Danes in education and job, 2006

This study examines the interplay between the work- and family life of a group of ethnic Danes aged 18-45. The study “the Work- and Family Life of immigrants” examines the family pattern and connection to the labour market among a group of immigrants aged 18-45. In this study the results are compared to the results of a similar survey among Danes. Differences in Family Patterns The four groups – Turks, Iranians, Pakistani and ethnic Danes – are different in relation to family patterns. Compared to Danes, a higher share of immigrants from Turkey and Pakistan live in couples. Immigrants from Iran have fewer children and are more often single. Furthermore Iranian immigrants are the group who is least satisfied with their family life. Differences in Employment The probability of employment varies among the groups. The probability of employment for the Turkish and Pakistani men is almost the same as for Danish men. The probability of employment is on the other hand considerably lower for Turkish and Pakistani women than for Danish women. In other words the difference in employment for the genders is more pronounced for immigrant from Turkey and Pakistan than for ethnic Danes. Traditional Attitudes towards Gender Immigrants from Turkey and Pakistan express a more traditional attitude towards gender roles compared with immigrants from Iran and Danes. This is seen in relation to the female participation in the labour market and domestic chores. The immigrant families – especially the Turkish and Pakistani – have a more traditional division of domestic chores compared to the Danish families. In the Turkish and the Pakistani families, the women do a much larger share of the domestic chores than the Danish women. All in all the immigrant families have to a greater extent arranged their family life in a traditional way: The man works and makes money while the woman takes care of the home and the family. Types of Employment When it comes to the type of employment, the male immigrants and Iranian women are more likely to be self-employed than the Danes. Being self-employed entails long and irregular hours for both immigrants and Danes. Especially the Turkish and Pakistani men - a group of which a large part are self-employed – work irregular hours. Where the wage-earners are concerned, the immigrants work shorter hours than the Danes. This does not necessarily mean that more immigrants want to work shorter hours compared to the Danes. Rather it might be because they are not able to find other jobs. A relatively large proportion of the part-time employed men – immigrants and Danes alike – work irregular hours. The immigrant women on the other hand more rarely have jobs with irregular working hours than the Danish women. However, if they work irregular hours they do it more often than the Danish women.