gravely ill or dying caused them emotional turmoil. .Communication Barrier: The young immigrant mother’s faced not only language based communication barriers but also time based communication barriers. They were neither able to communicate with new people in the foreign country as they were not well versed in English language, nor were they able to communicate with their family back at home due to time difference etc. This resulted in them being pushed to severe isolation. As mentioned before most of these young mothers decided to migrate to give their children better education.

With children being engrossed in their education, these mothers suffer from extreme case of social isolation. .Professional and Educational Barrier: Not have received western based education there was wide gap in the skill set learnt and skill set required in the market. The existing language barrier made it harder to reduce this gap in skill set that arised. Also, being the primary caregiver of the family, these women had to give up their profession to care of their children. This led to deepening of the already existing professional gap.

Certainly achieving a balance between childcare and profession was a challenge. These women were forced to choose between professional ambition versus caring for their children.

Apart from barriers we also observed and identified parameters that positively impacted the lives of these women and gave them a sense of empowerment. .Decreasing language barrier: After going through a period of isolation most women realized that language barrier was one of the major causes for the conditions they are facing. Hence, decided to enroll in English clases. This particular decision opened them to new doors of opportunities which the positively affected their willingness to stay. .Sense of Belonging/community: Another interesting phenomenon was the exponential increase of their confidence as they joined various communities and groups. This returned their lost sense of social security. .Sense of Ownership: Owning a property, house etc was a major step and had a huge impact of the willingness to stay curve. They felt more financially stable and empowered. .Feeling Independent financially: Getting a Job/Part-time job after boosted their professional confidence which they had lost due to years of being out of practice. Also, not having to depend on their spouse and gaining financial independence gave them the needed sense of authority that they felt they had lost. .Sense of power regain due to taking up roles and responsibilities: Some of these women either volunteered or were nominated for various important roles in communities/jobs. This was another step towards gaining their confidence.

Having gathered the above rich basket of insights. We now contemplated regarding the potential touchpoints. To which two major questions emerged through our primary and secondary research. .The first one being - What is the purpose of immigration? .The second being - What keeps them from entering the adaptation cycle at an earlier stage?

3.1

Insights

Delay in Adaptation Cycle When we keenly observe the journey maps we can see that, for all the cases the women had reached a critical point of social isolation. A point at which their willingness to stay reached its minima. However, through primary and secondary research it was interesting to find that even though they may be aware of what is hindering them, there is a resistance towards the process of adaptation. In Fact they take a few years to enroll into an English program which is a known necessity for immigrants migrating to the west. This makes us ponder regarding the following questions: .What keeps them from entering the adaptation process earlier? .Why are these challenges not being addressed at an earlier stage? .If there were addressed at an earlier stage would that considerably reduce the distress faced by these women after their migration to Canada?

3.1

Insights

Immigration ≠ A Higher Happiness Index One question that emerged in the research process is: what is the purpose of immigration? As our interviewees mentioned, they and their parents envisioned Canada to be a “better” country in comparison to their own home country, and they believed that moving to Canada could offer their families and children a better future, and the mothers were willing to sacrifice what they had in China (their professional lives and social connections) for this belief. Even though we only conducted interviews with a few participants based on their stories, we don’t think the overall well-being of immigrant mothers significantly improved after immigration since they all experienced different levels of isolation, loneliness, and depression after moving to Vancouver. This surprising result makes us question whether these three families should have immigrated in the first place and if they would still have chosen to immigrate to Canada if they experienced what they experienced. We

think this belief of Canada as a “better” country is closely tied to the romanticized idea of the West, which drives three families to make the decision of moving to Canada at first. However, the reality and the financial and cultural barriers of living in Vancouver created a huge psychological gap, which made this adaption to the new environment even more difficult for immigrant mothers. On top of that, the social expectation and responsibility of mothers and the sacrifice they made also widen the psychological gap. Before addressing specific barriers that immigrant mother may have encountered along their journeys, we suggest it is necessary to present the life of immigrants as authentic as possible, to give space for people to critically question and rethink the idea of the American and Canadian dream.

“If moving to Vancouver doesn’t necessarily improve the overall well-being of immigrant mothers, would the families we interviewed still have chosen to immigrate to Vancouver if they experienced what they experienced?”

Research resources

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