‘I Didn’t Realise There Are So Many of Them’: Ethnic Chinese Women in Civic Life in Australia

This article explores the under-studied gender dimensions of immigrants’ civic life by focusing on role ethnic Chinese women in community-led volunteering Victoria, Australia. It integrates population-based cross-sectional data from 2016 Australian Census and qualitative gathered ethnographic fieldwork conducted to 2019. identifies a more salient presence than men life. Our interviews demonstrate that these women’s participation remains patterned constrained heteronormative norms which extend beyond private sphere workplace These empirical findings challenge both overly optimistic presumption equates migrant with empowerment or emancipation pessimistic them as inactive marginalised actors. Taking relational approach, argues engagement among backgrounds should be studied relation to, rather isolated from, divergent gendered experiences labour market domestic sphere.