Research shows that immigrants in Europe and North America are nearly 18% lower than those in locals.
According to new research published by nature, immigrants across Europe and North America earn 18% less on average than locally born citizens, and the gap is largely driven by new research published by nature.
The study, led by Professor Halil Sabanci of the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management, examines employer employee data from 13.5 million people from Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden and the United States. It found that the overall immigration pay gap was 17.9%, with three-quarters of the difference attributed to immigration and more likely to work in low-paying industries, careers and companies. One quarter of the gap is the result of inequality in the same job.
The size of the differences between countries varies greatly. Spain has the largest salary gap at 29.9%, followed by Canada’s 27.5%. Norway (20.3%), Germany (19.6%) and France (18.9%) also recorded significant differences, while the Netherlands (15.4%) and the United States (10.6%) performed much better. Denmark (9.2%) and Sweden (7.0%) have the smallest gap.
The researchers also tracked the results of immigrant children in six countries – Canada, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden. They found that the salary gap for the second generation narrowed sharply, from 17.9% to 5.7%. However, the differences remain, especially for those with African or Middle Eastern backgrounds. When comparing second-generation immigrants and locals doing the same job for the same employer, the gap further dropped to 1.1%.
“These findings have new implications for ongoing pay gaps and have direct policy implications,” said Professor Sabanci. “The greater challenge when executing equal pay for equal jobs is to open up opportunities for high-paying jobs. Addressing recruitment bias and improving job matching programs may develop further.”
Researchers believe that coping with structural barriers is key. They highlight policies to improve policies to improve the role of getting better paid through language training, skills development, job search assistance, family education, foreign certificate recognition and better access to professional networks.
By helping immigrants ensure positions in higher-paying departments and companies, such measures may be more effective in closing the income gap than individual compensation enforcement, they said.
