Today the Center for Social Inequality Studies (CSIS) of University of Trento invited Prof. Nazareno Panichella (GESI’s principal investigator) to hold a Brown Bag Seminar on
Family Migration and Women’s Occupational Attainment over the Life Course.
An Empirical Analysis of the Tied Migration Argument in Interregional Internal Migration in Europe
Abstract
This study investigates the impact of geographical mobility and family dynamics on women’s employment outcomes in Europe, identifying patterns of (dis)advantages that accumulate over the life course. Specifically, the study focuses on interregional migration within Europe and tests the tied migration argument, which suggests that migration decisions are primarily influenced by the husband’s human capital, resulting in women becoming “tied migrants”. The study aims to understand whether this pattern of tied migration, where the husband’s employment goals take priority, negatively affects women’s occupational integration. Using ShareLife data, the study employs a set of linear regression panel models with hybrid RE-FE effects combined with coarsened exact matching (CEM). The results indicate that single women benefit from geographical mobility, while married or engaged women are penalized across all migration patterns, particularly when they are tied movers. The results also reveal the negative impact of family separation on the employment probability of women, particularly when they remain in their place of origin while their partner migrates. Additionally, the study finds that less-educated women are more negatively impacted by tied migration, while tertiary-educated women benefit from all migration patterns. Finally, the study highlights the long-term patterns of (dis)advantages that women face in the labour market due to family migration dynamics. The results suggest that family migration dynamics exacerbate the differences in the occupational outcomes of women with diverse family arrangements, emphasizing the importance of considering family migration dynamics in understanding the challenges of occupational integration faced by immigrant women.