Pathways between under/unemployment and health among racialized immigrant women in Toronto

“…34, 35, 37, 42, 83–86, 88, 89, (32, 35, 38, 42, 84, 86, 89, 93, 95, 96), bad and disrespectful behavior of employers (39, 42, 44, 85, 87, 93, 95, 96), job and income uncer - tainty (26, 83, 85), undocumented status (42–44, 84, 88, 98) and fear of deportation (42, 43, 88, 101), long working…”

“Results from our study support those of previous theoretical and empirical research that has described the ways in which precarious employment harms health and well-being.(2,9,13,15,22,32) Specifically, it supports multidimensional models that have shown that a combination of factors associated with Premji 15”

“As well, low-income status was related to limited or no access to childcare or social supports, unsupportive partners, and inability to commute for work [39].”

“In addition, complex employment trajectories may characterise immigrant and ethnocultural minority workers, who are faced with multiple forms of precariousness [23], unequal access to healthcare and services [24,25], and various forms of stigma [26].”

“The study we describe builds on results from this body of research that have pointed to the important role of mobility (Access Alliance Multicultural Health, 2011; Premji and Shakya, 2016).”

“This is consistent with previous studies’ findings [16,48].”

“The probability of food insecurity was higher(32) in a household whose head is unemployed.”

“Underemployment was prevalent and exerted negative impacts on health through adverse working conditions, less skilled jobs, increased dissatisfaction, and heavier life burden among migrants across cultures (Asanin Dear and Wilson, 2009; Premji and Shakya, 2017).”

“Beyond economic exclusion, deskilling among racialized immigrant women is linked to adverse health outcomes, increased caregiving burdens, and social isolation, illustrating its broader socioeconomic impacts (Premji & Shakya, 2017).”

“In Canada, the intersection of immigrants’ social identities such as race and gender often minoritizes them and leads to less political, economic, and social power than some dominant group (Premji & Shakya, 2017).”

“…attributed the apparent paradox between immigrants’ high education achievement and their difficult economic circumstances to an insufficient recognition in Canada of their out-of-country educational qualification and work experience (Annen 2019; Drolet and Teixeira 2019; Premji and Shakya 2017).”

“The concentration of refugee women in caring and manufacturing roles found in this analysis reflects a broader literature that refugee women are often employed in industries with poor pay and conditions such as aged care, cleaning and childcare (Premji & Shakya, 2017 ; Ziersch et al., 2021 ).”

“Qualitative research may be better focused to disentangle and expand on these intersections and should be considered as seen in research on employment in immigrant groups [44].”

“refugees) or for better personal or professional situations appear to end up more often in situations where their qualifications are not recognized in the host country [66].”

“These include higher rates of poverty and food insecurity (Dhunna and Tarasuk 2020), greater unemployment and low-paid employment (Premji and Shakya 2017), barriers to attaining adequate housing (Teixeira 2008), educational underachievement (James and Turner 2017), discrimination in the labour…”

“Among the precariously employed, 40% of workers experience anxiety related to employment experiences which, in turn, interferes with their personal and family lives (Lewchuk and Laflèche, 2017; Premji and Shakya, 2017).”

“For example, racialized immigrant women are disproportionately underemployed or employed in precarious, low-wage positions, and feminized caregiving and domestic labor is persistently devalued in the Canadian labor market (Block et al., 2019; Premji & Shakya, 2017).”

“Racialized immigrants are overrepresented in lower-paying precarious employment, contributing to higher poverty rates and negative outcomes for physical and mental health (Kaushik & Drolet, 2018; Liu, 2019; Premji & Shakya, 2017).”

“Premji and Shakya (2017) and Premji, Shakya, Spasevski, Merolli, and Athar (2014) explored racialized immigrant women workers’ experience with underemployment and unemployment in Toronto and found impacts to their physical and mental health (such as social isolation), along with difficulty finding…”

“…seekers—a sub-group of forcibly displaced persons demonstrated that employment exclusion (i.e. not being able to access work authorization), contributes to health insurance exclusion, economic deprivation, social isolation, and psychosocial stress, all of which can negatively impact health [6, 7].”

“…pronounced financial pressures due to spousal dependence, underemployment, wage disparities, and precarious work conditions marked by low wages, job insecurity, limited legal protections, and lack of benefits (De Anda & Sabczak, 2011; De Jong & Madamba, 2002; Premji & Shakya, 2017; Ryabov, 2024).”

“Immigrant women are more likely to experience skills mismatching in the labour market and the devaluation of credentials from their countries of origin (Fuller and Vosko 2008; Premji and Shakya 2017; Reitz, Curtis, and Elrick 2014).”

“Precarious employment is associated with greater exposure to risks, fewer protections and opportunities for training, absence of benefits, employers' lack of compliance with, and enforcement of, OH&S legislation, and employees' limited agency.(14) New immigrant workers are more likely”

“…of immigrant women in Toronto, Canada, women describe a context of being a primary caregiver to their children coupled with limited transportation options (to attend language classes) and racialized discrimination that viewed them as less valuable in the labour market [16].”

“…participation: hiring discrimination, precarious employment conditions, deskill-ing, occupational and gender segregation in low-income sectors (Adsera & Ferrer, 2014; Hira-Friesen, 2018; Premji & Shakya, 2017), and limited employment opportunities due to the “ Canadian fi rst ” rule (Hari, 2018).”

“, medication and dental coverage), long working hours, poor or unsafe working conditions, and few sick days [18].”

“Furthermore, immigrants have higher rates of unemployment and underemployment than non-immigrants (Premji and Shakya, 2017; Wassermann, Fujishiro and Hoppe, 2017).”

“Research examining the interaction of employment and mental health outcomes with other vulnerable populations, such as low income women who struggle to find childcare in the United States [38], low education individuals in Brazil [39], and racial minorities in Canada [40] also demonstrated that non-professional employ…”

“Research has established that underemployment negatively affects mental health (Chen, Smith, & Mustard, 2010; Dean & Wilson, 2009; George, Chaze, Fuller-Thomson, & Brennenstuhl, 2012; Kennedy & Chen, 2012; Premji & Shakya, 2016).”

“Despite the small sample size, our data portrays persistent concern over income insecurity among racial minority women (Haan et al., 2020; Premji & Shakya, 2017) as a greater proportion of racial minority women earned less than CAD$40,000 annually.”

“Precarious jobs are low-paying and characterized by unstable working conditions, defined by their part-time, contract, and casual nature (Karki et al. 2018; Premji et al. 2017).”

“…evidence from previous works (e.g., Dias et al., 2013; Duarte & Oliveira, 2012; ElAbani et al., 2018; Piper et al., 2017; Phillimore et al., 2021; Premji & Shakya, 2017; Sabri et al., 2020) reports that immigrant women are identified as being more vulnerable to this practice, discrimination, and…”

“Underemployment has also been linked to worse overall health and chronic diseases (Premji & Shakya, 2017).”