Forty-two percent of immigrnat workers in the US are women, yet almost all of the evidence on the economic performance of immigrants is based on analyses of men. This study begins to fill the void by examining differences in a wide array of labor market outcomes between US-born and immigrant women, and among immigrant women born in different countries or regions of the world, using the 1970, 1980 and 1990 censuses. Immigrant women were less likely to participate in the labor force, and this gap increased to 7% points by 1990. However, the share of self-employed and the number of weeks and hours worked among employed women were roughly the same for immigrants and natives throughout the 1970-1990 period. The gap in unemployment and weekly wages widened in favor of natives between 1970 and 1990, with a gap in media wages of 14% in 1990. However, immigrants born in the UK and Canada, Europe, Japan, Korea, China, the Philippines, and the Middle East have had steady or improved wages and unemployment relative to the US-born women. At the same time, immigrants from Mexico and central America, who now represent one-quarter of all immigrant women, have experienced relatively high unemployment and low earnings, and these differences have increased, with the wage gap reaching 35% in 1990. Disparities in completed years of schooling can explain a substantial share of the differences in labor market outcomes.42% of immigrant workers in the US are women. Data from the 1970, 1980, and 1990 US censuses are analyzed in the study of differences in labor market outcomes between US-born and immigrant women, and among immigrant women born in different countries or regions of the world. There was little difference between US-born and immigrant women as a whole in 1970. However, over the next 20 years, immigrants women's labor force participation rate and weekly earnings relative to natives became lower, and their unemployment rates became higher. By 1990, the wage gap was 14%. At the same time, the share of self-employed women and the amount of time worked among employed women were almost the same for immigrant women and the US-born throughout the period 1970-90. Immigrants born in the UK, Canada, Europe, Japan, Korea, China, the Philippines, and the Middle East have had steady or improved wages and unemployment relative to US-born women. Immigrants from Mexico and Central America have experienced relatively high unemployment and low earnings, with the wage gap reaching 35% in 1990. Disparities in the number of completed years of schooling explains a substantial share of the observed differences in labor market outcomes.

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women's employment labour arket USA gender study economic performance immigrant population