Diversity and disparity?: motherhood wage gaps, attainment and assimilation levels for first- and second-generation immigrants

This dissertation examines gender- and immigrant nativity-based inequalities in educational and occupational attainment, earnings and wages. It uses an intersectional theoretical framework. The first chapter asks whether mothers have lower wages than women without children, and whether any disparities vary by mothers’ nativities. The second chapter asks how second-generation immigrants’ educational and occupational attainment and earnings compare to their parents’ generation, and to a group of their nonimmigrant peers. Findings are that both first-generation immigrant and nonimmigrant mothers experience wage gaps. Corrections for additional characteristics that might differ between mothers and nonmothers reduce the sizes of gaps. Corrections for characteristics linked to decisions to immigrate increase gaps for a group of recent immigrants. Within most second-generation pan ethnic Latino and Asian groups and country of origin groups from Mexico, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, the Philippines, China and India, women’s outcome attainment levels exceed those of their mothers by more than men’s outcome attainment levels do compared to their fathers. However, gender earnings gaps persist, with men having higher earnings than women across pan ethnic groups. Additionally, despite some assimilation across generations, many disparities remain between second-generation immigrants and nonimmigrants.Ph.D.Includes bibliographical referencesby Anjali Srivastav