Between Dependence and Independence

Abstract

Nowhere do government policies, expectations of the ethnic community, and the efforts of women to (re)construct their social identity collide more powerfully than in the area of employment. Both government laws and policies and attitudes endorsed by immigrant communities visualize women in terms of the home, and each imposes special burdens on their lives that in turn shape their options for (re)constructing their own social identity. Government laws, regulations, and practices identify immigrant women as “stay-at-home moms” or surrogate mother/daughter caregivers. This association with the domestic sphere represents a classic catch-22 for women. In labeling them as dependent family members, governments have contributed to popular impressions in mainstream society of immigrant women as unemployed and have limited their chances for being considered for a broad range of occupations. Many immigrant communities have also tended to view women in terms of home and family. Perceived as guardians of the old country’s culture and traditions, women have been expected not only to preserve those values within the home but also to pass them on to the next generation, particularly their daughters. Unlike the official voice articulated in government policies and practices, which reflects a 1950s media version of a Western nuclear family, the immigrant community has tended to emphasize the maintenance of an idealized version of the norms and values of the old country. This has often included clearly prescribed gender roles.