Gendered integration? How recently arrived male and female refugees fare on the German labour market

Objective: This paper examines gender differences in the labour market integration of newly arrived refugees in Germany. In particular, we focus on the heterogeneity in employment rates among female refugees. Background: Previous research has demonstrated that refugee women are disadvantaged on the labour market not only compared to their male counterparts, but also compared to other immigrant women. So far, however, little is known about the mechanisms that underlie the specific disadvantages of refugee women. Method: Using data from the IAB-BAMF-SOEP Survey of Refugees, we analyse the labour market participation of refugees who migrated to Germany between 2013 and 2017. To test our theoretical assumptions, we apply logistic regressions. Results: Our results show that compositional differences in qualifications, family structure, institutional support, and networks can partly explain the gender gap in labour force participation that disadvantage refugee women. We find substantial variation in the importance of different determinants for the labour market outcomes of men and women. Conclusion: As the gender gaps in labour supply could be fully attributed to the theoretical mechanisms offered in the literature, further research is needed to disentangle female refugees’ employment behaviour.