Family versus Work among the Immigrant Population from a Gender Perspective: The Recent Spanish Case

Alberto Del Rey Poveda, Universidad de Salamanca
Rafael Grande Martín, Universidad de Salamanca
Enrique Fernández-Macías, European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions
José Ignacio Antón Pérez, Universidad de Salamanca

The aim of this paper is to conduct a two-pronged analysis of the interference between the labor trajectory of migrants and their family reproduction: according to the effect of labor trajectory on family reproduction; according to the effect of family reproduction on labor trajectory. Our working hypothesis focuses on the immigrant population, and considers that the family situation on arrival and labor background will lead to the prioritization of the labor trajectory or family reproduction. These paths are controlled primarily by the time of residence, as well as by different socio-demographic and socioeconomic characteristics upon arrival. The preliminary results allow us to point to different behaviors by gender. In general, women seem to favor family over work, since most of them tend to leave work or not work directly. Yet there are no significant differences in the upward or downward labor mobility between men and women.