The social and spatial mismatch of system-involved women: An intersectional mixed-methods analysis

• In Event: They Not Like Us (Yet): The Importance of Intersectional Considerations in Reentry

Abstract

Seminal work on spatial mismatch has shown that geographic isolation from job-rich areas resulted in unemployment for low-income women of color. Though social capital is a critical component of the job search for justice-involved individuals, justice-involved women of color may have unique barriers to accessing social capital related to spatial mismatch. This concurrent mixed methods study addresses the interconnections of race, economic opportunity, social capital, and employment for a sample of 56 justice-involved women. Results reveal racial differences in the mobilization of social capital to address the spatial mismatch problem, identifying a source of inequity for women of color leaving carceral settings.

Author

• Ariel L. Roddy, Northern Arizona University