Female Immigrants Research Articles

Reclaiming a Space in American History with the Collective Voices of the Japanese Picture Brides in Julie Otsuka’s <i>The Buddha in the Attic</i>

Julie Otsuka’s 2011 novel The Buddha in the Attic documents the history of ‘picture brides’ who were some of the earliest Japanese female immigrants to the USA and whose narratives remain unwritten, forgotten, and erased. The collective voice of the picture brides in Buddha narrativises the women’s collective loss and effectively delivers a transgressive gesture of resistance toward a national history that refuses to provide a space for those narratives. This paper focuses on Buddha’s literary strategies of using the first-person plural narrative and the repetition of ‘we’, instead of the ‘I’ voice that show how the picture brides failed to be recognised as individual national subjects in the USA and at the same time shows that these voices refuse to be constrained in a singular narrative. This article argues that Otsuka uses a collective voice as a tool with which to inscribe the shared experience of loss, carving out narratives of the picture brides as a subversive alternative to mainstream versions of American history and further claim that collectivity can be a significantly powerful means of occupying a narrative space in the novel.

Multiculturalism in South Korea: putting migrant wives in their place

ABSTRACT This paper focuses on the role of Multicultural Family Support Centers (MFSCs) to explain the gender, race and cultural hierarchies inherent in South Korea’s system of multiculturalism. Since the 1990s the South Korean state has played an active role in facilitating marriage migration and influencing the reproductive and caregiving decisions of female marriage immigrants. This is reflected in immigration and welfare policies that incentivize migrant wives to have children and provide disproportionate power to Korean husbands. Over the past decade the Korean government has invested heavily in MFSCs. These centers cater exclusively to migrant wives with courses focused on the acquisition of the Korean language and culture. The teachers are generally older Korean women while students are migrant wives from developing countries. The version of Korean culture taught to migrant wives emphasizes traditional Confucian family roles and that a wives’ role is to focus on managing the home and supporting her husband and children. I present two case studies of cultural and cooking classes provided by a MFSC where I volunteered. The classes illustrate that multiculturalism in South Korea is focused on assimilation with limited expectation that Korean husbands and in-law families should adapt to migrant wives. Instead, migrant wives are expected to acquire a strong understanding of how to behave and understand their place in a traditional Korean family structure. I provide migrant wives’ perspectives on these classes and explain why they have limited opportunity to influence or respond to the expectations of the Korean state and in-law families.

The Determinants of Immigrants’ Skill Composition

Movements of labor across the world is an ongoing debate in the literature in terms of its drivers and results in sending and receiving areas. Skill composition of immigrant labor has been discussed by several papers, although they generally focused on visa policies or firm level productivity. However, this paper focuses on the relationship between immigrants’ educational attainment and government budgeting on research and development (R&D). Panel data analysis is applied for European countries, along with instrumental variable approach as a robustness check. Findings reveal that higher budget allocation for R&D is associated with higher skill level of immigrants within overall immigrant population. This finding is driven by young immigrants whose ages are between 25 and 34 and female immigrants in these countries, suggesting that this relationship varies among sub-groups of immigrants, which would have significant policy implications. Hence, the novel and original approach of the paper resides in the deciding factors of immigrants’ skill composition.

Occupational segregation of female and male immigrants in Europe: Accounting for cross‐country differences

AbstractThis article studies occupational segregation in Europe by gender and immigration status using the European Labour Force Survey for 2005–19. Unlike previous studies, it quantifies levels of segregation separately for female and male immigrants in each country. Overall, male immigrants experience lower occupational segregation than their female counterparts and the second generation is less segregated than the first. Segregation is generally lower in North‐Western Europe and higher in the South‐East. A counterfactual analysis reveals that immigrants' characteristics explain a small part of these cross‐country differences. Institutional setting, integration policies and country‐specific norms might play a major role.

A Study on Parenting Experiences of Multicultural Families with Disabled Children in Korea

This paper employs a qualitative case study to investigate the parenting experiences of multicultural families with disabled children in Korea. The topic at hand focuses specifically on mothers’ experiences of raising a child with disability in a multicultural family. Participants chosen through purposive sampling method were recommended by the Korean multicultural support center. This study’s five participants are married female immigrants who are raising elementary school-age children with disabilities and who have Korean communication skills. The qualitative case study approach seeks to elicit the participants’ experiences of child nurturing. Their experiences were analyzed and categorized into two main categories: (1) hardships for mothers raising children with disabilities and (2) expectations of mothers raising children with disabilities. Such analyses lead us to understand the intricacies of motherhood for children with special needs in foreign countries. Lastly, the implications of this study aim to provide direction for effective and practical policies—including social welfare and educational support—that will meet the needs of multicultural families with disabled children.

Barriers to access intimate partner violence services in female Romanian immigrants in Spain: A Delphi study.

Immigrant women may be at higher risk of intimate partner violence (IPV) and may seek specialized services less frequently than other populations. In Spain, Romanian origin foreigners comprise the second-highest proportion among immigrant population. This study aimed to identify, from the perspective of experts, (1) the main barriers faced by immigrant women of Romanian origin in accessing specialized services for IPV in Spain; and (2) the most useful strategies to combat these barriers. A Delphi study was conducted with a panel of 23 experts. The coefficient rWG was calculated to established agreement among participants. The results showed 58 barriers and 31 strategies with high agreement among the experts (rWG ≥ 0.80). Barriers in access to services that were considered to be highly influential included: having been in the host country for a short time; lack of language proficiency; job insecurity; difficulty with family-work reconciliation; and fear of the social consequences for help-seeking. The strategies considered most useful were: facilitating access to the job market and decent housing; promoting a social support network; translating material into Romanian; and increasing training among professionals. The findings offer guidelines for the improvement of the accessibility of specialized services to immigrant women of Romanian origin.

South–south migration and female labor supply in the Dominican Republic

This article investigates the effects of female immigration to the Dominican Republic (DR)—most of which is from Haiti and of low-education levels—on the labor supply of native women. Using individual-level data for 2003–2016 and exploiting geographic variation in early immigrant settlements together with time variation in female immigration inflows, we find that female immigration has led to disparate outcomes across women of different education levels and family structures. In line with the evidence from developed countries, female immigration to the DR is associated with an increase in the hours worked by highly educated native women with family dependents (relative to equally educated women without dependents). However, for low-educated native women, female immigration is associated with a decrease in hours worked and in earnings. Our results underscore the importance of studying the disparate effects of migration on vulnerable groups in developing countries.

Male and Female Differences in Homicide Mortality: Results of an Italian Longitudinal Study, 2012-2018.

IntroductionItaly has one of the lowest homicide rates in Europe. However, while it is decreasing overall, the proportion of murdered women is increasing. This study aimed to analyze the demographic and socioeconomic characteristics associated with homicide mortality in Italy, focusing specifically on male and female differences.MethodsUsing a longitudinal design, the Italian 2011 General Census population was followed up to 2018. Deaths from homicide were retrieved by a record linkage with the Causes of Death Register. Age-standardized mortality rates, stratified by sex, citizenship, education, and geographic area of residence were calculated. The association between sociodemographic characteristics and homicide mortality was evaluated using quasi-Poisson regression models.ResultsBetween 2012 and 2018, 1,940 homicides were recorded in Italy: 53% were females over age 55, 10% were immigrant females, 34% were males aged 40–54 years, 76% had a medium-low education level, and 57% lived in the South and Islands. Foreign citizenship increased a female's risk of dying from homicide (adjusted rate ratio (RRadj): 1.85; 95% CI: 1.54–2.23), while no differences between Italian and immigrant males were found. An inverse association between education and mortality was observed for both sexes, stronger for males (RRadj: 3.68; 95% CI: 3.10–4.36, low vs. high) than for females (RRadj: 1.38; 95%CI: 1.17–1.62, low vs. high). Moreover, a male residing in the South or the Islands had almost 2.5 times the risk of dying from homicide than a resident in the North-West. Finally, old age (over 75) increased a female's risk of being murdered, whereas the highest risk for males was observed for those aged 25–54 years.ConclusionsMale and female differences in homicide mortality profiles by age were expected, but the results by residence, citizenship, and education highlight that living in disadvantaged socioeconomic contexts increases the risk of dying from homicide, suggesting the need to implement specific prevention and intervention strategies.

The Effect of Social Support, Gender and Years of Immigration on Immigrants’ Depression

The aim of this study was to examine the effect of social support, gender and years of immigration on immigrant’s depression. Researchers have shown that there is an impact on depression state depending on years of immigration. Also, research has shown that there are individual differences in terms of how the immigrants perceives the social support and the interaction that has in the quality of life. Interestingly was that important factor being the social support that perceived immigrants. The design of this study was a parametric correlation and multiple regression were used to examine the results. Three independent variables the first is social support which measure the total support and more specific family support, friends support and significant others support. The second is gender with two levels males or females. Third variable is years of immigration with two levels less 5 years or more 5 years. Dependent variable is depression scores. The participants will be asked to complete two tests. The first was Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support has 12 items about social support on significant others, family and friends’ support. The second questionnaires were CES- D with 20 items about depression with the higher scores indicating the presence of more symptomatology. The number of participants was 124 by which 62they were male immigrants and 62 they were female immigrants. From the results of research, it was found that the years of immigration, the age of immigrants and significant others support associated with the presence of depression of immigrants. Theoretical contributions and future research directions are discussed in the concluding section of the paper.

Life table simulations of a univoltine codling moth, Cydia pomonella, population 3. Impact of immigration on the effectiveness of mating disruption

ABSTRACT The potential for immigration of female codling moth, Cydia pomonella (L.), to affect the efficacy of control by mating disruption was simulated by incorporating different rates of disruption and immigration into previously published life tables for a univoltine codling moth population on unsprayed apple trees in Nelson, New Zealand. Eight-year simulations were conducted using an initial codling moth density of 1.22 adults per tree at 330 trees per ha, as in the original life tables. Life table simulations without mating disruption served as controls for comparison with simulations that included various rates of disruption, and then various rates of immigration by virgin or mated female moths into trees subjected to 85% or 98% disruption. Model outputs were evaluated principally in relation to a nominal low export tolerance of fresh codling moth damage on harvested fruit of one per million. The simulations suggested that 85% disruption reduced the codling moth population too slowly for such export production, and that this rate of disruption was highly susceptible to immigration of virgin or mated female moths. Mating disruption of 98% provided rapid reduction of codling moth to extremely low population density, even in the presence of virgin female immigration up to ∼30 females per ha. However, although this efficacy should allow export by reducing simulated damage to less than one per million fruit, this was undermined by immigration of mated females as low as ∼0.7 per ha, or one per ∼3500 trees, in modern high-density orchards at 2400 trees per ha.

Linguistic Barriers to Immigrants’ Labor Market Integration in Italy

This article investigates whether and to what extent poor proficiency in Italian impairs immigrants’ labor market integration in Italy. Using individual-level survey data, we apply instrumental variables methods to leverage presumably exogenous variations in Italian proficiency induced by immigrants’ demo-linguistic characteristics (e.g., age at arrival, linguistic distance between mother tongue and destination language, speaking Italian during childhood) and their interplays. We find that, given the low-skill nature of Italy's immigrant labor market, poor proficiency in communication skills (speaking and understanding Italian) produces larger penalties for immigrants’ labor force participation and employment than does the lack of formal skills (reading and writing). In contrast, no effect is found on immigrants’ job characteristics like the type of contract and full-time or part-time work. Whereas female immigrants were more penalized than males by poor linguistic proficiency in labor force participation, immigrants in linguistic groups that were more likely to work with (for) co-nationals were less affected by linguistic barriers than other immigrant groups. Yet, when investigating perceived integration outcomes, immigrants working with (for) co-nationals fared worse on feeling at home, feeling accepted, and overall life satisfaction in Italy. As our analysis shows, linguistic enclaves in workplaces, while not always representing a hurdle to immigrants’ labor market success, can generate trade-offs for other non-labor market integration outcomes. These findings highlight that the development of linguistic skills should be prioritized in migration policy agendas, taking into account heterogeneity in immigrants’ demographic and linguistic profiles.

Analysing financial risks of local governments to design sustainability policies for public services: An empirical study by the population size

Academic researchers and international organisations have highlighted the need for a more extensive analysis of public finance in small and medium-sized local governments, in view of the high levels of borrowing observed, often aggravated by rural depopulation. The purpose of this paper is to identify financial risks by population size of local governments, to design sustainability policies for public services in small and medium municipalities. We consider the situation of 6456 Spanish municipalities during the period 2009–2018 and find that certain demographic and socioeconomic factors influence the probability of loan default, in municipalities of all sizes. In smaller ones, the variables with most impact in this respect are socioeconomic, while among the demographic variables, female immigration and generational turnover are the most significant. In larger municipalities, the influence is more balanced between demographic and socioeconomic variables. Our results concludes that policies to reduce unemployment and the rate of generational turnover, as means of enhancing the financial viability of public services, should differ between small and large municipalities, especially as concerns employment promotion in the construction sector for persons aged 25–44 years. These employment promotion policies should pay special attention to female immigration, which is a risk factor for municipal default.

Well-digging in a community of forest-living wild East African chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii)

Access to resources shapes species’ physiology and behaviour. Water is not typically considered a limiting resource for rainforest-living chimpanzees; however, several savannah and savannah-woodland communities show behavioural adaptations to limited water. Here, we provide a first report of habitual well-digging in a rainforest-living group of East African chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) and suggest that it may have been imported into the community’s behavioural repertoire by an immigrant female. We describe the presence and frequency of well-digging and related behaviour, and suggest that its subsequent spread in the group may have involved some degree of social learning. We highlight that subsurface water is a concealed resource, and that the limited spread of well-digging in the group may highlight the cognitive, rather than physical, challenges it presents in a rainforest environment.

A Study of a Culturally and Contextually Situated Multimedia Approach to Recruit a Hard-to-Reach Spanish-Speaking Population for a Randomized Control Trial (RCT).

Study designs involving randomization can be difficult to communicate to participants, especially those with low literacy. The literature on strategies to explain research concepts is limited, especially for non-English speakers. We measured the effectiveness of a culturally and contextually situated multimedia approach to recruit a cohort of 60 female Mexican immigrants (FMI) to a randomized control trial (RCT) to reduce social isolation and depression. This strategy was designed to explain the concept of randomization, explain what participating in the research study entailed, and ensure informed consent. Potential participants viewed a presentation explaining the study and a video including animation with voice-over explaining the concept of randomization. We administered a pre/post survey. Respondents (N = 59) reported an increase in their understanding of randomization, intention to enroll, and attitude towards participating in research. We conclude that a culturally and contextually situated multimedia approach is an effective model when recruiting underrepresented populations with low literacy for RCTs.

Positioning of female marriage immigrants in South Korea: a multimodal textbook analysis

Abstract This study examines a series of government textbooks used to teach Korean language and culture to spouses of South Korean nationals living in Korea. A multimodal analysis of textbook images and narratives explores how strictly defined gender identity discourses are constructed and circulated through these government textbooks in ways that not only seek to reinforce gender conventions, but also advance a conservative, assimilationist curriculum for these immigrants. The analysis reveals ways in which female marriage immigrants are positioned primarily as housekeepers; how they are subordinately positioned vis-à-vis in-laws and their husbands; and finally, how intercultural miscommunications are presented as the fault only of the immigrants. In this, the burden for intercultural communication and learning is placed solely on the immigrants in the multimodal narratives presented in the textbooks, without reciprocal burden ever placed on the spouse or spouse’s family, or effective ways of negotiating intercultural miscommunications being shared. Images and text work together in multimodal ensembles to craft narratives that position immigrant women in ways that textual or visual analysis alone would not fully capture. Thus, the study argues the use of multimodal analytical approach in examining language textbooks as a way of deconstructing broader discourses and disrupting problematic discourses.

Health literacy in former Soviet Union immigrants in the US: A mixed methods study

BackgroundPeople with limited health literacy may have trouble finding, understanding, and using health-related information and services and navigating the healthcare system. PurposeThe purpose of this study was to assess the health literacy of immigrants from the former Soviet Union (FSU) using the Health Literacy Survey (HLS19-Q12 in Russian) and explore associated socio-demographic factors. MethodThis mixed methods study recruited adult immigrants through social networks and social media and included data from online survey and follow-up interviews. Variance in health literacy was explained using multiple linear regression. Qualitative data were analyzed through modified Grounded Theory approach. FindingsSurvey respondents (n = 318) were primarily female college-educated FSU immigrants aged 20–74 from 14 of the 15 FSU countries and distributed across 33 US states. Forty percent scored at or below predefined cut-offs for inadequate or problematic health literacy levels. Social status, social support, and English proficiency were significant variables in explaining variance in health literacy scores while controlling for age, gender, and education. Interviews (n = 24) identified eight themes: English proficiency, social support, health insurance, experience with health care, complexity of the US healthcare system, relevant health information, health beliefs/practices, and trust. DiscussionThere is a need to distribute health-related information in the native language (e.g., Russian), potentially through social media and immigrants' social networks. Health providers should be aware of the prevalence of inadequate and problematic health literacy among FSU immigrants and consider associated social factors.

Perceptions of Police Among Kenyan Female Immigrants in the United States

We explored how highly educated and middle-class Kenyan female immigrants perceive their encounters with the police in the United States, including the decision to access the criminal justice system in response to their victimization. We found a positive correlation between perceptions of procedural justice and cooperation among Kenyan women immigrants. Conversely, prior victimization was inversely associated with help-seeking among these women. When Kenyan female immigrants perceived high police effectiveness in dealing with IPV, they were more likely to feel obligated to obey the U.S. police. Implications and recommendations for future research are discussed.

Settlement Phenotypes: Social Selection and Immigration in a Common Kestrel Population

Dispersal decisions are affected by the internal state of the individual and the external environment. Immigrants entering a new population are phenotypically different from residents due to selection that mitigate costs of dispersal and facilitate settlement. Sexual and status signaling traits may influence individual’s ability to settle in a population, either by showing a subordinate phenotype thus reducing aggressive interactions, or by signaling a more competitive phenotype, thus gaining local breeding resources, including mates. By comparing immigrants vs. residents in a common kestrel population across 17 years, we evaluated the influence of dispersal on fitness components (laying date, clutch size and number of fledglings) and investigated if sex, age and phenotypic traits (body size, body condition and plumage coloration) involved in movement and social interactions affected settlement. We found that population characteristics affected sexes and age classes differently, as the admission of females and young males into our population had fewer obstacles than the admission of males. In females, immigrant young were larger, had longer wings and tails, showed better body condition, had less gray tails, started breeding earlier, and laid larger clutches than residents. Adult female immigrants also showed better body condition and less gray tails. In males, immigrants had longer tails and higher number of black spots than residents. Summarizing, immigrants are good-quality individuals and, as deduced from their breeding performance, they benefited by signaling subordination, thus reducing the probability of aggressive encounters and facilitating settlement. Our study highlights the role of phenotypic traits related to signaling to study dispersal.

Does Self-Employment Contribute to Immigrants’ Economic Integration? Examining Patterns of Self-Employment Exit in Belgium

This article assesses whether self-employment can help immigrants overcome some of the ongoing challenges they face in highly segmented labor markets, by investigating the reasons behind native-immigrant differences in exit from self-employment. While a considerable literature examines the factors influencing immigrants’ decision to become self-employed, surprisingly few studies address the factors that shape exit from self-employment. This article studies native-immigrant differences in self-employment exit, drawing on longitudinal data (2008–2017) for Belgium, and adds to previous research on immigrant self-employment by considering second-generation and female immigrant business owners. Results show that immigrants were much more likely than natives to become unemployed or leave the labor force after a period in self-employment, supporting the idea that immigrants are pushed out of self-employment. Second-generation immigrants generally had better self-employment outcomes than first-generation immigrants, whereas female immigrants sometimes experienced a “double disadvantage.” Weaker attachment to the labor market preceding self-employment entry helps explain why immigrants had worse self-employment outcomes than natives in Belgium. Hence, self-employment may not provide an independent path to economic integration that allows immigrants to overcome the hurdles they face in the labor market. Instead, how people fared in the labor market before becoming self-employed strongly influenced their success as self-employed workers. This article highlights the policy complexity of immigrants’ labor market integration in Western European labor markets. As it shows, it is not enough to promote self-employment as an easy way out of immigrants’ labor market exclusion. Instead, more is needed to counteract immigrants’ problematic labor market outcomes.

Contraception Patterns Among Immigrant and Non-Immigrant Females in Canada: Findings from a National, Cross-Sectional Survey

Contraception Patterns Among Immigrant and Non-Immigrant Females in Canada: Findings from a National, Cross-Sectional Survey