The Geography of Immigrant Labor Markets: Space, Networks, and Gender

by Virginia Parks

Parks finds that both spatial and social accessibility matter in connecting immigrants to jobs and that gender saliently shapes immigrant labor markets.Parks finds that both spatial and social accessibility matter in connecting immigrants to jobs and that gender saliently shapes immigrant labor markets. She shows how geography sustains labor market segregation among immigrants and points to a reciprocal and reinforcing relationship between ethnic residential segregation and ethnic labor market segregation. This relationship is particularly acute for some immigrant women, possibly stemming from their gendered domestic roles and reliance upon neighborhood- and household-based social networks. The collective results of this study illustrate the importance of household, neighborhood, and geography in shaping the gendered immigrant labor markets of Los Angeles.

196 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 2005