Men doing women's dirty work: Desegregation,immigrants and employer preferences in the cleaning industry in Norway

The literature on gender desegregation has documented the gendered nature of employment hierarchies and opportunities, but less work has examined how the influx of immigrants in the labour market might affect employment hierarchies and gender segregation. This study examines employers' perceptions of ‘the suitable cleaner' — a traditionally female‐dominated occupation that has received a substantial number of male immigrant workers. Departing from the notion that men in female‐dominated occupations are advantaged by a ‘glass escalator' effect, we analyse how employer preferences position different categories of workers as hireable. Building on interviews with employers in the Norwegian cleaning industry, the study demonstrates how three different but intertwined logics define employer preferences: effectivity demands, professionalization and devaluation. While the first logic favours men as workers and the second devalues ‘female' competence, opening the occupation for men, the third logic favours immigrants, combined positioning immigrant men on top of the hierarchy of suitability.     

Digital Ethnic Enclaves: Mate Preferences and Platform Choices Among Chinese Immigrant Online Daters in Vancouver

In light of the growing racialized immigrant population in Canada and advances in dating technologies, this study examines Chinese immigrants’ partner preferences and mate selection processes through the lens of online dating. We draw on in-depth interviews with 31 Chinese immigrants who have used online dating services in Metro Vancouver to search for different-sex partners. Chinese immigrant online daters show strong preferences for dating Chinese. They emphasize permanent residency status and similarity in age at arrival when evaluating potential partners. Given their preferences, Chinese immigrants strategically choose the dating platforms they primarily use. Men exhibit higher selectivity in their preferences and choices of platforms. Notably, platforms catering to Chinese users create “digital ethnic enclaves” where Chinese immigrant daters congregate. The findings illuminate the intersection of race, gender, immigrant status, and age at arrival in shaping divergent experiences of mate selection and immigrant assimilation in the digital era.     

The Role of Premigration Status in the Acculturation of Chinese–Vietnamese and Vietnamese Americans

Drawing from fifty in‐depth interviews, this research examines the role of existing parental language knowledge on the ethnic identity negotiation of two ethnically distinct children of immigrant groups—Vietnamese and Chinese–Vietnamese—whose families have emigrated from Vietnam to the Southern California region of the United States. While previous research focused primarily on the influence of premigration status on first‐generation immigrants, this article considers how a central aspect of premigration status (intranational ethnicity) applies specifically to the children of first generation immigrants. By taking the premigration approach of comparing the experiences of different ancestral‐origin groups from a single nation (the intranational ethnicity perspective), this analysis suggests that a family's premigration ethnic status shapes the 1.5 and second‐generation's ethnic self‐identification choices through the mediation of parental language knowledge. Specifically, for the children of immigrants with twice‐minority status (Chinese–Vietnamese Americans), parental language knowledge serves as an easy ethnic identity default during these children's early self‐identification process.     

“The Politics of the HealthCare Reform Debate: Public Support of Including Undocumented Immigrants and Their Children in Reform Efforts in the U.S.”

Although U.S. immigration and health care policies appear to be highly correlated, scholarship has yet to gauge the public's views toward providing undocumented immigrants with health coverage at the state level. We analyze support for including undocumented immigrants in health care reform in New Mexico. Utilizing an original public opinion survey of New Mexico adults, we find that individuals are more supportive of the state providing health care to the children of undocumented immigrant than to their parents. Multivariate logistic regression analyses suggest that factors such as liberal ideology and perceptions of commonalities with Latinos increase support levels. Despite a lack of support among a majority of respondents, the influence of perceived commonalities with immigrants suggests that reform advocates and political elites who mobilize along ethnic or human solidarity may be successful in creating conditions for the inclusion of undocumented immigrants in the public provision of health care at the state level.     

Host Societies and the Reception of Immigrants: Research Themes,Emerging Theories and Methodological Issues

Research on the reception and integration of immigrants now recognizes more explicitly the impact that characteristics of societies have as they play host to immigrants. This brief introduction to six papers — by Kasinitz, Mollenkopf and Waters; Boyd; Model and Lin; Borjas; Martin; and Castles — shows how they reflect a research emphasis on four interrelated features of host societies: 1) pre‐existing ethnic and race relations, 2) labor markets and related institutions, 3) government policies and programs both for immigration and for broader institutional regulation, and 4) the changing nature of international boundaries, part of the process of globalization. Cultural dimensions permeate analyses of each of these four aspects. Together with others in a larger collection of 18 papers developing this theme (scheduled for publication as a book by the Centre for Comparative Immigration Studies, University of California at San Diego), the various analyses suggest elements useful in constructing a theory of immigrant reception and incorporation taking proper account of the impact of host societies.     

Source‐Country Gender Roles and the Division of Labor Within Immigrant Families

The authors examined the relationship between source‐country gender roles and the gender division of paid and unpaid labor within immigrant families in the host society. Results from Canadian Census of Population (N = 497,973) data show that the 2 indicators of source‐country gender roles examined—female/male labor activity ratio and female/male secondary education ratio—are both positively associated with immigrant wives' share in their family labor supply and negatively associated with their share in housework. The association between source‐country gender roles and women's share in couples' labor activities weakens over time. Moreover, the relationship between source‐country female/male labor activity and immigrant couples' gender division of labor is reduced when immigrant women have nonimmigrant husbands, indicating that husband's immigration status matters.     

Race/Ethnicity and Stop‐and‐Frisk: Past,Present, Future

Scholarly debates surrounding stop‐and‐frisk typically assess the effectiveness and lawfulness of stop‐and‐frisk. Notwithstanding these efforts, recent reviews have excluded some recent research that addresses its impact on racial and ethnic immigrants. Understanding how the practice of stop‐and‐frisk affects racial and ethnic immigrants is worth including in reviews of these policies, considering the recent growth of research involving crime and immigrants that largely finds that immigration does not result in higher levels of crime. This review includes recent work showing that overall enforcement – stops and arrests – is higher in immigrant communities despite their lower levels of criminal involvement and recent work exploring differences among first‐generation and second‐generation immigrants in perceptions of police stops. Finally, some suggestions for the future of stop‐and‐frisk research are considered.     

Man Up,Man Down: Race–Ethnicity and the Hierarchy of Men in Female‐Dominated Work

Scholars have largely overlooked the significance of race and socioeconomic status in determining which men traverse gender boundaries into female‐dominated, typically devalued, work. Examining the gender composition of the jobs that racial minority men occupy provides critical insights into mechanisms of broader racial disparities in the labor market—in addition to stalled occupational desegregation trends between men and women. Using nationally representative data from the three‐year American Community Survey (2010–2012), we examine racial/ethnic and educational differences in which men occupy gender‐typed jobs. We find that racial minority men are more likely than white men to occupy female‐dominated jobs at all levels of education—except highly educated Asian/Pacific Islander men—and that these patterns are more pronounced at lower levels of education. These findings have implications for broader occupational inequality patterns among men as well as between men and women.     

Does the “New” Immigration Require a “New” Theory of Intergenerational Integration?1

Starting from discussions on the validity of the classical assimilation concept, a general model for the explanation of different structural outcomes of interethnic relations is developed. The core of the model builds on the assumption that different outcomes are the often unintended and situation‐logic results of (mis‐)investments in and with ethnic and non‐ethnic capital. Central initial conditions of the model are group size, social and cultural distances and the availability of social capital. The model specifies the mutual relations between these three constructs. Different variants of intergenerational integration of immigrants can thus be reconstructed as special cases of a general mechanism.     

“Old age” as a social location: Theorizing institutional processes,cultural expectations,and interactional practices

The graying of societies and growing inequality call for increased attention to age relations and their implications for power, status, and constraint in late life. In this paper, I argue old age is a distinct—and devalued—social location that exists amid intersecting relations of inequality. Using an integrative approach, I synthesize selected sociological research on the institutional processes, cultural expectations, and interactional practices underlying the social construction of old age. I then review research in the areas of family care work and employment to illustrate some empirical contexts where age relations intersect with gender, class, race, and ethnicity to structure divergent opportunities and constraints among older people. This paper maps out significant theoretical and substantive signposts in the sociology of old age to build connections across levels of analysis, and to provide a nuanced, comprehensive approach to patterned inequalities in late life.     

Immigration,Ethnicity, and Conflict: The California Chinese, 1849–1882*

Drawing on Bonacich's split market theory, the work of Hechter and Blalock on ethnic conflict, and the literature on social movements, the authors develop a model of factors producing conflict between native and immigrant workers. The model identifies the relative size of the immigrant group, the growth of the immigrant population, the desirability of jobs held by immigrant workers, economic conditions, the development of racist ideology among native workers, and the organization of native workers as factors possibly explaining the frequency of incidents of overt ethnic conflict and efforts to institutionalize discrimination through government action. The model is assessed by examining the situation of Chinese immigrants in California between 1849 and 1882. The data suggest that poor economic conditions, a well-developed racist ideology, and well-organized native workers best explain incidents of ethnic conflict and successful efforts to obtain discriminatory government action.     

“Prelude to Imperialism”1: Whiteness and Chinese Exclusion in the Reimagining of the United States

Abstract The debates around Chinese exclusion were part of a racial reimagining of the United States after the Civil War. These debates show how the Exclusion Acts were the “prelude to imperialism” overseas. By employing competing racisms toward Chinese migrants, disparate groups of whites created contradictory stereotypes of the Chinese, such as the “coolie” and “celestial.” Focusing on working‐class whites’ messy and violent racism toward the Chinese has contributed to ignoring more paternalistic “civilized” racism of missionaries, reformers, politicians, and capitalists that led to more lasting stereotypes of Chinese, such as the “model minority.” This study analyzes how these racisms simultaneously contributed to the transformation of the racial state and the extension of imperialist policies, while they disciplined workers of all races, Chinese immigrants, Filipinos, and whites.     

Is it Race,Immigrant Status,or Both? An Analysis of Wage Disparities among Men in the United States1

The intersection of race and immigrant status forms a unique social space where minority group members and immigrants are afforded or denied the privileges that are routinely accorded to native-born, non-Hispanic whites. Yet recent research on the intersection of race and immigrant status is inconsistent in its findings, limited to a small number of racial groups, and does not account for the geographic distribution of racial/ethnic groups. In this paper, we shed light on the intersection of race and immigrant status by answering two questions: (1) Do racial disparities in socioeconomic outcomes vary by nativity? and (2) Do native-immigrant disparities in socioeconomic outcomes vary by race? Using 2000 Census data linked to metropolitan area and sending country data, we find that racial disparities are similar and significant among natives and immigrants (Question 1). Asians, blacks, and Latinos fare significantly worse than their white counterparts in both the native and immigrant populations. Furthermore, our analysis of native-immigrant wage disparities by race reveals that the immigrant experience is considerably worse for Asians, blacks, and Latinos (Question 2). These groups also receive fewer wage returns to years spent in the U.S. and their wage disparities are magnified by the percentage of immigrants in a metropolitan area – whereas all whites receive a wage premium when living in an area with a larger share of immigrants. The results suggest that race and immigrant status work in concert to uniquely influence the social experience of immigrant minorities in the U.S.     

In and Out of the Ethnic Economy: A Longitudinal Analysis of Ethnic Networks and Pathways to Economic Success across Immigrant Categories1

The economic benefits to immigrants of taking jobs in ethnic workplaces, relative to the open economy, are heavily debated. We examine longitudinally differences across immigrant categories in how the choice of ethnic or non‐ethnic workplace influences the ethnic composition of social networks and how these factors impact immigrants’ economic success. Using the Longitudinal Survey of Immigrants to Canada, with data 6 months, 2 years, and 4 years after arrival, we find support for both sides of the ethnic economy debate when it is qualified by immigrant category. While economic immigrants benefit from non‐ethnic workplaces, family immigrants face economic penalties in the open economy and do better in ethnic workplaces. We argue that policies sorting immigrants into visa categories do much of the work of leading them into segmented paths of incorporation.     

Ethnic Community and Ethnic Boundaries in a “Sauce‐Scented Neighborhood”1

This article investigates the problem of ethnic boundary making in a changing context. Our case is Boston’s North End, a historically Italian neighborhood undergoing changes to its social and physical environment, making the ethnic definition of neighborhood identity and belonging more difficult though not less salient. Consequently, participants in the workings of the neighborhood—residents, business owners, politicians—face challenges of both boundary placement (who is Italian and who is not?), as well as cultural content (what does it mean to be “Italian”?). Rather than viewing Italian ethnicity as simply weakening over time, we argue that the North End shows ethnicity is in a stage of category divergence, where the still‐dominant ethnic identity is juxtaposed not against another ethnic out‐group, but at various times against boundaries of class and race, commercial and community values, even city political boundaries. Drawing on ethnographic research and in‐depth interviews, we describe three group identity frames that illustrate these processes and reveal how Italian ethnicity continues to animate discourse and action in the neighborhood.     

The Turn from “What” to “How”: Garfinkel's Reach Beyond Description

John Heritage described Harold Garfinkel's central question as “how do social actors come to know, and know in common what they are doing and the circumstances in which they are doing it.” The case of Agnes illuminates the methods by which members produce intelligible actions and recognizable—even “natural”—gender orderliness. With this central interest as a starting point, this article offers some observations about transgender women in prison and their creative adaptation to life behind bars.     

Immigrant Generation,School Procedural Justice,and Educational Attainment

There is much educational concern about the disproportionate punishment of racial/ethnic minority students within U.S. public schools. Research evidence indicates that school punishment exacerbates the already-known racial/ethnic inequalities within the educational system. What remains uncertain is if and how school punishment, justice, and fairness are moderating educational attainment for the children of immigrants. This study utilizes data from the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002 and incorporates multilevel analysis to examine how school punishment, justice, and fairness influence the educational attainment of children of immigrants. The study draws on straight-line and segmented assimilation frameworks to evaluate variation in these effects by immigrant generation. Findings do suggest that improved school procedural justice and fairness could enhance educational attainment as well as ameliorate the detrimental impact of school punishment; however, these patterns are segmented by immigrant generation and race/ethnicity.     

Value of “haafu” as a Category in Education Research

This paper examines the importance of better recognizing and representing haafu students in Japanese education policies by using Fraser's tripartite theory of social justice. In today's transnational Japan, there has been a remarkable increase in the number of haafu, a term used in reference to children with Japanese and non‐Japanese parents. However, the educational experiences of haafu children have not been adequately investigated by researchers and the government for education policies. Central to these arguments are concerns that haafu children occupy a liminal space, and hence are potentially educationally “at risk.” They are generally viewed as Japanese because of their nationality and are expected to perform like the majority of Japanese students with two Japanese parents due to their familiarity with Japanese culture. Yet, in practice there is a paradox that haafu students might be marginalized as a consequence of being viewed as not Japanese enough. In this context, how should public education respond to an increasingly culturally diverse student body? This paper argues why there is a need for public education, its policy and practices to more effectively recognize, represent and redistribute resources ‐ as Fraser frames the three dimensions of social justice ‐ in support of these students.     

Gender,Race/Ethnicity,and Deviant Drinking: A Longitudinal Application of Social Structure and Social Learning Theory

Aker's (1998) theory of social structure and social learning (SSSL) argues that structural variations in deviant behavior, such as gender or race/ethnic differences in underage or heavy drinking, are mediated by social learning variables. However, longitudinal analyses of deviant drinking in an urban sample of white, black, and Hispanic adolescents fail to support the SSSL mediation hypothesis. Significant gender and race/ethnic differences persist after controls for social learning variables as well as for social bonding variables. Interaction effects involving two social bonding variables—family attachment and moral belief—point to theoretically important conditions that maintain a gender gap in underage drinking and relatively low levels of deviant drinking among African American adolescents.     

“The Way That I Look at Things [Is] Different Because It's Me”: Constructing and Deconstructing Narratives About Racialized Sexual Selves

Many gender scholars have abandoned the notion that we can explore women's experiences without attention to other identities such as race, class, and/or sexual orientation. Until now, the ways race influences the development of sexual selves has been underexplored. In this paper, I focus on heterosexual women's accounts of the interplay of race, gender, and sexualities. Based on in‐depth interviews with sixty‐two white and African American heterosexual women between the ages of twenty and sixty‐eight, I examine the ways in which narrative work tells a story about the presentation of public sexual selves. I also explore how women's personal narratives are impacted by larger cultural narratives about race. Specifically, through a study of sexuality, I focus on the social construction of “postracialism.”