Occupational segregation trends in Canada
Monica Boyd is a co-applicant on this project, which received SSHRC funding in summer 2020 and which is split between the University of Toronto and McMaster University where Lisa Kaida (Sociology) is the Applicant. Two research objectives are: 1. To track temporal trends in occupational segregation with respect to gender, race, and migrant status since the early 1990s and to examine variations in the trends for public and private sectors of employment; 2. To provide new insights into contemporary occupational segregation patterns by gender, race, and migrant status in three emerging sources of inequality: motherhood, part-time/ full-time work status, and migrant entry class. The project adopts an intercategorical approach to study intersections of disadvantages associated with gender, race, and migrant status. Data are taken from the 1991-2016 Census of Canada. The project also will assess the impact of COVID19 when 2021 data become available.
Family Contexts of Migrant Children: Language and Other Socioeconomic Inequalities
This 2020-funded project is part of an award to Professor Boyd from the Partnership Grant to the Canadian Refugee Child, Youth and Family Research Coalition (CYRCC). Using Research to Inform Best Practices for Language, Literacy, Learning, Social Integration, and Child and Family Wellbeing. This project is unique in its use of the 2016 population census to demonstrate the family contexts in which many young children of migrants grow up. Research done for eight countries around 2006 shows that children of immigrants frequently reside in households that are linguistically isolated, defined as households where no person age fourteen or older is using a destination country language. Canada was not among the eight countries studied. The current project rectifies this knowledge gap though two sets of research questions. First, at a descriptive level, what currently are the family contexts for young children of migrants (age 0-12) in 2016? Are certain racial or origin groups more likely than other groups to have multiple family characteristics that could indicate stressors? In addition, using new information previously not available, what variations exist by entry class for children of migrants? Second, what are the predictors of linguistic isolation in the home? Answers to these questions not only highlight the importance of family context but also provide educators and providers of social services with valuable insights into the needs of potentially vulnerable and marginalized children.
Care Work in Canada
This overarching project originates from work done by Professor Boyd on the SSHRC Partnership grant Gender, Migration and the Work of Care (Ito Peng, PI, and Monica Boyd Co-Investigator). Among the questions being researched are 1) what is happening over time in Canada to the economic stratification of care workers, focusing on trends between 1991 and 2016 and extensions into the Pandemic years; 2) intersectionality in care and healthcare – specifically, what groups (women, immigrants, people of colour) are most likely to be workers in the care and health fields; and how are these groups stratified and advantaged or disadvantaged vis-à-vis other workers in the care economy? Current research underway profiles the changes over time in the stratification of care and healthcare workers and investigates the current labour market position of immigrant women who entered Canada through the Live-in Caregiver program. Several projects also exist on related topics.
Comparing Labour Market Vulnerabilities of Refugees in Canada: The Impacts of Entry Programs, Arrival Age and Gender
A SSHRC funded partnership grant to CYRRC (The Child and Youth Refugee Research Coalition) funds this project for training graduate students in how to conduct research in the field of immigration and vulnerable populations. The project compares economic outcomes of refugees by type of entry visas and by compare these outcomes to other immigrants who entered Canada under family and economic auspices. The study uses the 2016 census available in the RDC and incorporates the new data on visa type, which is available for immigrants arriving in Canada from 1980 on. The analysis answers three core questions. First, what associations exist between entry-status (economic, refugee, etc.) and economic outcomes, such as labour force status, unemployment, full-part time status, occupational location and earnings? Second, does a gap between the economic outcomes of entry-status groups remain while controlling for demographic and other characteristics? Finally, does gender and generational status vary by entry-status and explain some of the differences in economic outcomes experienced by entry-status groups? Understanding disadvantages related to entry-status is a unique opportunity for policymakers to directly improve the economic experiences of all immigrants arriving in Canada. Findings will be useful for removing barriers that range broadly from finding the right jobs for skilled immigrants to aiding refugees find the skills and social capital they need.
STEM Work: the Intersections of Gender, Race and Migrant Status
The failure to examine the combined effects of gender and nativity and race for those who are STEM trained or hold STEM jobs is puzzling in light of the revolutionary rise in female labour force participation, the transformation of Canada into a diverse society, and the increased recruitment of highly skilled migrant labour in recent years. This research project adds gender and race/indigeneity to the existing discussions of the labour force integration of migrant workers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) occupations. The objectives are two-fold: first, using data from the 2016 census of Canada, I confirm the existence of the so called “double negative,” in which gender and immigrant statuses combine to produce disadvantage with respect to three core indicators of economic integration: 1) labour market participation; 2) employment in STEM jobs; and 3) in earnings. I also will examine the triply disadvantaged penalties of race and countries of origin alongside gender. In total, this research will provide greater specificity and nuance to the existing small body of research on STEM trainees and workers in Canada. Second, I ask if temporal changes exist in the gender-nativity-racial patterns of STEM training and employment, tracking these trends from 1996 on. This question focuses on the labour supply and labour utilization of STEM workers by nativity, race and gender over time. Do patterns of difference and inequality change over time? In addition, what are the effects of the Great Pandemic on the employment of women, racialized populations and migrants?
COVID19 and Vulnerable Populations
Monica Boyd is a co-applicant in the project “COVID-19’s differential impact on the mental and emotional health of Indigenous Peoples and Newcomers: A socioeconomic analysis of Canada, US and Mexico” funded by the Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR). Principle Investigators: Kiera L. Ladner, University of Manitoba, Jack Jedwab, the Association for Canadian Studies, and Lori Wilkinson, University of Manitoba.
This 2-year project began in summer 2020. Two core questions are: 1) how have COVID-19 related government imposed regulations (workplace closures, stay at home restrictions, social distancing, unemployment stipends) differentially influenced the mental health and well-being of Indigenous peoples, racialized persons and immigrants? 2) to what extent have socioeconomic inequalities faced by Indigenous peoples, racialized persons and immigrants influenced their experience of COVID-19 and its related social and economic restrictions? Additionally the research will compare findings for these vulnerable groups across Canada, the USA and Mexico. Data are from weekly national surveys and locally targeted narrative interviews in all three countries. As of April 2021, data collection – particularly small N studies – is nearing completion.