Volume 24 - Article 1 | Pages 1–44  

Thou shalt not pass?: Examining the existence of an immigrant glass ceiling in Sweden, 1970-1990

By Jonas Helgertz

This article is part of the Special Collection 10 „Social Mobility and Demographic Behaviour: A Long-Term Perspective“

Abstract

The paper studies a sample of natives and 18 immigrant nationalities in the Swedish labor market between 1970 and 1990. The purpose is examining the existence of an immigrant specific glass ceiling. Results suggest a considerable overall advantage in terms of the probability of experiencing upward occupational mobility for native Swedish males. Despite this, the pattern does not correspond to the theoretical expectations of a glass ceiling. Using the ISEI classification of occupational status, the advantage experienced by Swedish males is consistent in the private manufacturing and private service sectors, compared to the experience of immigrants and women. The public sector generally suggests a similar pattern according to linguistic background. In this sector, certain groups of women are, however, observed to experience an advantage from low occupational status origins.

Author’s Affiliation

• Jonas Helgertz - Lunds Universitet, Sweden EMAIL

Other articles by the same author/authors in Demographic Research

Early life exposure to cigarette smoking and adult and old-age male mortality: Evidence from linked US full-count census and mortality data
Volume 49 - Article 25

Most recent similar articles in Demographic Research

A parallel kinship universe? A replication of Kolk et al. (2023) with Dutch register data on kinship networks
Volume 52 - Article 28    | Keywords: administrative data, extended family networks, kinship structure, Netherlands, Sweden

Immigrant mortality advantage in the United States during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic
Volume 50 - Article 7    | Keywords: COVID-19, immigrants, mortality

Geographic proximity to siblings in older adulthood
Volume 49 - Article 7    | Keywords: geographical proximity, older adults, population, register data, Sweden

Educational reproduction in Sweden: A replication of Skopek and Leopold 2020 using Swedish data
Volume 48 - Article 25    | Keywords: differential fertility, education, prospective models, reproduction, social mobility, Sweden

Differences in occupational homogamy by race, ethnicity, and national origin: A social mobility strategy for Asian Americans
Volume 48 - Article 18    | Keywords: assortative mating, immigrants, integration, occupation, racial/ethnic differences