France, social portrait 2014 Edition
France, Social Portrait is for everyone who would like to learn more about French society. This cross-cutting publication in the “Insee Références” collection gives a broad overview of the social situation in France.
From mothers to daughters: mobility for descendants of immigrants towards activity
Alice Mainguené
Women born in France with at least one parent who is an immigrant - the “descendants of immigrants” - are slightly less active than women with no direct link to migration: 87% versus 91% among those aged 18-50 who have completed their studies. However, in a context of an overall increase in the female labour force participation rate, the differences are less pronounced among daughters than they were between their mothers, with 51% and 62% labour force participation rates respectively. A lower labour force participation rate remains despite this catch-up effect, partly because the descendants of immigrants are on average slightly younger, more often have young children and also are less often in good health. In addition, they have more often had a mother who did not work when they were young. Indeed, girls with mothers who are not working work less than those with a mother who works. The possible effect of origin on the activity of daughters operates through a qualifications effect. In fact, taking into account the level of education (in addition to age, state of health, working status of the mother and the family situation), the chances of being active are not significantly different between the descendants of immigrants and women with no link to migration. In other words, if the descendants of immigrants are less active than women unrelated to migration, it is mainly because they are less educated. However, this lower level of qualification results more from social origin (living conditions during schooling) and geographical origin (having or not having immigrant parents).