Entrance into and negotiation of the US labor force by immigrant women workers: a case study of samba in Los Angeles

Abstract

ABSTRACT Due to the heterogeneity of immigrant women's experiences, we recognize the need to provide a more comprehensive portrayal of how gender shapes their labor force participation and work experiences. To study immigrant women employed in feminized work, this article uses the concept of gender as a social construction that informs, conveys, and adjusts power relations to explain how and why immigrant women occupy gendered jobs and to assess persisting inequalities and the unexpected benefits of gendered work. To illustrate this, we examine immigrant women in Los Angeles working in an ethnic niche: Brazilian samba dance. Our qualitative research on this case offers the opportunity to analyze the complexity of labor force dynamics. We discuss how the interaction of gender, nationality, race, and body aesthetic shapes our understanding of how immigrant women carve out economic niches, negotiate stigmas, and resignify gender relations through work. We conclude that work grants immigrant women power over (re)productive choices and the resistance needed to (re)define practices by challenging and conforming to social gender and work norms.