Race and Gender Inequality Faced by Immigrants’ Descendants when Entering the French Labor Market

Elsa Steichen, Institut National d'Études Démographiques (INED)

This research investigates labor market entry of immigrants’ descendants in France by focusing on the intersection of race and gender. We question the “double discrimination” hypothesis which states that second generation women should be the most disadvantaged as they potentially face both racial and gender discrimination. In this light, we analyze the school-to-work transition of young adults who finished their schooling in 2004 and were followed over five years in the Génération 2004 longitudinal survey. Results show that while descendants of European immigrants do not face racial inequality, those having non-European parents are disadvantaged when entering the labor market. Regarding women of the non-European second generation, they do experience gender based disadvantages but the combination of race and gender does not systematically lead them to the most unfavorable labor market outcomes. Therefore, results do not point to a systematic addition of race and gender based disadvantages.