Spatial Mismatch, Race and Ethnicity, and Unemployment: Implications for Interventions With Women on Probation and Parole

Abstract

For 312 women on probation and parole, we used mediation and conditional process analyses to examine the indirect effect of minority racial/ethnic status on unemployment through spatial mismatch between women’s place of residence and the location of available jobs. Consistent with the spatial mismatch hypothesis, employment opportunities per capita within 2 miles of women’s census tract of residence mediated the relationship between minority status and unemployment. The connection of spatial mismatch to unemployment was less pronounced for women with high levels of transportation access. Findings point to the importance of broader social policies to support well-developed transportation systems and community-based job development.

A First Step in Understanding Influences on System-Involved Women’s Changes in Financial Need

“…Showing further disadvantage, Black women were especially likely to note that criminal convictions barred them from certain types of employment. These findings are consistent with prior research showing the greater difficulty that Black system-involved people face because of either discrimination by potential employers or lack of employment opportunities near their residences (Decker et al, 2015; Dodge & Pogrebin, 2001; Harding et al, 2013; Pager, 2003; Richie, 2001; Roddy et al, 2022). Programmatic attention should be paid to assisting system-involved Black women to navigate race-related employment challenges.…”

“…Black women with increasing financial need stood out from the three other groupings by virtue of the low proportion who mentioned securing a new job (see Table 2 for racial group comparisons). The small sample makes this finding only suggestive, but it is consistent with literature showing race increases difficulty for system-involved women to find work (Cobbina, 2009; Roddy et al, 2022).…”

“…Black and other racially minoritized system-involved people struggle most to secure employment and to access safety-net benefits. Black individuals disproportionately live in areas with high concentrated disadvantage (e.g., high unemployment and job scarcity), which increases their financial need and risk for recidivism (Bellair & Kowalski, 2011; Hoskins, 2019; Roddy et al, 2022). Further limiting employment opportunities, after prison release, Black individuals return to economically disadvantaged communities with limited access to social capital and resources necessary to attend college (Cobbina, 2009; Pryor & Thompkins, 2013).…”

Barriers and Strategies to Finding Employment for Substance-Involved Women Leaving Jail: A Feminist Analysis

“…Women reported that transportation difficulties often shape the nature of the jobs they take as well as the methods they use to search for work. As emphasized in prior literature (see Roddy et al, 2022), employment opportunities located in women's area of residence are of unique consequence for women that are system-involved, especially for those with low transportation access.…”

A Randomized Controlled Trial of Community Health Specialists Within Gender-Responsive Probation Supervision

“…Women’s pathways are frequently rooted in dysfunctional intimate relationships, abuse/trauma/victimization, and low social and human capital (Brennan et al, 2012; Daly, 1992; Gehring, 2016; Salisbury & Van Voorhis, 2009). Furthermore, intersectional interventions for women of color on supervision are a crucial part of delivering gender-responsive services (Boppre, 2019) and evidence suggests attending to them can improve outcomes (Roddy et al, 2022; Williams et al, 2020).…”