Immigration, Gender, and the American Dream

From the paper's abstract:

"Over the last three decades, a large number of immigrants have arrived in the United States. Utilizing data from the Immigration and Naturalization Services (currently distributed through the Department of Homeland Security), this academic paper analyzes the changing patterns of immigration, especially its gender dynamics. The results suggest that not only has immigration become more feminized but also the idea of an "average" immigrant, on whose behalf specific policies could be formulated, may have become less useful.

By analyzing the differences in homeownership patterns among the foreign-born population, especially from a gendered perspective, the paper concludes that policymaking, particularly where housing is concerned, may have to become more concerned with local context and population subgroups."

From the paper's background:

"...The 2005 American Community Survey (ACS) puts the total U.S. foreign-born population at close to 36 million, the majority of whom have arrived during the last two decades (8 million since 2000, 11 million in the 1990s and 8 million in the 1980s; U.S. Census Bureau, 2005).

While the magnitude of immigration is a major focus of current policy debates, in this article, I pay special attention to the issue of gender as it affects immigrants. This is partially due to the fact that female immigrants are larger in number than their male counterparts. Furthermore, they appear to have a higher level of educational attainment than their predecessors. However, there appears to be an inconsistency between their observed levels of education and earned income."

From the paper's conclusion:

"A significant policy shift that attempts to understand the gap between female and male homeownership and the relationship between housing type and desirability for ownership could translate to improved housing conditions for the foreign-born population, as well as other minorities. In the end, what matters is improved housing conditions and equitable access. This requires attention to any factor that hinders equality and equity.

As far as this study is concerned, beyond the traditional measures of race, class, and ethnicity, gender ought to be an important consideration in correcting a market that may not be operating as equitably as expected."

Thanks to Ali Modarres