Assimilative Success
by: brianchung
The success and integration of immigrant minority groups in North American labour markets have always been quite futile in comparison to their North-American and European-born counterparts. Recent findings from the 2006 census, released by Statistics Canada, show that the children of Chinese and South Asian immigrants to Canada fare much better over time than children of Blacks, Filipinos and Latin Americans. Second- and third-generation Chinese and Japanese Canadians have surpassed the income of all other groups of newcomers, including whites. The sociological concept, segmented assimilation, can help us understand why some children of immigrants may do better or worse than others. Segmented assimilation refers to the potential outcomes evolving out of adapting to particular groups in the host society. It suggests that people adapt to certain societal norms, but not others because of the groups they identify themselves with (race, class, etc.). So it could be that those who are doing better are associating themselves with the “right” groups. Many other factors contribute to the success and integration of immigrant groups, however, the groups we choose to associate ourselves with can open or close many doors.
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Peter S. Li on Earning Disparities between Immigrants and Native-born Canadians
