Second-Generation Asian Americans’ Labor Market Experiences

• In Event: 3241 - Educational and Labor Market Outcomes among Asian Americans

Abstract

Recent research on Asian American educational attainment suggests that a combination of immigrant hyper-selectivity and ethnic capital enables second-generation Asian Americans to succeed according to a narrowly-defined success frame. However, it is unclear whether ethnoracialized advantages within the educational system translate into advantages in the workplace. This study examines the transition process for second-generation Asian Americans as they move from education into the labor market. I analyze 30 semi-structured qualitative interviews with 1.5- and second-generation Asian Americans in the New York City area, all of whom had entered the full-time workforce within the previous ten years. I find that these recent labor market entrants faced countervailing forces: family and community networks no longer provided the same ethnoracialized resources and network ties that might enable educational success, but respondents benefited from access to institutional resources and ties. Once in the workplace, respondents faced microaggressions and stereotyping, though they also benefited from positive stereotyping and their second-generation status. These findings reveal that the presumed link between educational and occupational success is complicated by ethnoracialized considerations.

Author

• Tiffany Joyce Huang, Columbia University