Pinay postcolonial subjects in the global economy: Feminist research discursive practices and ethics

Pinay or Filipino women are perhaps the most studied subject in gendered global labour and care migration. They are often sought after by many scholars, activists, and even policymakers in understanding the complex interplay of gender, race, nation, and citizenship that shape their experiences. This paper examines the practice of doing feminist research with Pinays in Canada and Australia and the challenges of positionality and recognition embedded in the research process; the dilemmas of being simultaneously both an “insider/outsider”; the scholarly and personal negotiation of the contested spaces of research and advocacy; and the question of relationships beyond scholar-subject. It draws attention to the significance and relevance of feminist research practice in the current preferred global modality of quantitative research in labour migration.