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Title: Self-employment of immigrant women in the United States: The role of country-of-origin and family-related policies
Citation Type: Journal Article
Publication Year: 2017
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Abstract: In the current study, I focus on the effects of country of origin on immigrant women's odds of becoming self-employed in the United States. I argue that in comparison to their male counterparts, immigrant women make their choice of employment within different sets of available opportunities, impediments and obligations, and within a specific national environment, including the background and experiences brought from the country of origin. Immigrant women, and especially married immigrant women (Donato et al., 2014) experience a double disadvantage as immigrants facing language and cultural barriers when trying to assimilate in regular employment, and as women whose paid work is affected by their familial context (Inman, 2000 and Weiler and Bernasek, 2001). Consequently, they accumulate fewer benefits than men and encounter difficulties in securing lucrative jobs and adequate employment (Stier and Tienda, 2001). In this context, self-employment is a strategy that immigrant women may engage in to obtain income while coping with family demands and the demands of a new and unfamiliar labor market. It offers a way to earn income while caring for children and working from home, and it may be particularly attractive to families in welfare contexts where family arrangements are scarce (Craig et al., 2012). Thus, the process which underlies immigrant women's decision to become self-employed emphasizes the potential role that self-employment may play in their assimilation process, being an alternative solution to their inferior position both at home and in the labor market.
Url: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0049089X1630093X
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Authors: Aharon, Galit
Periodical (Full): Social Science Research
Issue: 1
Volume: 63
Pages: 277-291
Data Collections: IPUMS USA
Topics: Gender, Labor Force and Occupational Structure, Migration and Immigration
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