We look forward to presenting our initial findings at the 2026 European Sociological Association conference in Warsaw in August, as part of RN35 – Sociology of Migration!

Navigating Workplace Inclusion: Children of Migrants in Professional Employment in the London Region

Laura Morosanu, Selin Sivis

University of Sussex, United Kingdom

Children of migrants are a growing population in many European countries, including the UK. Research has amply documented the various disadvantages and exclusion many confront in different contexts of life, including the workplace. Despite their socio-economic “success”, those in professional occupations are not necessarily protected. A growing literature reveals how everyday racism and exclusion undermine their sense of worth, as well as the strategies they develop to resist and claim inclusion. What makes people of migrant background feel valued and included, however, remains under-explored. Drawing on Lamont’s (1992, 2023) work on recognition and group boundaries, we address this gap in the context of young professionals of European and non-European background in the London region, based on 37 semi-structured interviews. Our findings show that a heightened sense of recognition and belonging in the workplace involves but extends well beyond leveraging and celebrating participants’ cultural knowledge and heritage. While events, gestures or activities that positively affirm individuals’ cultural skills and diversity clearly matter, acts of trust and validation of professional expertise beyond cultural brokering are indispensable for a sense of inclusion. These range from formal or informal appreciation of professional achievements to being consulted on high-stake matters or entrusted with leadership roles. The analysis extends debates around children of migrants’ inclusion in two ways: first, it highlights subjective dimensions of “integration”, bringing questions of “worth” to its centre; second, compared to traditional measures of socio-economic integration, it shifts attention to the social settings where working lives unfold, and the factors that validate one’s membership there.