Relations between residential and workplace segregation among newly arrived immigrant men and women

Abstract

Contemporary cities are becoming more and more diverse in population as a result of immigration. Research shows that while residential neighborhoods are becoming ethnically more diverse within cities, residential segregation from natives has overall remained persistently high. High levels of segregation are often seen as negative, preventing the integration of immigrants into their host society and having a negative impact on people's lives. Where as most studies of segregation deal with residential neighborhoods, this paper investigates segregation at workplaces for newly arrived immigrant men and women from the Global South to Sweden. By using the domain approach, we focus on the relationship between workplace segregation, residential segregation, and the ethnic composition of households. Using longitudinal register data from Sweden, we find that residential segregation is much weaker related to workplace segregation than revealed by studies using cross-sectional data. Furthermore, the residential context is not an important factor in explaining workplace segregation for immigrant men. The most important factors shaping workplace segregation pertain to economic sector and city size.