Full Citation
Title: Distinctions in the Economic Integration of Puerto Rican Women in New York's Metropolitan Statistical Area
Citation Type: Journal Article
Publication Year: 2001
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Abstract: Scholars studying Puerto Rican integration into the United States economy have noted the lag of progress in their economic incorporation when compared to other migrant groups (Borgas-Mendez 1993; Morales 1986; Padilla 1986; Padilla 1993; Rivera-Batiz and Santiago 1994; Rivera-Batiz and Santiago 1996; Sanchez Korral 1983; Santiago 1992; Santiago and Galster 1995; Tienda; Torres 1995). The theoretical explanations for this growing gap are extensive and fluctuating. This work is a discussion of how these differences are manifesting for Puerto Ricans women in New Yorks Metropolitan Area, from the 1970s through the 1980s, using the Integrated Public Use Microdata Sample (IPUMS) for 1980 and 1990. Specifically, I will comment on the distinctions that exist for Puerto Rican women and men and how they are absorbed into the labor market of New York. It is important to make the distinction between men and women because the labor market is a structurally gendered sphere. A gendered approach is important when looking at the Puerto Rican community where women endured a significant loss in labor force participation during the 1970s (Cooney and Colon 1996; Ortiz 1996). New Yorks drastic loss of manufacturing after World War II, particularly the fall off in the garment industry was very detrimental to Puerto Rican women who seemed to be caught unprepared for the economic transformation that occurred (Ortiz 1996; Torres and Bonilla 1993). During the 1960s Puerto Rican women's labor force participation rate dropped from 60 percent to well below 30 percent when the 1970s United States Census was taken (Ortiz 1996). This was one of the most dramatic drops in labor force participation due to structural factors for any ethnic or gender group since the great depression. In addition, high poverty rates, growing single female head-of-household rates, and lack of inclusion into the greater economy have placed Puerto Ricans at the extreme opposite end of most successful ethnic groups.
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Authors: Aquino, Gabriel
Periodical (Full): Phoebe: a Journal of Feminist Scholarship, Theory and Aesthetic
Issue: 2
Volume: 13
Pages: 1-19
Data Collections: IPUMS USA
Topics: Housing and Segregation, Migration and Immigration, Race and Ethnicity
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