Ben is conducting his doctorate research part time in the school of Geography and the Environment alongside working full time in the global mobility industry. As an established global mobility and HR specialist, Ben has experience of managing mobility programmes globally for a variety of clients alongside his first-hand experience of being an expatriate himself twice in Japan and Hong Kong.
As a result of his professional and personal expatriate experience, Ben’s thesis investigating the experiences of gay and lesbian married expatriates as they migrate to East Asia and how the global mobility industry facilitates the relocation of same-sex married couples. Ben holds a MSc in International Management and a BA (Hons) degree in Business Management & Japanese Studies from the University of Sheffield, UK.
Expatriating love: Global Mobility experiences and facilitation of married same-sex couples in East Asia
Supervisors: Dr Sophie Cranston and Dr Sarah Barnard
My research investigates the experiences of same-sex married expatriate couples as they migrate to foreign jurisdictions that do not recognise same-sex marriage in legislative framework and immigration provisions. Furthermore, the role of the Global Mobility Industry in facilitating same sex married expatriate couples to circumvent the challenges of moving to a country where their marriage is not legally recognised is also examined. The global mobility industry, as the main facilitator of corporate sponsored relocations, have a commercial incentive to relocate individuals that their corporate clients have identified to send on international assignments; regardless of their sexual orientation.
My thesis intends to be an original contribution to knowledge in the following ways: 1) to challenge assumptions of heteronormativity in expatriation pathways 2) highlight the experiences of same-sex couples moving from countries where they could be considered ‘oppressed’ 3) identify how these migrations are facilitated by other actors (Global Mobility Industry). My research centres on the East Asia region, a region that does not criminalise homosexuality nor has achieved marriage equality. The region has also been selected due the large presence of multinational corporations, expatriate populations, a solid global mobility infrastructure and most importantly have started to have high profile immigration and anti-discrimination law cases brought by same-sex couples in recent years that are challenging the status quo by demanding recognition of marriages through legislation.