Gender, Ethnic Identity and Work

30 Pages Posted: 26 Nov 2006

See all articles by Klaus F. Zimmermann

Klaus F. Zimmermann

Global Labor Organization (GLO); UNU-MERIT; Maastricht University, Department of Economics; Free University Berlin; University of Bonn; Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR); Journal of Population Economics

Amelie F. Constant

Princeton University; UNU-MERIT; CESifo; University of Pennsylvania

Liliya Gataullina

Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA)

Multiple version iconThere are 2 versions of this paper

Date Written: November 2006

Abstract

The European Union's strategy to raise employment is confronted with very low work participation among many minority ethnic groups, in particular among immigrants. This study examines the potential of immigrants' identification with the home and host country ethnicity to explain that deficit. It introduces a two-dimensional understanding of ethnic identity, as a combination of commitments to the home and host cultures and societies, and links it to the labour market participation of immigrants. Using unique German survey data, the paper identifies marked gender differences in the effects of ethnic identification on the probability to work controlling for a number of other determinants. While ethnically assimilated immigrant men outperform those who are ethnically separated and marginalized, they are not different from those with openness to both cultures. Assimilated immigrant women do better than those separated and marginalized, but those who develop an attachment to both cultures clearly fare the best.

Keywords: ethnicity, ethnic identity, acculturation, immigrant assimilation, immigrant integration, gender, work

JEL Classification: F22, J15, J16, Z10

Suggested Citation

Zimmermann, Klaus F. and Constant, Amelie F. and Gataullina, Liliya, Gender, Ethnic Identity and Work (November 2006). IZA Discussion Paper No. 2420, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=947070 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.947070

Klaus F. Zimmermann (Contact Author)

Global Labor Organization (GLO) ( email )

Bonn
Germany

HOME PAGE: http://https://glabor.org/

UNU-MERIT ( email )

Keizer Karelplein 19
Maastricht, 6211TC
Netherlands

Maastricht University, Department of Economics ( email )

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University of Bonn

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Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

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Journal of Population Economics

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Amelie F. Constant

Princeton University ( email )

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UNU-MERIT ( email )

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CESifo ( email )

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Germany

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University of Pennsylvania ( email )

Philadelphia, PA 19104
United States

Liliya Gataullina

Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) ( email )

Schaumburg-Lippe-Str. 7 / 9
Bonn, D-53072
Germany

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