Women, Wealth, and Education: The Triple Challenges Faced By International Students in Australia
- Suraksha Guragain
- May 16
- 4 min read
Suraksha Guragain
Australia ranks as the third common educational destination in the world. In July 2023, over
786,000 international students were enrolled in studies in Australia. General belief is that
education is one of the biggest export commodities of the country. The number of
international students is growing exponentially despite new rule imposed by the Australian
government. There has been over 27% of growth in international studies between 2022 and
2023 alone.
The biggest sources of international students in Australia are China, India, Nepal, Philippines,
and Vietnam. Its an interesting observation that 5 out of top 5 countries here are Asian
countries alone. Most of the international students live in city areas where the cost of living is
very high. This adds an additional complexity to the lives of the students.
Out of the total, almost half of the international students are women. The Asian culture
regarding the upbringing of a female child has a lot to do with how their lives and decisions
are shaped. A lot of female students are reported to apply abroad to escape arranged
marriages, unsafe environment, and inequal opportunities.
So how are the lives of female international students in Australia really?
A lot of women have chosen abroad studies as an escape to their hard lives back in their
highly patriarchal home countries. For them, Australia represents a dream to break free from
their shackles. China has a Gender Inequality Index (GII) of 0.19 followed by 0.49 in India,
0.45 in Nepal, 0.42 in Philippines and 0.3 in Vietnam compared to 0.07 in Australia.
Patriarchal social conducts impair their potential in their home countries as opposed to
Australia.
While they make it out so far, a lot of them are confined to menial roles despite having higher
qualifications and ambitions. Housekeeper, Cleaner, Server. Its no secret that most countries
including Australia prioritise their own citizens. Hiring international students come with a big
expense, expense of sponsorship. Hence, moving to a developed country is not really a ticket
to success. They are bound to face bigger barriers than the rest.
The tuition fees difference between a domestic student and an international student is
staggering. They have to pay almost twice as much and work twice as harder. University of
Sydney lists $42,560 to $47,940 as an average fee range for international students while the
domestic students pay $20,000 to $45,000 annually. Fees are significantly less for domestic
students due to the program called commonwealth supported places.
The concept of equity, equal opportunities for all has not been a reality for a lot of
international students in Australia. It makes sense to lessen the burden of people who are
trying to get a good education. However, Australia as a country with one of the highest
international students can do better to do the same for people who come from other countries
to do the same. Afterall, in an ideal world, that is what you do to lift one another.
Getting a good job in a good company is another nightmare for female international students.
A study published by a Monash business school study noted that recruiters are likely to
respond to white names rather than ethnic names during the recruitment process. In fact,
despite having identical resumes, ethnic minorities got 57.4% fewer responses than applicants
with English names for leadership positions. They also received 45.3% fewer calls from
recruiters for non-leadership roles despite having identical resumes. Many immigrant parents
in Australia now give their children non-ethnic names, so they won’t have to face the
challenges their parents did.
Amidst this, it is very hard to save up any money for better future. Being stuck in a survival
mode is the reality of many female international students. They are obliged to fight battle in
every stage of their lives: living in their countries, leaving their countries, paying fees as an
international student, and getting a job with an ethnic name. The constant struggle often
pushes them in the corner and breaks their self-worth. Escaping a patriarchal setting isn’t
really the end of the problems for female international students. No matter where they are,
there are numerous battles to defeat.
Wealth acquisition and economic growth is not just international students’ problem.
Inequality in these aspects have affected everyone. Since 2009, the bottom 90% of the
country are getting just 7% of economic growth. It is clear that the economic growth is not
working for most people. But the fact is that the majority of the international students are the
bottom 90%.
Human lives are complex, often filled with endless problems. However, if one group of
people faces significantly more than the other, than we should understand that there is a
problem behind the surface. As someone who has faced this adverse situation, I often
question myself. What could have been done better? What can be changed now? How can we
put an end to this?
The answer is not simple at all. A single country alone cannot fix the problems rooted in
other countries. It cannot change the system of other countries either. But what it can do is to
ensure equity for the people who are already here, regardless of their genders, nationalities,
and ethnicities. It can work towards mitigating recruitment bias. It can introduce a more
balanced and fair tuition fees for all people. It can introduce programs to lift the people
working in menial jobs. A lot of capable people who can bring a lot of positive changes in
this country are working at the bottom with their valuable skills wasted.
References
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student-numbers-country-state-and-territory
applicants-ethnic-name-discrmination-english-names/
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