Do Parents Matter? Revisiting Ethnic Penalties in Occupation among Second Generation Ethnic Minorities in England and Wales

Abstract

The article studies the role of the class of origin in the occupational outcomes of second generation ethnic minorities and white British in England and Wales. In so doing, it reconsiders the relationship between 'ethnic penalties' and intergenerational social reproduction (or the reverse: intergenerational social mobility) by combining approaches from the migration and social stratification literatures. Two main hypotheses are tested. The first states that the class of origin, or parental social background, helps explain differences in occupational outcomes between ethnic minorities and white British; the second says that intergenerational social reproduction processes vary between groups. Based on data from the United Kingdom Housing Longitudinal Study (UKHLS: 2009-2010), the article finds partial evidence for both hypotheses. In particular, it reveals that the lower social reproduction of Pakistani, Caribbean and African men has particularly negative consequences for higher educated minorities, who do not gain -as the white British do -from more advantageous origins.

Employment and earning differences in the early career of ethnic minority British graduates: the importance of university career, parental background and area characteristics

“…Li and Heath 2016;Platt 2005;Zuccotti 2015). Ethnic minority graduates in the U.K. are more likely to come from a lower socio-economic background than white British graduates.…”

“…This is a consequence of ethnic inequality among the parental generation as well as downward mobility experienced by parents who are immigrants (Platt 2005). Parental socio-economic background can affect labour market outcomes both directly and indirectly through education (Zuccotti 2015). Parents from a higher socio-economic background transmit soft skills to their children which are valued in the labour market (Bowles, Gintis, and Groves 2005).…”

“…Receiving financial support may also allow graduates to search for longer and to be more selective in accepting employment and (unpaid) internships. Because of their lower parental background, ethnic minorities may be at a disadvantage already before entering the labour market as they can access fewer resources and information (Flap and Völker 2008;Zuccotti 2015).…”

“…Minorities' higher drive to higher education might mean that working class ethnic minorities are less self-selected compared to their white British counterparts. If this is the case, parental class could have a larger impact on the transition to the labour market among minorities than among the majority (Jackson 2012;Li and Heath 2016;Modood 2005;Zuccotti 2015). Similarly, if information on job opportunities is shared more along ethnic lines than between them (Patacchini and Zenou 2012), it is possible that the characteristics of the local co-ethnic community affect minorities more than the majority.…”

“…This could be because minorities attend worse universities, obtain worse degree classifications or study less valued subjects. Second, ethnic minority graduates may not have access to the same resources in terms of parental socio-economic background as white British, and this may put them at a disadvantage (Li and Heath 2016;Zuccotti 2015). Third, there are important differences between minorities and the majority in the economic and demographic conditions of the area where graduates were living before entering university.…”