Labor Force Participation of Immigrant Women in the Netherlands: Do Traditional Partners Hold Them Back?

Abstract

Female labor force participation (FLFP) rates often vary across ethnic groups. This study examined the role of the partner’s labor market resources and gender role attitudes for FLFP in different ethnic groups. Cross-sectional data of women in partnerships from the four biggest immigrant groups in the Netherlands and from a native Dutch control group were analyzed. Traditional gender role attitudes of partners were negatively related to FLFP and partly explained ethnic differences therein. Moreover, across all groups, the relation between partners’ labor market resources and FLFP was more negative for traditional women and rather absent for egalitarian women.