Labor Market Assimilation among Mexican Immigrant Women: A Double-cohort Approach

• In Event: 2384 - Section on International Migration Refereed Roundtable Session
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 11. Labor Market Incorporation

Abstract

The economic incorporation of disadvantaged immigrant workers is a topic of concern. Yet, most research has focused on the experiences of male workers with little attention paid to the experiences of immigrant women. This study investigates Mexican immigrant women labor market assimilation using a double-cohort approach, namely birth and immigration cohorts. We use U.S. Census data for 1990, 2000, 2010, and 2015 to assess the degree of convergence with time in the United State in employment rates and wages between Mexican immigrant women and native-born women. Preliminary results provide evidence of economic assimilation among Mexican immigrant women, though with significant variation by period of migration. The results suggest that although the marriage and fertility had a stronger determent effect on the odds of employment among older Mexican women, newer cohorts of Mexican women face greater challenges to labor market incorporation, being disadvantaged by family formation and their lower levels of human capital relative to native born women.

Authors

• Sandra M. Florian, University of Pennsylvania

• Chenoa Flippen, University of Pennsylvania

• Emilio A. Parrado, University of Pennsylvania