Abstract
ABSTRACT Using quantitative and qualitative methods, this study investigates inequalities in occupational status and wages between native-born and foreign-born employees in elderly care institutions in Sweden. It finds that employees from Africa, Asia and Latin America – the “Global South” – are disadvantaged in both respects. Combinatory explanations of the inequalities are needed. The shorter work experience of foreign-born workers in the care sector plus the lesser value given to educational credentials obtained outside Sweden are among the factors related to human capital theory. Access to less-valuable resources in the workplace social networks of foreign-born employees is related to social capital theory. The processes that result in exclusion from powerful social networks, in turn, are found to be affected by discrimination in the workplace.
Highlights
Individuals of migrant background, from the Global South, tend to be over-represented in the lower echelons of labour markets, with lower wages, poorer working conditions and less employment security (Schierup, Hansen, and Castles 2006)
We focus on aspects of workplace social relations that have a negative effect on the opportunities for these employees to collect work place social capital (WPSC)
We set out to determine whether there was a gap in occupational status and wages between native and foreign-born care workers in elderly homes and, if so, how the differences could be explained
Summary
Individuals of migrant background, from the Global South, tend to be over-represented in the lower echelons of labour markets, with lower wages, poorer working conditions and less employment security (Schierup, Hansen, and Castles 2006). Unlike many previous studies that analyse the occupational status and wages of employees across the labour market as a whole, this study concentrates on particular workplaces: care homes for the elderly in a major Swedish city. It focuses on the conditions for nursing assistants and assistant nurses. The study contributes to research on conditions for migrant care workers by adding detailed knowledge regarding the complex factors that influence inequality patterns within individual workplaces, drawing on both the literature that focuses on human capital and the literature that highlights social relations in the workplace. We present the study, introducing our data, key concepts and measures before presenting the results
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