When skills don’t matter: occupational status recovery inequalities within Canada’s highly skilled immigrant population

Abstract

This dissertation explores potential explanations for why occupational status recovery inequalities develop within Canada’s highly skilled immigrant population during the first four years of settlement. Using a nationally representative dataset, the Longitudinal Survey of Immigrants to Canada, the first empirical chapter establishes a gender/race hierarchy of outcomes despite accounting for human capital and other labour market differences (Chapter 2). Upon identification of this hierarchy, the remaining chapters explore possible causes for the disadvantaged position of immigrant women and non-white immigrants, including the influence of credential source area, and occupational clustering by ethno-racial background (Chapter 3) and gender processes within and outside of the domestic home (Chapter 4). Chapter results reveal that the disadvantaged position of non-white immigrants remains largely unexplained. A number of possibilities for this unexplained difference are discussed. Although ethnic social networks or ethnic economic enclaves may account for the economic underperformance of non-white immigrants relative to white immigrants, outcomes also provide support for claims that non-white immigrants face labour market discrimination in Canada. Furthermore, the especially disadvantaged position of non-white immigrant women appears to be due to the additive effects of an “unexplained” effect experienced by all non-white immigrants and gendered responsibilities within the domestic home (i.e., childcare). Principal conclusions, future research directions, and policy implications are discussed at the end of each chapter as well as within the main discussion section (Chapter 5).