Primary Submission Category: Structural factors
Examining Gender Differences in Exclusionary Workplace Conditions and Immigrant Health in California
Authors: Kevin Lee Maria-Elena de Trinidad Young Michelle Nakphong
Presenting Author: Kevin Lee*
Background: In California, workplace exclusions such as wage theft, dangerous jobs, and work-related injuries disproportionately impact immigrants compared to US-born workers. These working conditions may reflect an exclusionary policy environment, which structurally drives health inequity. This is especially true for women who are more likely to experience wage theft and men who often occupy jobs that are more dangerous and prone to work-related injuries. Studying these workplace exclusions may therefore elucidate policy influences on immigrant worker health. This study examines whether experiencing workplace exclusion is associated with poorer health outcomes for immigrants, and specifically whether a difference exists by gender.
Methods: We used the Research on Immigrant Health and State Policy (RIGHTS) Study (n=2,010), a population-based survey of Asian and Latino immigrants in California on their experiences across multiple social policy domains. We developed a workplace exclusion composite score based on reports of experiencing wage theft, dangerous jobs, or work injuries, and conducted multivariable analyses, examining the association between workplace exclusions and general health conditions by gender through statistical interaction.
Results: Both Asian and Latino immigrants experienced numerous exclusions: wage theft (17.9%), dangerous jobs (11.8%), and work injury (26.0%). The increase in exclusionary workplace conditions was associated with worse general health (aOR = 1.40, 95% CI: 1.10-1.78). Evidence of this association was observed for male immigrants (aOR = 1.77, 95% CI: 1.25-2.52), but not for female immigrants (aOR = 1.30, 95% CI: 0.98-1.73).
Conclusion: The policy environment is important for understanding how exclusions in immigrants’ gendered work experiences differ although future studies should consider the mechanisms whereby exclusionary policies operate through work conditions to influence immigrant health.