Understanding brain waste: Unequal opportunities for skills development between highly skilled women and men, migrants and nonmigrants

Brain waste studies seldom analyse the skills development of tertiary-educated workers according to gender and country origin. Combining statistical analyses, participatory workshops 77 qualitative interviews on employment trajectories with highly skilled in Switzerland, I offer three contributions. An intersectional perspective reveals unequal opportunities development: Swiss-born men have highest rates employment, income jobs commensurate their education, followed by foreign-born men, then women lastly women. Second, a multiscalar shows how actions individuals, families, employers state favour or constrain advancement among men. Individual perceptions roles childcare responsibilities within couples women's development. Further constraints are set employers' policies practices regarding migration, childcare, taxation hiring. Third, spatial–temporal unveils that inequalities arise at particular moments (migration childbirth) places (lacking services limited employment).