Gender gap dynamics among refugees and recent immigrants: different start, similar patterns?

In the last years, the labor market integration of immigrant women has received much attention in the migration literature. We examine gender differences in labor market integration among refugees and other new immigrants who came to Germany during a similar period from a dynamic perspective. Using two panel data sources, which include recently arrived refugees (the IAB-BAMF-SOEP Sample of Refugees) and other immigrants (the IAB-SOEP Migration Sample) in Germany, we compare the dynamics and sources of employment gender gap among refugees and other immigrants. The results uncover narrow initial gender differences among refugees that grow over time and a reversed pattern among other immigrants. However, female refugees’ initial disadvantaged starting position maintains five years after arrival. Furthermore, our findings indicate that the explanations offered in the literature cannot fully explain the hurdles female refugees and other immigrants face when entering the labor market

Gendered integration? How recently arrived male and female refugees fare on the German labour market

Objective: This paper examines gender differences in the labour market integration of newly arrived refugees in Germany. In particular, we focus on the heterogeneity in employment rates among female refugees. Background: Previous research has demonstrated that refugee women are disadvantaged on the labour market not only compared to their male counterparts, but also compared to other immigrant women. So far, however, little is known about the mechanisms that underlie the specific disadvantages of refugee women. Method: Using data from the IAB-BAMF-SOEP Survey of Refugees, we analyse the labour market participation of refugees who migrated to Germany between 2013 and 2017. To test our theoretical assumptions, we apply logistic regressions. Results: Our results show that compositional differences in qualifications, family structure, institutional support, and networks can partly explain the gender gap in labour force participation that disadvantage refugee women. We find substantial variation in the importance of different determinants for the labour market outcomes of men and women. Conclusion: As the gender gaps in labour supply could be fully attributed to the theoretical mechanisms offered in the literature, further research is needed to disentangle female refugees' employment behaviour.Fragestellung: Der Artikel untersucht Geschlechterunterschiede bei der Arbeitsmarktteilhabe von jüngst nach Deutschland eingereisten Geflüchteten unter Berücksichtigung ihres mitgebrachten Arbeitskräfteangebotes. Wir berücksichtigen dabei speziell die Vielfalt innerhalb der Gruppe geflüchteter Frauen. Hintergrund: Bisherige Forschung machte deutlich, dass weibliche Geflüchtete bei der Arbeitsmarktteilhabe nicht nur im Vergleich zu männlichen Geflüchteten, sondern auch verglichen mit anderen migrantischen Frauen benachteiligt sind. Zuweilen vernachlässigte diese Forschung jedoch die Heterogenität der Gruppe geflüchteter Frauen und lieferte nur begrenzte Erkenntnisse hinsichtlich der Mechanismen, die solche spezifischen Benachteiligungen verursachen. Methode: Unter Verwendung von Daten der IAB-BAMF-SOEP Befragung von Geflüchteten analysieren wir die Arbeitsmarktteilhabe von Geflüchteten, die zwischen 2013 und 2017 nach Deutschland migrierten. Zur Überprüfung unserer theoretischen Annahmen nutzen wir logistische Regressionen. Ergebnisse: Unsere Ergebnisse zeigen, dass klassische Humankapitaltheorien nicht geeignet sind, um den Großteil der Geschlechterunterschiede bei Geflüchteten zu erklären. Während Sorgeverpflichtungen gegenüber insbesondere Kindern unter drei Jahren die geringere Arbeitsmarktteilhabe von weiblichen Geflüchteten erschweren, scheint die Geschlechterrollenorientierung der Geflüchteten selbst keinen Effekt darauf zu haben. Schlussfolgerung: Die Geschlechterunterschiede in der Arbeitsmarktbeteiligung konnten nicht vollständig auf die in der Literatur angebotenen Erklärungsansätze zurückgeführt werden, weshalb weitere Forschung notwendig ist, um die spezifischen Herausforderungen geflüchteter Frauen zu erklären

Oppositional culture revisited. Friendship dynamics and the creation of social capital among Turkish minority adolescents in Germany

Ethnic differences in the endowment with social capital can exacerbate intergroup inequalities. Pursuing this argument, we first compare the educational compositions of friendship networks between Turkish minority and native majority adolescents in Germany. Second, we pick up notions from Oppositional Culture Theory (OCT) to examine how ethnic differences in the composition of friendship networks come about. In a sample of 2,419 students in 74 secondary schools, we focus on the effort, achievement, and anti-school behaviour of peers and the role these play in adolescents’ friendship selection. Results from multilevel stochastic actor-oriented models reveal that Turkish minority adolescents prefer highly engaged and high-achieving peers as friends. Despite these preferences, Turkish minority adolescents’ social networks still provide lower levels of social capital on aggregate than majority members’ networks. We attribute this to systematic variation in the opportunity structure. Our results speak against the existence of anti-school norms among Turkish minority youth. Still, our study supports the OCT’s notion that an ethnic group’s structural positioning within society can result in selective acculturation processes and distinct patterns of social embeddedness

The Link between Social and Structural Integration: Co- and Interethnic Friendship Selection and Social Influence within Adolescent Social Networks

Assimilation theories argue that social ties with majority-group members enhance the structural integration of ethnic minority members, whereas under certain conditions, coethnic social ties can also benefit minority members’ socioeconomic outcomes. We examine these propositions through a social network perspective, focusing on friendship networks and educational expectations in adolescence, during which peer socialization is crucial. Longitudinal data from 1,992 adolescents in 91 classrooms allow us to investigate co- and interethnic social selection and social influence processes as well as their aggregated outcomes. In terms of friendship selection, we find that Turkishorigin minority adolescents in Germany have distinct preferences for friends with high educational expectations, among both co- and interethnic peers. In contrast, social influence on Turkish-minority adolescents’ educational expectations is not uniform: only majority-group friends exert a significant (positive) influence. Our results emphasize that bridging social capital gained from social ties with majority-group members enhances ethnic minority adolescents’ educational integration

Immigrants’ Aspiration Paradox : Theoretical Explanations and Determinants of the Aspiration Gap between Native and Immigrant Students

Educational degrees are crucial predictors for the socio economic positioning of individuals. Educational aspirations can help to explain individual differences in educational decisions evoking long-term consequences for the academic future and chances on the labour market. Generally aspirations are based on past academic achievement and families’ endowment with resources needed to reach targeted educational levels. But, albeit performing worse at school and holding lower social status, some immigrant groups tend to express higher educational ambitions than natives. Compared to the majority group, first generation immigrants – and their descendants as well – seem to be more resistant towards familial or institutional restrictions. The aim of this paper is to discuss possible reasons drawn from different theoretical argumentations to disentangle this aspiration-achievement paradox. To test the explanatory power of these theoretical approaches data from the project “Young Immigrants in the German and Israeli Educational Systems” including families from Turkey and the former Soviet Union are used. The results indicate that the paradox does not apply to students from the former Soviet Union and that various factors have to be considered to solve Turkish minorities’ paradoxical relation between educational ambitions and performances. While native students’ aspiration patterns can mainly be explained by their parents’ education and their school achievement, an unexplained gap between native and Turkish students appears after controlling for indicators of social background and academic abilities. Thus, it is necessary to analyse differences in the factors determining the level of aspirations. The findings show that the long-term benefits of high educational degrees are valued higher by minority students than by natives. Attaining higher education to overcome structural barriers appears to be the main difference of Turks compared to the other groups. However, except for the assumption of missing information about the requirements of the educational system, all other theoretical explanations seem to contribute to the solution of the puzzle

Bildungsaspiration: Motivation oder Illusion? : eine mikroperspektivische Analyse der Bildungsaspirationen und Bildungsentscheidungen von Einheimischen und Migranten am Ende der Sekundarstufe I in Deutschland

Schulbildung ; Deutschland ; Anspruchsniveau ; Deutsche ; Einwanderer ; Schüler ; Migrationshintergrund ; Bildungsgan

Wer ist tatsächlich benachteiligt? Die Wirkung traditioneller Geschlechterrollen auf schulische Leistungen und elterliche Aspirationen in deutschen und türkischen Familien

Traditionelle Geschlechterrollen werden einerseits als Grund für die Benachteiligung von Mädchen gesehen, andererseits wird argumentiert, dass das schlechte Abschneiden von Jungen im Bildungssystem mit traditionellen Männlichkeitsvorstellungen zusammenhänge. Empirische Analysen der Daten aus den Projekten Junge Migranten im deutschen und israelischen Bildungssystem und Children of Immigrants Longitudinal Survey in Four European Countries zeigen, dass türkischstämmige Eltern dann niedrigere Bildungsaspirationen für ihre Töchter haben, wenn die Mütter in der Familie nicht erwerbstätig sind. Normative Einstellungen der Eltern zur geschlechtsspezifischen Arbeitsteilung hängen hingegen nicht mit den Bildungsaspirationen für ihre Kinder zusammen. Bei schulischen Leistungen im Fach Mathematik kristallisiert sich hingegen ein Nachteil für türkischstämmige Jungen heraus, wenn diese traditionelle Einstellungen haben. Für deutsche Eltern und Jugendliche finden sich keine derartigen Zusammenhänge

Attitudes and expectations: do attitudes towards education mediate the relationship between social networks and parental expectations?

Previous international research has shown that educational goals are fundamental for explaining differences in the educational attainment between individuals. For a better understanding of educational inequality, it is therefore crucial to know more about the mechanisms leading to different expectations. Our paper contributes to this field of research by empirically testing how social networks affect educational expectations of mothers for their children. Furthermore, we try to disentangle the underlying mechanisms by investigating which role resources and attitudes within social networks play in influencing educational expectations. We use quantitative data gathered in three federal states in Germany. The key results indicate that network composition not only has an effect on educational expectations but also on general attitudes towards education. Both attitudes towards education and embedded resources seem to mediate the effect of social ties on educational expectations