Acculturation to Gender Norms: Employment Trajectories by Migrant Origin after the Transition to Parenthood in Finland

Elina Kilpi-Jakonen , University of Turku
Sandra Buchler, Goethe-University Frankfurt am Main

Employing the transition from parenthood back to the labour market as a proxy, we examine how children of immigrants acculturate to the gender norms of the country of destination. In order to look at processes of acculturation and variations therein, we analyse differences according to generational status, including age at migration, length of residence, as well as country of origin. To explain differences between groups, we control for other correlates associated with the length of parental leave, including employment before the birth and education level. Taking a couple-level perspective, we also examine the migration status and other characteristics of the partner (i.e. the father). Full population register data from Statistics Finland is used to analyse first births occurring between 2005 and 2017 to partnered women born between 1970 and 1997. Initial findings show that our expectations regarding acculturation are confirmed: the second generation tends to be closest to the majority, followed by the childhood migrants, while the largest differences are observed among the youth migrants. We find that education and pre-birth employment are important for explaining differences in return to employment. Women with foreign-born partners are slower to return to employment after a first birth, but if they do their pay relative to their pre-birth pay tends to be higher, highlighting the importance of conducting couple-level research.

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 Presented in Session P3. Migration, Economics, Policies, History