Gender Roles at Home and Abroad: The Adaptation of Bangladeshi Immigrants

262 Pages·2002·2.27 MB·English

by  Kaari Flagstad Baluja

The New Americans
Recent Immigration and American Society
Edited by
Carola Suárez-Orozco and Marcelo Suárez-Orozco
A Series from LFB Scholarly
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Gender Roles at Home and Abroad
The Adaptation of Bangladeshi Immigrants
Kaari Flagstad Baluja
LFB Scholarly Publishing LLC
New York 2003
Copyright © 2003 by LFB Scholarly Publishing LLC
All rights reserved.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Baluja, Kaari Flagstad.
Gender roles at home and abroad : the adaptation of bangladeshi
immigrants / Kaari Flagstad Baluja.
p. cm. -- (The new Americans)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 1-931202-51-6 (alk. paper)
1. Bangladeshi Americans. I. Title. II. New Americans (LFB
Scholarly Publishing LLC)
E184.B13 B35 2002
305.891'4126073--dc21
2002015791
ISBN 1-931202-51-6
Printed on acid-free 250-year-life paper.
Manufactured in the United States of America.
Table of Contents
List of Tables............................................................................................vii
List of Figures.........................................................................................xiii
Acknowledgements..................................................................................xv
Introduction to the Research......................................................................1
Previous Research on Theoretical Issues..................................................5
Bangladeshi Gender Ideology..................................................................41
History of Bangladeshi Immigration.......................................................49
Research Design.......................................................................................65
Methodology............................................................................................73
Research Sites...........................................................................................93
Gender Role Attitudes............................................................................111
Female Mobility.....................................................................................161
Household Tasks....................................................................................181
Social Networks.....................................................................................195
Conclusion..............................................................................................207
References..............................................................................................221
Appendix................................................................................................239
Index.......................................................................................................243
v
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List of Tables
Table 4.1: Bangladeshi immigrants admitted to U.S. 1987-2000..........57
Table 4.2: Bangladeshi immigrants admitted to U.S. by class of
admission, 1990, 1991, 1997-2000..................................................58
Table 4.3: Bangladeshi non-immigrants admitted to U.S. by class
of admission, 1990-1991, 1996, 1998-1999....................................59
Table 4.4: Bangladeshi immigrants admitted by state of intended
residence, 1997-2000........................................................................60
Table 4.5: Bangladeshi immigrants admitted by metropolitan area
of intended residence, 1997-2000....................................................60
Table 4.6: People reporting race as “Bangladeshi” in Census 2000
by state..............................................................................................61
Table 4.7: People in NYC reporting “Bangladeshi” race 1990 vs.
2000...................................................................................................64
Table 5.1: Schematic of Pre-test/Post-test Research Design..................66
Table 6.1: Bangladeshi immigrants admitted to Queens, 1983-89
and 1990-94......................................................................................79
Table 6.1: Index of Traditionalism (Stopes-Roe and Cochrane
1989).................................................................................................85
Table 7.1: Demographic profile of respondents....................................100
Table 7.2: Birthplaces of respondents...................................................101
vii
viii List of Tables
Table 7.3: Within-Bangladesh migration of non-immigrants..............101
Table 7.4: Educational attainment of respondents................................103
Table 7.5: Work types of respondents...................................................104
Table 7.6: Reasons for unemployment given by respondents..............105
Table 8.1: Statements included in Gender Role Attitude Scale...........115
Table 8.2a: Response distribution of current gender role attitudes
for non-immigrant women..............................................................119
Table 8.2b: Response distribution of retrospective gender role
attitudes for non-immigrant women...............................................120
Table 8.3a: Response distribution of current gender role attitudes
for non-immigrant men...................................................................121
Table 8.3b: Response distribution of retrospective gender role
attitudes for non-immigrant men....................................................122
Table 8.4a: Response distribution of current gender role attitudes
for immigrant women.....................................................................123
Table 8.4b: Response distribution of retrospective gender role
attitudes for immigrant women......................................................124
Table 8.5a: Response distribution of current gender role attitudes
for immigrant men..........................................................................125
Table 8.5b: Response distribution of retrospective gender role
attitudes for immigrant men...........................................................126
Table 8.6: Index of Dissimilarity for current gender role attitudes......127
Table 8.7a: Paired t-tests of retrospective vs. current gender role
attitudes...........................................................................................129
Table 8.7b: Pooled t-tests of retrospective vs. current gender role
attitudes...........................................................................................130
Table 8.8: AOV of Migration Status on retrospective GRA................131
Table 8.9: AOV of Sex on retrospective GRA.....................................131
Table 8.10: AOV of Bangladeshi employment status on
retrospective GRA..........................................................................132
Table 8.11: AOV of Bangladeshi education on retrospective GRA....132
Table 8.12: AOV of Migration status and Bangladeshi education
on retrospective GRA.....................................................................133
Table 8.13: AOV of Migration status and Bangladeshi education
on current GRA...............................................................................134
Table 8.14: AOV of Age on current GRA for immigrants...................136
Table 8.15: AOV of Time Since Migration on current GRA for
immigrants......................................................................................136
List of Tables ix
Table 8.16: Regression of Age on current GRA for
immigrants......................................................................................136
Table 8.17: Regression of Time since Migration on current GRA
for immigrants.................................................................................137
Table 8.18: AOV of Sex on current GRA for immigrants...................137
Table 8.19: Regression of Marriage Age on current GRA for
immigrants......................................................................................138
Table 8.20: AOV of Bangladeshi education on current GRA for
immigrants......................................................................................138
Table 8.21: AOV of Employment status on current GRA for
immigrants......................................................................................138
Table 8.23: AOV of Pre-migration employment status on
retrospective GRA for immigrants.................................................139
Table 8.24: AOV of Employment status on current GRA for
immigrant women...........................................................................140
Table 8.25: AOV of Pre-migration employment status on
retrospective GRA for immigrant women.....................................141
Table 8.26: AOV of Pre-migration employment status on
retrospective GRA for immigrant men..........................................141
Table 8.27: AOV of Pre-migration employment status on current
GRA for immigrant women...........................................................141
Table 8.28: AOV of Pre-migration employment status on current
GRA for immigrant men................................................................142
Table 8.29: AOV of Salary on current GRA for immigrant women....142
Table 8.30: AOV of Husband’s salary on current GRA for
immigrant women...........................................................................143
Table 8.31: AOV of Salary on current GRA for immigrant men.........143
Table 8.32: AOV of Sons on current GRA for immigrants..................144
Table 8.33: AOV of Household type on current GRA for
immigrants......................................................................................144
Table 8.34: AOV of Age on current GRA for non-immigrants...........145
Table 8.35: Regression of Age on current GRA for non-immigrants..145
Table 8.36: AOV of Sex on current GRA for non-immigrants............145
Table 8.37: Regression of Marriage Age on current GRA for non-
immigrants......................................................................................146
Table 8.38: AOV of Bangladeshi education on current GRA for
non-immigrants...............................................................................146