Kimberly Horner, a doctoral student at the Humphrey School who researches the local reception of immigrant populations, summarized their work in a recent article for the Gender Policy Report, published by the School’s Center on Women, Gender, and Public Policy. Here’s a summary.
Key findings:
- Refugees who settle in the United States are encouraged to quickly find employment, and are generally afforded cash assistance and medical assistance for a mere eight months after resettlement, though some individuals and families qualify for other government-sponsored benefits.
- In the push to obtain employment, refugees may miss opportunities to participate in education, English language classes, or job training—collectively called human capital investment—that would allow for longer-term economic advancement.
- Gender plays a prominent role in human capital investment. Refugee women were more likely than men to have recently enrolled in education or English classes, but if they have young children to care for, they were less likely to enroll in these courses.
- Although refugee women were more likely to undertake human capital investments and see greater long-term benefits when compared to refugee men, they still earned less than men regardless of the men’s participation in education or job training.
- Refugee women with young children are not accessing opportunities to the same extent as those without children. If they are less fluent in English, they’re less likely to participate in education or job training. There may be needs around childcare or program accessibility for those with limited English proficiency.
To read the entire article, follow this link.