Chapter 3:
The trends of employment described in this chapter are an example of how immigration has changed between relatively modern times and the last great wave of immigration at the turn of the 20th century. The influx of highly-skilled and educated workers is not surprising however, because professionals also seek better pay and opportunities in other countries, the desire to better one’s social standing is not limited to only the uneducated and low-skilled. It appears that certain groups are consistently on the lowest tier of this immigrant socio-economic ladder, with certain Hispanic immigrant groups (particularly Mexicans) having the highest percentages of little to no education, while white-collar work goes to the most educated immigrants (typically from Europe and Asia). To what extent does the new, service-oriented industry and white flight in NYC aid immigrants in obtaining social mobility? Is this progress (or lack thereof) affected by ethnicity of the immigrants? What will be the long-lasting social effects of higher rates of employment of non-native Black and Hispanic populations over their native counterparts?
Chapter4:
Both sad and expected, the life of immigrant women (both daughters and wives) was more limiting than that of their male counterparts. The stigma of a “working wife” forced domesticized work (for the most part, unpaid work at home) on the female immigrant population (particularly the Italians and Russian Jews, as discussed in the chapter), in the early 1900s. The social constructs that allowed boys to be regarded as more valuable and useful led to significant disparities in parents’ spending on their children’s education, often if not always, leaving women at a substantial disadvantage. Finally, immigrant women were sheltered from American customs. Of course the conditions today are hardly ideal for immigrant women, but there have been significant rises in education attained and in percentages of women doing white-collar, professional work. It is rather remarkable the effect time and human capital have on employment patterns for immigrant women, however the conflicts arising from social expectations of a woman’s role in the domestic and professional sphere remain. Sadly, it doesn’t look like they will be gone any time soon as “wage labor both oppresses and liberates immigrant women” in a twisted and exhausting paradox as male privilege continues to be an appalling staple in our contemporary society.
