Household Extension and Employment Among Asian Immigrant Women in the United States

Abstract

To help explain variation in Asian immigrant women's employment, we examine the association between women's employment and the presence and characteristics of adult extended household members for seven Asian immigrant groups: Chinese, Korean, Asian Indian, Pakistani, Filipina, Vietnamese, and Japanese. Using the American Community Survey 2009-2011 pooled data, we find that married, first-generation Asian immigrant women's employment rates are higher when they live with parents or parents-inlaw. Furthermore, hampered by housework and care work, these women apparently receive some support in particular from female extended adults providing child care assistance-especially in families with young children. On the other hand, we find a negative association between the presence of disabled adults and employment, but only for Koreans, and employed extended adults' support varies across nationality groups. Variations in these dynamics across Asian groups suggest the need for further study.

Household Extension and Earnings Among Foreign-Born Asian and Non-Hispanic White Households

“…These kinds of entrepreneurial engagements and/or presence of secondary earners (earners other than the household head), children, fictive kin are part of the income generating activity and provide resources and information required for adjustment in a foreign country as well as cope up with labor market disadvantages such as lack of English fluency (Duleep & Sanders, 1993; Eckstein & Nguyen, 2011; Foner, 2009; Glenn, 1983; Min, 2001; Park, 2008). Moreover, as per a recent investigation, there is a positive association between the presence of extended household members and the probability of women to engage in paid labor market (J. Kang & Cohen, 2018).…”

“…I employ the 1% 1-year sample for the year 2011 and the pooled 1% 3-year sample for years 2009-2011 American Community Survey data. The sample for White households is obtained from 1% 1-year (2011) sample and following previous research (J. Kang & Cohen, 2018; Kulkarni, 2015; Takei & Sakamoto, 2011) to increase the number of observations for Asians, I employ the 1% 3-year (2009-2011) pooled sample of the six Asian groups.…”

“…Structural pressures including economic have overwhelmingly been identified in explicating variations in household types across groups and nativity statuses (Angel & Tienda, 1982; Ebaugh & Curry, 2000; Glick & Van Hook, 2002; Martin & Martin, 1978; Stack, 1974; Tilly & Brown, 1967). I conceptualize structural factors to comprise economic, demographic/life course, political/legal indicators (Blank & Torrecilha, 1998; Foner, 2009; Glick, 1999; Kamo, 2000; J. Kang & Cohen, 2018; Leach, 2014), and choose to call them as structural strains.…”

“…Third, pooling labor hours of family members either in paid labor market or in self-employed businesses has been seen to be critical in coping up with economic hardship or with furthering of socioeconomic standing for immigrant groups (Blau & Kahn, 2007; Cohen, 2002; J. Kang & Cohen, 2018; Tienda & Angel, 1982; Tienda & Glass, 1985).…”

“…Recent inquiries recognize the benefit of acknowledging Asians as a diverse rather than as a monolithic group (Ishii-Kuntz et al, 2010; J. Kang & Cohen, 2018; Kulkarni, 2015; Read & Cohen, 2007; Takei & Sakamoto, 2011).…”