The intersection of immigration and gender: Labor force outcomes of immigrant women scientists

Objective. This paper is the first systematic study of the intersection of immigration and gender among scientists and engineers. Methods. We use data from the 5% Public Use Microsample (PUMS) of the 1990 census and the longitudinal 1982-1989 Survey of Natural and Social Scientists and Engineers (SSE) to compare the labor force outcomes of women immigrant scientists to immigrant men and native-born women scientists. Results. We fine that immigrant women are less likely to be employed and promoted than immigrant men and native-born women. Although women immigrants appear to earr. slightly less than native-born women, this gap is explained by such factors as field, employment sector, and family characteristics. We suggest that immigration paths may underlie some of the labor force disadvantages experienced by immigrant women scientists. Conclusions. The results of this paper highlight the importance of considering gender differences, particularly differences in migration path, when studying immigrant scientists. Consideration of gender leads to a fuller understanding of immigrant scientists' labor force outcomes.