Job Market Paper

Gendered Xenophobia? Gendered Interpretation of Immigration and Labor Market Vulnerability (Under Review)

Abstract: Why do women tend to oppose immigration more than men? I argue that this opposition of immigration is caused by women’s labor market vulnerabilities. As immigrants increasingly take positions in care work and other industries that are traditionally dominated by women, women are more likely to perceive them as a threat. Drawing on data from two original surveys on Japanese samples and one survey on a U.S. sample with embedded experiments, I find that information emphasizing the economic necessity of immigrants leads to increased favorability among native men, but not native women. Additionally, women, especially those in non-professional jobs, show increased hostility toward immigrant women when exposed to such information. The findings underscore the importance of considering the interplay of gender and labor market vulnerability, contributing to the literature on political economy of immigration and gender politics. The results also suggest the necessity for gender-sensitive approaches in shaping immigration policy and addressing inter-group conflicts, especially in countries characterized by significant gender inequalities where women predominantly occupy lower-paid and less secure job roles.