THE SECOND GENERATION AND THE LABOUR MARKET:
THE CASE OF GHANAIAN-CANADIANS IN TORONTO
BOADIAGYEKUM
A THESIS SUBMITTED TO
THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES
IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS
FOR THE DEGREE OF
MASTER OF ARTS
GRADUATE PROGRAM IN GEOGRAPHY
YORK UNIVERSITY,
TORONTO, ONTARIO
JUNE 2012
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The author retains copyright L'auteur conserve la propriete du droit d'auteur ownership and moral rights in this et des droits moraux qui protege cette these. Ni thesis. Neither the thesis nor la these ni des extraits substantiels de celle-ci substantial extracts from it may be ne doivent etre imprimes ou autrement printed or otherwise reproduced reproduits sans son autorisation. without the author's permission.
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While these forms may be included Bien que ces formulaires aient inclus dans in the document page count, their la pagination, il n'y aura aucun contenu removal does not represent any loss manquant. of content from the thesis. Canada ABSTRACT
This exploratory study is one of the first to examine the perceptions and experiences of second generation Ghanaian-Canadians in the Toronto labour market. It highlights the complex intersections among socioeconomic status, race, gender and space/place that the second generation confronts in the labour market.
The study uses in-depth interviews and focus group discussions to procure empirical data from Ghanaian-Canadians residing in the Jane-Finch neighbourhood and Brampton. The findings indicate that the second generation's performance in the labour market was identified as being influenced by their multiple identities
(i.e. race, gender, socioeconomic status and place of residence), which form a complex interrelationship to influence their performance. Again, their perceptions about the labour market are highly driven by their lived experiences.
ii DEDICATION
This thesis is dedicated to my parents, Mr. & Mrs. Agyekum, to my wife, Mrs.
Rebecca Agyekum, and to my dear daughter, Konadu Akosua Agyekum.
iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
There are many people who assisted me throughout this challenging and rewarding process. First and foremost, 1 would like to thank my supervisor.
Professor Joseph Mensah whose comments, critiques and suggestions have made this a reality. Your encouragement and support throughout my master's thesis are greatly appreciated.
1 would also like to thank Professor Philip Kelly for meeting with me on numerous occasions to discuss my thesis. Your valuable recommendations have contributed in significant ways to this thesis. I would like to thank Professor Valerie
Preston for her initial recommendations to this thesis. Next, I am grateful to these people: Professor Peter Long, Dr. David Firang, Yvonne Yim, Robert Bridi and
Asutosha Acharya. Each one contributed in significant ways to this thesis.
I am thankful to the entire Ghanaian community in Toronto, especially the respondents who agree to participate in this study. Finally, I would like to thank the entire Graduate Program in Geography for your support throughout my studies.
iv TABLE OF CONTENTS
Abstract ii
Dedication iii
Acknowledgements iv
Table of Contents v
List of Tables viii
List of Figures ix
Chapter One: Introduction 1
1.1 Problem Statement 2 1.2 Research Objectives and Questions 3
1.3 Study Settings 5
1.4 Why Studying The Second Generation Ghanaian-Canadians in Toronto 8
Chapter Two: Review of Literature 10
2.1. The Second Generation and the Socioeconomic Status of Parents 10
2.2. Summary 15
2.3. Race and Ethnicity 16
2.4. Gender 25
2.5. Spatial Constraints and Neighbourhood Effect 28
2.6. Background, History and Context of Ghanaian Immigrant 36
2.7. The Decline of Ghanaian Immigrants to Canada 36
2.8. Spatial Distribution of Ghanaians in Canada 40
vi 2.9. Spatial Distribution of Ghanaians in Toronto 43
2.10. Summary 44
Chapter Three: Theoretical and Conceptual Framework 46
3.1. Theories in Labour Market Analysis 46
3.1.1. Labour Market Segmentation Theory 47
3.1.2. The Vertical Mosaic Thesis 47
3.1.3. Human Capital Theory 49
3.1.4. Social Capital Theory 51
3.2. Intersectionality and the Labour Market 52
3.3. Summary 57
Chapter Four: Methodology 58
4.1. Qualitative Method 58
4.2. Qualitative Research Design 61
4.3. In-depth Interviews 61
4.3.1. Participant Recruitment 62
4.3.2. In-depth Interview Participants 63
4.3.3. Participants' Profile (Jane and Finch) 65
4.3.4. Participants' Profile (Brampton) 66
4.4. Focus Group 67
4.3.2. Focus Group Design and Recruitment 69
4.3.3. Participants' Profile (jane and Finch) 70
4.3.4. Participants'Profile (Brampton) 71
4.5. Positionality 71
4.6. Data Validation Procedure 73
Chapter Five: Data Analysis 75
vii 5.1. Experiences and Perceptions of Labour Market Barriers in Toronto 75
5.2. Gender and the Labour Market 82
5.3. Social Ties and Family's Socioeconomic Status 86
5.4. Spatial and Neighbourhood Effects 86
5.5. Differences and Similarities in Participants' Experiences and Perceptions 98
5.6. Intersectionality 102
5.7. Summary 103
Chapter Six: Conclusion 105
6.1. Summary of the Key Findings 105
6.2. Limitations of the Study 108
6.3. Policy Implications and Suggestions for Future Research 110
6.4. Conclusion Ill
Appendices 113
Appendix A: Solicitation Flyer 113
Appendix B: Informed Consent Form 115
Appendix C: In-depth Interviews Questionnaires 117
Appendix D: Focus Group Discussions Questionnaires 121
References 123 LIST OF TABLES
Table 2.1: Arrival of Ghanaian Immigrants in Canada 38
Table 2.2: Spatial Distribution of Ghanaians in Canada 41
Table 2.3: Spatial Distribution of Ghanaians in CMA's in Canada 42
Table 4.1: Jane and Finch Participants for in-depth interview 63
Table 4.2: Brampton Participants for in-depth interview 66
Table 4.3: Focus Group One Participants 70
Table 4.4: Focus Group Two Participants 71
viii LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1.1: Study Setting 7
Figure 2.1: Arrival of Ghanaian Immigrants in Canada 39
Figure 2.2: Spatial Distribution of Ghanaians in Toronto 43
Figure 3.2: The Intersectional Approach 56
x CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
This thesis explores the labour market experiences of second generation
Ghanaian-Canadians in two localities within the Toronto Census Metropolitan Area
(CMA), specifically, the Jane-Finch neighbourhood and Brampton. The study examines how their perceptions of discrimination in the labour market vary by gender, space/place and family socio-economic status. In addition, the study examines the challenges faced by second generation youth in the labour market and analyses the strategies they use to mitigate these challenges.
Even though second generation visible minorities in Toronto have significantly higher levels of educational attainment than those of the non-visible minorities (Reitz
2010), and third-and-higher generation counterparts (Picot and Hou, 2012), they are underemployed (there might be exceptions in specific communities). Since labour market outcomes and educational attainment are interdependent, the study looks at perceptions and experiences of second generation Ghanaian-Canadians, on educational attainment and labour market access in Toronto. Ornstein (2000, 2006) found the Ghanaian community to be at the margins of the socio-economic life of the Toronto CMA. His studies are consistent with a study by Galabuzi (2012) that finds a considerable percent of the racialized population in Canada experiences unequal outcomes to the labour market.
This difference in labour market access according to the study, leads to disparities in incomes, because the labour market determines the level and distribution of income through wages and salaries (Galabuzi, 2012).
1 This thesis relies on data from focus groups and in-depth interviews to tease out perceptions of challenges facing the second generation Ghanaian youth in the labour market. The thesis contributes to the existing knowledge on labour market discrimination based on race, gender, place and socio-economic status in Toronto, in particular, and
Canada at large. Available data indicate 23,230 Ghanaians in Canada by 2006, the bulk of them calling Toronto home (Statistics Canada, 2006). There are now over 1,600 second generation Ghanaian-Canadians in Toronto (Statistics Canada, 2006), most of whom are either in school or have recently entered the job market. The evidence of the low socio-economic status of Blacks (Mensah, 2010), in general, and the lack of research on second generation Ghanaian-Canadians in Toronto, in particular, underscore the need for this research.
1.2. Problem Statement
Issues concerning race, immigration, and integration in multicultural countries have influenced my interest in exploring how visible minority youth in Canada access the labour market. Some experts (Reitz 2010; Block and Galabuzi 2011; Galabuzi 2012) claim that these young adults will not do as well as previous waves of immigrants, due to the lack of high-paying manufacturing jobs, poor public schools, and an entrenched racial divide. Canadian multicultural policy, it is often argued, is the reason for the success of immigrant integration; Canadian policies, including those on multiculturalism, employment equity, the points system for immigrant selection, and citizenship ceremonies, have even been adopted by other countries (Smith and Ley, 2008). Despite
2 these factors, Canada's record on economic integration is less encouraging (Smith and
Ley, 2008), and individuals' success in the labour market is not only based on their productive capacity, but also on their ethnic/racial group affiliation (Teelucksingh and
Galabuzi, 2005). The second generation, particularly visible minorities with a Canadian education are not performing well in the labour market and Blacks are more disadvantaged than other minority groups (Reitz, 2010). The performance of the second generation in the labour market is significant, because their parents immigrated to Canada with the aim of seeking a better future for themselves and their children. Also, the economic performance of these children is a contribution to Canada's employment equity policy. Therefore, focusing on second generation's access to labour market cannot be underestimated.
Although there is a growing literature (Owusu, 1999; Mensah, 2010; 2008; 2002) on Ghanaians in Toronto (e.g. on their housing, employment, and religion), little research has been done on the integration of the second generation in the labour market even though this group is sizeable enough, at least in Toronto, to merit analysis. The current study seeks to shed meaningful light on the extent to which the dynamics of socio economic status, race, gender, and space/place feed into each other to affect the employment chances of Ghanaian youth in the Toronto labour market. Given the importance of employment in the settlement and integration of immigrants and their children, this research uses primary data to explore these relationships in some detail.
3 1.3. Research Objectives and Questions
The aim of the thesis is to explore how second generation Ghanaian-Canadians are accessing the Canadian labour market. More specifically, the study will:
i. Examine how the socio-economic status of parents (family) influences the labour
market access of the second generation.
ii. Analyse the role that places of residence play in their involvement in the labour
market.
iii. Examine the role race and gender play in labour market participation of these
Ghanaians.
iv. Recommend ways of improving labour market success of second generation
Ghanaian-Canadians.
Research questions for the study:
• What are the perceptions of the second generation with respect to barriers to
labour market access due to race, gender and place of residence?
• What roles do parents play in their children's education and employment success?
• What role does social networking play in facilitating access to the labour market?
• What role does the neighbourhood or place of residence play in accessing the
labour market?
• In what ways can the second generation improve their labour market access? 4 1.4. Study Setting
The study areas are the Jane-Finch neighbourhood in North York, and Brampton.
These two places were selected for this study because of the relatively high proportion of individuals who claim Ghanaian ethnic origin (Statistics Canada, 2001; Owusu, 1999).
Jane-Finch is an inner-suburb located on the North West end of Toronto, formerly part of the municipality of North York (Rootham, 2008). As can be seen from Fig. 1.1, the area is bounded by Highway 400 on the West, Steeles Avenue on the North, Sheppard
Avenue on the South and Black Creek Stream and Parkland on the East (Lovell, 2007). It is named after its main intersection: Jane Street and Finch Avenue.
Jane and Finch has a high concentration of Blacks and a significant number of people racialized as South Asians and Southeast Asian (Lovell, 2007). Thus, the concentration of visible minority groups in this area shows how racial discrimination manifests through space, and how this affects the lives of the people living in these racialized communities in Toronto (Teelucksingh, 2006). The Jane and Finch neighbourhood is mainly a residential area and local labour market conditions are not favourable to sustaining the number of people looking for employment. Because of this unavailability, the youth resort to commuting to and from other neighbourhoods for jobs.
The other study area, Brampton, is the third-largest city in the Greater Toronto
Area (GTA) of Ontario, and the seat of Peel Region. The Brampton area is located west
5 of Toronto and northwest of Lake Ontario (Karrow, 1991). Brampton was incorporated as a village in 1863, taking its name from the rural town of Brampton, in Cumbria, England.
Brampton is known as the Flower Town of Canada, a title earned due to the city's large greenhouse industry (Free Encyclopaedia online, n.d.). In 1974, the Region of Peel was created, making Brampton a city. In the 1980s and 1990s, large subdivisions developed on lands formerly used for farming. The city's major businesses include manufacturing, retail and wholesale trade. Brampton, though with different land use systems, evolved as an industrial city and continues to offer employment to many people both within and outside the city. Offering more than 60,000 acres of parkland, Brampton provides access to a wide variety of outdoor activities (City of Brampton Planning, Design and
Development Department, 2011). The city also enjoys a vast inventory of libraries, hospital services, educational facilities, and shopping centres.
Brampton is the 9th largest city in Canada with a population of over 523,911 in
2011 (Statistics Canada, 2011). In 2006, visible minorities accounted for 57.03%
(246,145 persons) of Brampton's total population and constituted the major group in
Brampton (Statistics Canada, 2006). Brampton's residents enjoy a high quality of life and it is one of only ten cities in North America to be designated an International Safe
Community by the World Health Organization in 2007.
6 CALEDON VAUGHAN Richmond • MARKHAM Hilli Unionville Markham r 6)—-— i Woodbridge <4077 • Thornhill BRAMPTON i407J Steeles Ave.
^ Finch Ave. §! L.' Bramalea'" / Jane-Finch ; Brampton k r^/ *
\J/ Pearson \> MS} jX International @i Airport TORONTO iDVP)
^MISSISSAUGA 4 ^
Figure 1.1 Locations of Jane-Finch Neighbourhood and Brampton.
7 1.5. Why Study Second Generation Ghanaian-Canadians in Toronto?
The thesis contributes to existing knowledge on labour market discrimination based on race, socio-economic status, gender and neighbourhood effect in Toronto. The study also builds on available research on barriers to settlement and integration of visible minorities and immigrants in Canada. Many studies have revealed that, among immigrants, Blacks are the most underprivileged groups in Canada (Este et al., 2012;
Reitz, 2010; Banerjee, 2006). Ornstein's study (2000) found that among families from
Ghana in Toronto, 87 per cent lived in poverty, suggesting that the Ghanaian community is having difficulties integrating into the Canadian economy; therefore studying their integration into the labour market is significant because it is a component of full integration in Canada. Most research on the second generation has treated it as homogeneous. Studying the specific case of second generation Ghanaian-Canadians in
Jane-Finch and Brampton will help to identify the specific problems these youth (young adults seeking employment between ages nineteen and thirty) face in the labour market.
My personal position as an immigrant from Ghana to Toronto and my interest in labour issues pertaining to minorities in Canada shaped this project.
The thesis consists of six chapters. The next chapter provides a literature review
and background on the Ghanaian community in Toronto, while chapters three and four examine the theoretical framework, research design and methodology used in the study.
8 Chapter five deals with data analysis, while the final chapter concludes the study dealing with the findings and recommendations of the thesis.
9 CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF LITERATURE
This chapter reviews the relevant Canadian and non-Canadian research on labour markets. More specifically, the review discusses issues faced by the second generation in the labour market, particularly related to discrimination based on socioeconomic status, race, gender and neighbourhood of residence. The chapter is divided into four parts. The first discusses how the socio-economic status of parents affects the performance of their children in the labour market. The second part examines the literature on the second generation's perceptions and experiences of labour market discrimination based on race and gender, while the third part reviews literature on how place of residence/neighbourhood influences the labour market participation of the second generation. The final part provides a summary and notes the contribution of the thesis to labour market research.
2.1. The Second Generation and the Socio-economic Status of Parents
The "second generation" refers to those who were born in Canada with at least one parent born outside Canada (Statistics Canada, 2006; Kobayashi, 2008). The group is heterogeneous, both within and between ethnocultural groupings, and their circumstances are also influenced by their place of residence (Kobayashi, 2008). This group is varied not only in terms of demographics, but it is also varied in terms of gender, place of residence, educational level, economic status and in relation to the contextual issue of social capital (Boyd, 2002). There is the need, therefore, for researchers to be circumspect in generalizing about the second generation.
Children's educational attainment has been linked to the attainment of their parents (Farley and Alba, 2002; Vartanian, 1999). Given the range of influences of parental education, the socioeconomic reality for today's second generation will involve divergent outcomes, thus, their socioeconomic life chances will vary greatly depending on the human and social capital of their immigrant parents (Portes et al., 2005). Indeed, parental education has been referred to as "the single most important determinant of children's schooling" (Feliciano and Ruben, 2005). Parental education has been seen as having a long-term advantage on children's education across generations. For instance, de Broucker and Lavalle'e (1998) have argued that educated parents are likely to be of immense help to their children's education. For example, helping children with school work, the value placed on education and the ability to gather resources to help children succeed. According to Broucker and Lavalle'e, more educated parents adopt strategies that are more likely to shape their children on a successful path (de Broucker and
Lavalle'e, 1998). Children with more-educated parents are at an advantage. Children with a parent who had a university degree did significantly better than children whose parents' highest education was a high school diploma (Wayland, 2010; Worswick, 2001).
The availability and the use of welfare programs have also been found to affect childhood development. Welfare receipts is said to decrease work incentives in parents, which may then lower their children desire to work. Thus, the stigma of welfare and importance of work are both lessened while the means of accessing welfare are learned when children grow up in families that receive welfare. On the other hand, it has been suggested that parents who work in the labour market instil a work ethic in their children, increasing the likelihood of labour market success for their children (Vartanian, 1999).
In their recent paper "Seeking Success in Canada and the United States" Picot and
Hou (2011) observed that in both countries, the labour market outcomes of the children of immigrants are equal to, or better than, those of the children of domestic-born parents.
The study shows that on average with no controls, the children of immigrants have higher levels of education than do the third-and-higher generations, but similar labour force participation rates and unemployment rates. Also, the children of immigrants tend to have higher earnings and are more likely to be employed in professional occupations than their counterparts with domestic parents (see also Wayland, 2010). In the Canadian market, they posit that most of the earnings advantage among individuals of the second generation relates to their higher levels of education and their residential location, clustered as they are in large urban areas where wages are higher.
The highest educational attainment of the second generation is registered among the Asians and Africans (Abada et al., 2009). The educational attainment of these groups has been argued to be the result of the selective nature of Canada's immigration under the points system, where the children of immigrants in many cases benefit from this educational advantage (Wayland, 2010). In general, immigrants and their children have
12 been found to have more years of schooling on average than do Canadians who have been in the country for several generation (Aydemir, Chen and Corak, 2008).
What determines the non-visible second generation's path to upward mobility while others such as Blacks experience stagnation are based on racial stratification, economic opportunities, spatial segregation and factors specific to immigrant groups, including human capital and financial resources, family composition and modes of incorporation or immigrant community differences (Portes, Fernandez-Kelly, and Haller
2009). These modes of incorporation are reflected in government policy and in the perceptions of different nationality groups. For instance, a community characterized by weak ethnic ties poses difficulties for immigrants who are trying to translate their human capital into their corresponding occupations (Abada, 2011).
Although the positive influence of education on labour market participation remains indisputable, higher educational qualifications do not always translate into better job opportunities and higher incomes. The work of Gariba (2009) shows that parents of second generation Ghanaian-Canadians are underemployed in the Canadian labour market even though the majority of them have the necessary qualifications and skills to compete in high status jobs. This situation in turn affects the labour market successes of the next generations. It has been argued that groups that encounter little or no discrimination and that are characterized by strong social networks within a prosperous ethnic community can pave the way for their children to be competitive in the labour market (Portes, Fernandez-Kelly and Haller, 2009). Abada et al. (2009), found that
13 among the second generation in Canada, Blacks and Filipinos were the only groups who did not surpass their parents' levels of education.
However, the difference in educational levels of children and their parents could be attributed to the discrimination that their parents faced in terms of their credentials not being accepted as equal to that of their Canadian counterparts, hence, their relegation into the menial tasks which do not earn them what they should have earned in order to improve their children's socio-economic conditions in Canadian society. Given the high unemployment rates for Canadian Blacks, coupled with their underrepresentation in high status jobs, it is not surprising that their children are relatively less educated compared to their parents as most studies have found. Again, it would not be surprising should they continue to perform relatively poor in the labour market relative to other second generations.
Another key issue, which is identified to have influenced the performance of the children of immigrants relates to the 'deprofessionalization' of some of the immigrant parents. For instance, Kelly et al. (2010), in his research on Filipinos, talks about the deprofessionalization of the Filipino parents, which means that these parents spend more time outside their homes, working longer hours to supplement their income. This affects the socialization of their children, which in turn triggers a cycle of social pathology and poverty. Preliminary field observations suggest that this situation is common among second generation Ghanaian-Canadians, as most parents spend much of their time outside the home because they need to take second jobs to supplement their household income.
14 It is not what you know but whom you know that matters; thus, having good personal connections is important in the labour market (Mouw, 2003). Several studies have shown that job applicants who rely on current employees have higher rate of receiving a job offer than other applicants (Fernandez, Castilla and Moore, 2000). Social access to employment includes the networks of informal informational contacts available to potential workers and their parents, networks that may assist them in learning about available job openings, and employment opportunities (Try, 2004). Also, a large percentage of job seekers obtain information on specific jobs from friends and relatives, as contrasted with information obtained from formal announcements or employment agencies (Try, 2004). Informal contacts, networks and labour market outcomes are likely to generate higher wages than other sources if family and friends are employed in high status jobs and earn higher incomes, and are likely to reduce an employer's uncertainty about the job seeker's ability to perform (Loury, 2006).
2.3. Race and Ethnicity
So far, the socio-economic circumstances of the parents of the second generation and how these influence the performance of the children, particularly, second generation in school and in the job market have been discussed. In this section I will discuss how racism affects the success of the second generation in the labour market.
15 Several studies have been undertaken on the socio-economic performance of ethnic and racial minority groups. Most of these studies have revealed that employment disadvantage based on race, ethnicity and period of immigration is one of most enduring
problems of the Canadian labour market (Reitz and Somerville, 2004; Galabuzi, 2001).
As argued by Callinicos (1993), many scholars claim that racism is as old as human
nature, the implication being that we cannot get rid of it. According to him, on the
contrary, racism as we know it today first developed in the seventeenth and eighteenth
centuries in order to justify the systematic use of African slave labour in the plantations
of the New World which was central to the original emergence of capitalism as a world
system. He added that racism was formed as part of the process through which capitalism
became the dominant social and economic system. Its svibsequent fortunes have been
bound up with those of capitalism. Racism remains one of the main features of the
advanced capitalist societies. It is institutionalized in the systematic discrimination that
Black people experience in jobs, housing and education system, and the harassment they
suffer at the hands of police and immigration authorities (Callinicos, 1993).
Along the same lines, Smedley (1993) claims that biological variations among
people have no social meaning except what we humans give them. Thus, race is
culturally constructed. It is the social meaning imposed on the varying human
populations that we must investigate to understand race. He shows that the elements of
the ideology of race have been utilized since the eighteenth century as a mechanism to
stratify society and to accord privileges, benefits, and rights to some and not to others,
16 with the justification that the groups called "races" are innately different and that their differences cannot be transcended. Again, the arguments of hereditary differences and their immutability have been critical to constructing and preserving race ideology from the beginning (Smedley, 1993).
Racialization has been described as the "process by which racialized groups are identified, given stereotypical characteristics, and coerced into specific living conditions, often involving social/spatial segregation and always constituting racialized places"
(Kobayashi and Peake, 2000). When such beliefs have been linked to such natural features as skin colour and other physical differences, race assumes the status of an indisputable truth (Smedley, 1993). Again, racialization is "the social process of making
"race" or categorizing people by race" (Stanley, 2012: 53). According to him racializations alone are not necessarily racist, but they become manifested when they are organized into exclusion. Therefore if certain groups are excluded or segregated into certain types of jobs and places of residence then they could be considered as racialized.
'Race' has been seen not to be a biological, but rather a social construction through communication and human social process (Kobayashi and Peake, 1994).
In a study on ethnic minorities and labour market discrimination in Canada,
Pendakur and Pendakur (2002b) argued that visible minority immigrants have poorer labour market outcomes than Canadian-born workers. However, this discrimination in the labour market is not uniform among the minority groups, but varies from one ethnic group to another, with Blacks having the greatest disadvantage (Reitz, 2010). Reitz and Somerville (2004) and Reitz and Banerjee (2007) have suggested that the second generation may experience more racism than their parents because their linguistic fluency, educational attainment, and high expectation of the rights that come with citizenship place them in positions where they are more likely to be viewed as a challenge to the dominant groups, as well as more likely to identify their experiences as racialized. This evidence underscores the pressing need for more ethnic-based studies on the labour market. In contrast to this claim, a study by Kasinitz (2008) in the United
States found that the second generation is rapidly moving into the mainstream-speaking
English, working in jobs that resemble those held by natives, creatively combining their ethnic cultures and norms with American ones. According to Kasinitz (2008), far from descending into an urban underclass, the children of immigrants are using immigrant advantages to avoid some of the obstacles that native minority groups cannot.
The work of Kunz et al., (2000) on education, employment and income levels of different Canadian racial groups revealed that visible minorities are underemployed despite the fact that they have a higher level of educational attainment than the general
Canadian population. The persistent gap in the earnings of foreign-born visible minorities is additional evidence that there may be a different employment integration process for visible and non-visible minorities (Balakrishnan and Hou, 1999). Similarly, a review by
Grady (2011) revealed that second generation visible minorities in Canada are becoming more highly educated than the second generation non-visible minority and non immigrants. His analysis shows that 46.2 per cent of the second generation visible
18 minority between 25 and 44 years had earned university certificates or degrees compared to 31 per cent of non-visible minority second generation. In the 25 to 44 age group, accounting for the largest number of second generation visible minorities, they only earned on average $39,814, whereas second generation non-visible minorities earn
$45,352 and non-immigrants 40,358 (Grady, 2011). Here, one is quick to note that these experiences in the Canadian labour market contradict human capital theory.
With regards to experiences of exclusion, the 2002 Canadian Ethnic Diversity
Survey revealed that regardless of generational status or length of residence, 20 per cent of persons who were visible minorities had experienced discrimination or unfair treatment in the last five years preceding the survey due to their ethnicity, culture, race, skin colour, language, accent or religion (Statistics Canada, 2003a). Many visible minorities are being denied access to good jobs and the opportunity to use their educational qualifications and skills, which will help them to gain experience for their survival in the labour market (Yates, 2005). This situation is challenging, particularly among African Canadians looking for employment in the labour market (Este, 2012).
Canadian policies and programs, including multiculturalism, the points system for immigrant selection, and citizenship ceremonies, have been adopted by other countries as a reflection of the successful integration of immigrants in Canada. However, Canada's record on economic integration, which is a key dimension of a successful immigration, is less encouraging (Smith and Ley, 2008). A claim that there is substantial amount of racial discrimination in the Toronto labour market and probably elsewhere in Canada is not a recent phenomenon (Henry and Ginzberg, 1985b). Racial discrimination can take place at any point in the employment process. It may exist in areas such as recruitment, screening, selection, promotions and firings (Henry and Ginzberg, 1985b). In their groundbreaking work, Who Gets the Workl Henry and Ginzberg (1985b) present the outcome of a job search experiment in groups of applicants consisting of "Black" and "White" candidates with similar employment qualifications. The advertisements were mostly related to jobs in low-rank positions, such as retail sales, unskilled labour, food industry and some junior managerial positions. They found that the number of jobs offered at the end of the experiment was in the ratio of three-to-one in favour of the White applicants. They also noted that the White applicants in their experiment received more application forms and more helpful tips from employers than their Black counterparts and the Blacks were accorded rude and hostile treatments.
In a more recent testing of racial discrimination in the Toronto labour market,
Oreopoulos (2009) found that resumes with English-sounding names are 40 percent more likely to receive callbacks than "resumes" with Indian, Chinese, or Pakistani names. In the study, thousands of randomly created resumes were sent by email in response to job postings in Toronto. The resumes were designed to represent immigrants who arrived recently under the Canadian Point System from China, Pakistan and India, and Britain, as well as non-immigrants with and without ethnic-sounding names. The resumes also considered foreign education, foreign experience, Canadian education and experience.
Oreopoulos (2009) compared his study to a previous study by Bertrand and Muliainathan (2004), who found that resumes with similar White-sounding names are 50 percent more likely to receive callbacks than resumes with Black-sounding names sent to employers in
Boston and Chicago in the United States.
Many visible minorities often find it difficult to obtain recognition for their educational qualifications, and do not experience the same outcome for their educational attainment as do non-visible minorities (Yap et al., 2010b). Analyzing the plight of
Blacks in the Canadian labour market, Mensah (2010) argues that Blacks and other visible minorities face some level of racial discrimination in the Canadian labour market.
He finds that while the bulk of the data points to more severe employment problems and higher levels of racial discrimination against Blacks, there are instances in which the circumstances of other visible minorities, such as Arabs and Latin Americans, seem to be worse.
Hellerstein et al. (2008:1) "consider the possibility that the problem may not be so much a lack of jobs in areas where Blacks reside, but a lack of jobs that employ Blacks even in the areas where they do reside, whether because of labour market discrimination, race-specific labour networks, or neighbourhood effects." They claim that while the spatial mismatch hypothesis attributes lower employment of Blacks mainly to the spatial distribution of jobs with regards to where Blacks live, the "racial mismatch" hypothesis posits it is based on the distribution of jobs that employ Blacks. They criticized the spatial mismatch hypothesis on the grounds that improving access of Blacks to areas with more
21 jobs would increase Black employment without considering discrimination in the labour market. (Hellerstein, et al. 2008).
Similarly, Li (1999) insists that the main problem faced by Blacks and other visible minorities in the labour market has to do with "race". Throughout the history of
Canada, physical and cultural characteristics, whether real or presumed, have been used to justify segregation and discrimination against groups such as the Chinese, Jews,
Ukrainians, and Indians (Li, 1999).
Racism, like class systems, produces cheap and oppressed labour that can be used to perform the menial task of society thereby allowing the privileged class to exaggerate the income differential inherent in the skills hierarchy in its favour. This can be done by monopolizing the wages of those privileged and high-status employment. As Li (1999) argues, in a capitalist labour market, race and ethnicity can be seen as liability for those who suffer discrimination, but an asset for others who control privileged positions. In the latter case, according to him, race and ethnicity can be used as means of exclusion to safeguard one's privileges and to prevent others from encroaching on them.
Racism has been institutionalized and continues to exist in our societies and the result of it is the constant discrimination of minority groups on the basis of which people employed in various occupations and other livelihoods. In analysing the performance of
Blacks and White Canadians in the Canadian labour market by comparing their educational attainment, Mensah (2010) observed that, whereas 22.97 percent of all
Canadians have some university education, the comparable figure for Blacks is 22.11 22 percent. The difference is minuscule, yet there is a vast difference in the labour market involvement between these two groups. Furthermore, this racial discrimination in the labour market translates into class relations where majority of Blacks become poor affecting their living conditions leading to segregation of Blacks into poor neighbourhoods further creating Black enclaves deepening the class relations (Mensah,
2010).
Laryea and Hayfron (2005) noted that there are significant earning gaps between
African-born immigrants and their Canadian-born counterparts (Laryea and Hayfron,
2005). They also found that African-born immigrants are less likely to be employed in a high-skilled occupation. Previous studies in Canada (Li, 2000; Stelcner, 2000) seem to suggest the existence of race-based barriers in the Canadian labour market. The type of barrier varies by racial origin of immigrants (Li, 2000). The oft-cited barrier has to do with the non-recognition of foreign credentials, as well as with employment discrimination against visible minorities with identifiable linguistics and racial features
(Henry and Ginzberg, 1985).
In using the 2006 long form census data to compare work and income trends among racialized and non-racialized Canadians during the heyday of the economic boom,
Block and Galabuzi (2011) in their study found that even in the best of economic times, the pay gap between racialized and non-racialized Canadians is large. Racialized
Canadians earn only 81.4 cents for every dollar paid to non-racialized Canadians; and the
23 income gap was found to be a result of racial disparities in the distribution of good paying and more secure jobs.
Interestingly, even though racialized Canadians had slightly higher levels of labour market participation, they experienced higher levels of unemployment and earned less income than non-racialized Canadians. According to Block and Galabuzi, the work that racialized Canadians are able to attain is much more likely to be insecure, temporary and low paying.
In his study of the second generation in the United States, Alejandro Portes (2005) notes that children of Black immigrants cannot escape their ethnicity and race, as defined by the mainstream. Their enduring physical differences from Whites and the equally persistent strong effects of discrimination based on those differences, especially against
Black persons, throw a barrier in the path of their occupational mobility and social acceptance. Immigrant children's identities, their aspirations, and their academic performance are affected accordingly (Fernandez-Kelly and Curran, 2001).
In a similar vein, Mensah (2002, 2010) argues that disparities emerge between
Blacks and their non-Black counterparts in nearly all Canadian provinces and territories regarding average income. In Ontario, where the average annual income of $27,309 in
2001 was the highest in the country, the corresponding figure for Blacks was $20,144, creating a deficit of $7,165 for the province's Black population (Mensah 2010).
Comparatively, the highest income deficit for Blacks was recorded in Quebec where the provincial average stood at $23,198 and the comparable figure for Blacks was a mere 24 $15,483 a deficit ratio of 66 cents for every dollar. Again, the provincial unemployment rate in Quebec was more than two times higher than the unemployment rate for Blacks in that province (Mensah, 2010).
2.4. Gender
A number of Canadian studies (Cornish and Faraday, 2004; Statistics Canada,
2011) have documented forms of disparities in the labour market between males and females. While there have been substantial improvements in Canadian women's labour force participation rates, "with women accounting for nearly half of the labour force, this has yet to yield true socio-economic equality and empowerment for women" (Cornish and Faraday, 2004:2). A survey of Labour and Income Dynamics (SLID) in 1997 revealed that among full-year, full-time workers, women working full-year, full-time earned 72.5% of what men earned (Statistics Canada, 2001). Women's full integration into the labour market continues to be impeded by patriarchal stereotypes, prejudices, and culturally-based expectations about gender roles and what constitutes "valuable work" and equitable working conditions (Cornish and Faraday, 2004). According to Cornish and
Faraday, the labour market for women in Canada has been marked by five significant trends that, while displaying some progress in women's share of both jobs and wages, shows the persistent systemic gaps that exist between men and women across the spectrum of employment rights and benefits (Cornish and Faraday, 2004). These trends include women's increased participation in the labour force; women's modest gains in remuneration; the continuing occupational segregation and income gaps between male and female workers; women's continuing struggles to reconcile employment and family responsibilities; and women's concentration in the informal economy (Cornish and
Faraday, 2004).
The fact that males fare better in the Canadian labour market than females is not new. A Statistics Canada study found that female to male earnings ratios based on full time and annual earning has held constant (Statistic Canada, 2009). On average, there has been an increase in women's real wages by 11.6% between 1988 and 2008 across all age and wage groups (Statistics Canada 2011). Conversely, the men's situation is quite different. Among all men real wage rose up by 1.3% between the same years and that changes were not consistent across age and wage groups as recorded in the case of women. Essentially, the reduction in the wage difference could be attributed to increase in women's educational attainment in general. For instance, there has been a rise in university degree from 15.7% in 1990 to 29.3% in 2008 among women age 25 to 54 in the labour force. The corresponding numbers for men are 17.7% and 25.3% (Statistics
Canada, 2011). Again, 62% of undergraduate degrees and 54% of graduate degrees were granted to women in 2008 (Statistics Canada, 2011).
Among the second generation, women are likely to be employed with higher earnings than their male counterparts because the latter do not share the same educational attainment (Keung, 2007). Studies on the children of Canadian immigrants consistently show higher levels of academic achievement among girls than boys (Aydemir and
Sweetman, 2006; Council of Ontario Universities, 2008). In recent years, males have
26 been referred to as the "new disadvantaged minority" (Miller, 2008) and the "second sex"
(Collin, 2003). Data released by the Council of Ontario Universities in 2008 reveal that in
2007-2008, more females than males applied for admission to universities (55% vs. 45% in 2007) and colleges (54% vs. 46% in 2008). According to the Council, females appear more likely than males to apply directly from secondary school for admission to university and college, while males tend to take a "gap year" before pursing a postsecondary program (Council of Ontario Universities, 2008:34; College Ontario,
2009:29). In terms of professional programs, 57% of the medical degrees awarded in
2007 from Ontario faculties of medicine were to females, compared to a mere 4.9% in
1940 (Kerr, 2010). Again, in 2006, 52% of all graduating law students admitted to the bar in Ontario were females, compared to 48% in 1995 (Federation of Law Societies of
Canada, 2009: 7, 15 cited in Kerr, 2010). It seems that the educational trend has shifted in favour of females as recent studies show that in all levels of education, from elementary to university, with the exception of science and technology programs, females outnumber males (Greig, 2009).
In a study on educational outcomes of females and males in Canada, Hou and
Balakrishan (1996) show that, among minority immigrant groups, women will attain higher levels of education than their male counterparts, with parental human capital and social capital factors expected to differentially affect their attainment. They note that the closer ties of young women to their families and their ethnic communities signal the
27 possibility that family and community social capital will play a more influential role for girls than for boys.
Available data indicate that despite the overall advances made by females in postsecondary educational attainment, the job market continues to favour males. The data show that over the past three decades, the female to male average earning ratio in Ontario increased from 67% to 80% in the 25 to 34 age group and from 53% to 72% for the 45 to
54 age group (Kerr, 2010).
2.5. Spatial Constraints and Neighbourhood Effect
This section reviews literature on how place and neighbourhood environments influence one's chances in the labour market. It specifically examines space-related problems faced by the urban poor in their effort to access the labour market.
Neighbourhood effects can be defined as "social interactions that occur in close proximity to an individual's residence, and that affect social and economic wellbeing"
(Oreopoulos, 2008: 238). This definition opens the debate on various arguments on how people's places of residence vis-a-vis the labour market are constructed.
Many scholars have agued that there are spatial constraints in the labour market and therefore one's participation in the labour market and the society at large is influenced by one's place of residence. In 1968 John F. Kain formulated the "Spatial
Mismatch Hypothesis," in which he argued that Black workers reside in segregated zones that are dependent on low-level entry jobs. The basic argument is that with increased
28 suburbanization, lots of the jobs which inner-city low-income people, most of whom are
Blacks, qualified for moved to the suburbs, but Blacks could not afford the new homes in the suburbs and had to find ways to get to work in the suburbs where transit access was not easy, given the way the urban transit is designed in most North American cities (with minimal connections to suburbs). At the same time, many people who could afford to live in the suburbs because they had access to private cars tend to work in the inner city.
Thus, we had a mismatch, a situation where those who lived in the suburbs worked in the inner city, and those who lived in the inner city qualified for jobs in the suburbs but could not get there easily due to the lack of transit and their own private cars.
Other theorists have used Kain's general theory of spatial mismatch and expanded the idea to explain the predicament of the urban poor in the labour market. A study in the
United States, specifically in the New York Metropolitan Area, found that about half of the minority men and women in the city centres use mass transit for their daily activities to and from work, compared to 33 percent of white workers (Preston and McLafferty,
2000). The study revealed that African-American men and women commute longer distances to and from work, which could be the result of a lack of local job opportunities in some African-American neighbourhoods. This study also found that women are the least likely of any suburban gender/race group to commute by car as Preston and
McLafferty (2000:393) rightly noted, the lack of local job opportunities coupled with no access to private cars for many workers living in inner cities "greatly limit the geographical range of job opportunities and the spatial extent of job search." Access to efficient transportation has huge implications for individuals' socioeconomic life. Examining the spatial constraints and the mismatch hypothesis in
Edmonton, Mensah and Ironside (1994) found that low-income residents of central
Edmonton had significantly more severe job-related spatial constraints than their suburban counterparts. They argue that, in addition to stigmatizing neighbourhoods, large concentrations of the poor tend to increase the risk of new capital investment. In fact,
Mensah and Ironside (1994) found that the majority of their sample relied on the public transit system for their job-related journeys, reflecting the low ownership of reliable private automobiles. They therefore recommended a policy that would include some transportation element in an attempt to solve poverty and unemployment problems.
The spatial concentration of poverty and residential segregation appears to intensify along racial lines in major Canadian cities. Immigrants in Toronto and Montreal are more likely than non-immigrants to live in neighbourhoods with high rates of poverty
(Galabuzi, 2007). As we noted earlier on, many Black immigrants in Toronto live in low- income and segregated neighbourhoods such as Jane-Finch that possess neither the fashionable status of gentrified central city neighbourhoods nor the shiny newness of exurban development (Boudreau et al., 2009). Such neighbourhoods have recently become the focus of increasing concern on the part of urban policy-makers who perceive the social exclusion of such places as a potential threat to the region as a whole
(Boudreau et al. 2009).
30 Low-skilled minorities residing in inner cities experience poor labour market outcomes because they are disconnected from suburban job opportunities (Gobillon,
Selod and Zenou, 2007) and they have been found to have lower employment probabilities and different patterns of occupational and industrial affiliations than those better served by transportation networks and those less physically remote from employment concentrations (O'Regan and Quigley, 1992). The spatial mismatch is relevant for explaining Black/White employment differences, though the magnitude of these effects remains unclear (Gobillon, Selod and Zenou, 2007).
Neighbourhoods instil dysfunctional norms, values, and behaviour into youth, triggering a cycle of social pathology and poverty (Bauder, 2002). In an influential study of the Gateaux Assisted Housing Program in Chicago, Rosenbaum (1991, 1995) examines participants in a public housing voucher program that allows poor families to choose their neighbourhoods of residence. The study reveals that the children of those who moved to the suburbs are performing better in school and in the labour market than their inner-city counterparts. Rosenbaum concludes that youth in middle-class suburbs learn important social and behavioural skills, unavailable to youths in poor inner-city neighbourhoods.
Furthermore, in the United States, Bauder (2002) examines how neighbourhood context shapes individuals' sense of selves. As well as their expectations of, and access to, particular labour market positions for youth. Certain places have attributes that mitigate the challenges of poverty; others have attributes that exacerbate this
31 disadvantage and foster exclusion and social distance from native-born Canadians (Smith and Ley, 2008). Bauder argues that key institutions, such as schools and community centres, influence the neighbourhood context and shape its particular cultural identity. In addition, Bauder's (2001, 2002) works show that external factors, such as how neighbourhoods are perceived, also influence the labour market access of residents. Thus, neighbourhoods that are stigmatized with labels such as "ghetto" and "underclass" result in discrimination in the work force.
Other studies have analyzed the rationale behind ethnic segregation in most urban areas and its influence in the labour market. Essentially, living in ethnic enclaves is related to benefits and costs for the migrant population. Beneficial effects lie mainly in the provision of information about labour market opportunities and the escape from discrimination that migrants might face in the labour market outside their enclave (Bauer
2010). However, there are costs related to living in an enclave. Sticking to an ethnic enclave might separate immigrants from alternative job opportunities and reduce incentives to acquire country-specific capital like language (Borjas, 2000).
Examining the impact of living in an ethnic enclave on earnings growth of immigrants in Canada using 1981-2001 censuses, Warman (2007) found evidence of a negative impact of enclaves on the weekly earnings growth of immigrants. However, the impact depends on age at immigration, with higher exposure to one's own group being particularly harmful for immigrants who were adults when they immigrated. Her study found no negative impact of enclaves for females who immigrated as children or
32 teenagers. On the impact of enclaves on the accumulation of language skills, the findings indicate a statistically significant decrease in the knowledge of the local native language.
Arguably, her studies would have little or no impact on the second generation should their labour market outcomes be examined.
An interesting argument by Gabriel and Rosenthal (1996) posits that price adjustment could mitigate the adverse effects stemming from reduced minority access to jobs. The argument is that, because commuting is costly, households choose where to live based in part on proximity to their place of employment. For this reason, with competitive markets, house prices and wage rates should adjust to compensate workers for differential access to metropolitan area employment centres. However, their findings show that Black workers with a high school education or some college education still have a significantly longer commute than those of comparably skilled Asian and White workers. Their result supports previous claims that Black workers suffer adverse economic effects because of restrictions on housing and labour market locations.
Adults (parents) in impoverished neighbourhoods experience a social isolation that exclude them from the job network system pervading other neighbourhoods, that children in these communities interact mainly with people who belong to families headed by unemployed parents, those with social assistance, and with discouraged teachers
(Wilson 1987; Oreopoulos, 2008). The pattern of who lives where in Toronto on the basis of socio-economic characteristics has changed dramatically (Hulchanski, 2010).
Hulchanski distinguished three different neighbourhoods in Toronto based on income. The first he calls city #1, is predominantly high income area of the city of Toronto in which neighbourhood incomes have risen a great deal relative to the Toronto Census
Metropolitan Area (CMA) average since 1970. This neighbourhood is generally found in the central city and close to the city's subway lines. Cities #2 and #3 are mainly middle- income and low-income areas respectively compared to the CMA average.
Analyzing the plight of immigrants and visible minorities in accessing these three neighbourhoods identified, Hulchanski concluded that city #1 is mainly White (82%) whereas only 34% of city #3's population is white. City #1 has very few Blacks, Chinese, or South Asian people who are disproportionately found in city #3. Only 11% of city #1 compared to 47% of city #3 are Black, Chinese or South Asian. City #3 is of high interest to this study because it includes the Jane-Finch neighbourhood. Furthermore, his analysis indicates that city #3 is characterized by more blue-collar employees than city #1. The latter has a largely white-collar population, reflecting its relatively high proportion of university-educated residents.
However, these categories of neighbourhoods and who lives where contrast that of the United States neighbourhoods where the poor, and for that matter most Blacks, live in the inner city, who are disconnected from where blue-collar jobs are located as noted earlier.
Comparing the United States to Canada in terms of very low-income neighbourhoods, Oreopoulos (2008) argues that Black and Hispanic segregation is crucially intertwined with income segregation in the United States, whereas this is not the 34 case in Canada. According to Oreopoulos, the situation in Canada is that immigrants first settle in poor immigrant enclaves but later move to more affluent neighbourhoods, where their population share scarcely differs from that of the city as a whole. This assertion is not new since most immigrants are known to do that in the United States. Oreopoulos' analysis suggests that immigrants make a rational choice by moving from low-income neighbourhoods to high income neighbourhoods as their incomes change without considering other factors such as one's proximity to employment and the willingness to live with families and those in the same ethnic group. This is not always true since many consider the place of work in choosing residence.
Essentially, studies have shown that there are relatively few Black enclaves in
Canadian cities and that Blacks generally tend not to live in Black neighbourhoods because there are few of them relative to other ethnic groups like the Chinese (Hou and
Picot 2003). Though there is relatively less segregation among visible minorities such as
Blacks in Canada compared to the case of the United States, there has been an association between low-income and minority concentrations for Aboriginals, Blacks and Latin
Americans in most Canadian cities such as Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver and Winnipeg
(Bourne and Walks, 2006). Though the case of Canada differs from the United States in terms of segregation of some ethnic groups, it does not argue entirely for a spatial assimilation of all ethnic and racial groups (Bourne and Walks, 2006). Galabuzi (2007) shows that in Canadian urban centres, the spatial concentration of poverty or residential segregation is intensifying along racial lines. Immigrants in Toronto and Montreal are
35 more likely than non-immigrants to live in neighbourhoods with high rates of poverty
(Galabuzi, 2007).
2.6. Ghanaian Immigrants in Canada: History and Context
The national census and Landed Immigrants Database System (LIDS) (now called
Permanent Residents Database System) provide comprehensive information on immigration to Canada for various immigrant groups. Like most Black African immigrants in Canada, it was only after the introduction of the "points system" in the
1960s and the Immigration Act of 1976 (which incorporated the UN Convention's definition of refugee into Canadian Law) that Ghanaians began to arrive in Canada in significant numbers. Deteriorating economic and political conditions in Ghana, immigration restrictions in Europe and relatively favourable immigration policies in
Canada have been cited as the driving forces behind their immigration (Mensah, 2010).
These immigrants were mostly made up of scholarship students, professionals working in education, health, and social services, and a few political dissidents escaping persecution.
With the usual cumulative effects of immigration and natural population increase, the Ghanaian population in Canada has increased substantially in recent years. Most of the Ghanaians in Toronto are concentrated in the suburban communities of North York,
Etobicoke, Scarborough and Brampton, primarily because of their need for affordable rental accommodation and their desire to live close to other Ghanaians (Mensah, 2008;
Owusu, 1999).
36 Table 2.1 and figure 2.1 below indicate the number of immigrants from Ghana who arrived in Canada between 1973 and 2009.
Table 2.1
Year Number of Immigrants Year Number of Immigrants 1973 242 1992 2464 1974 242 1993 2185 1975 274 1994 1352 1976 220 1995 1445 1977 145 1996 1163
1978 150 1997 1246 1979 137 1998 1028 1980 165 1999 814 1981 198 2000 1004 1982 85 2001 789 1983 134 2002 716 1984 122 2003 568 1985 194 2004 836 1986 233 2005 1082 1987 956 2006 810 1988 838 2007 735 1989 427 2008 770
1990 444 2009 675 1991 1120
37 Ghanaian Immigrants, Arrivals
Figure 2.1.
2.7. The Decline of Ghanaian Immigrants to Canada
Immigration of Ghanaians to Canada is relatively a recent phenomenon. It is estimated that between 1973 and 1976 about 220 Ghanaians entered Canada annually.
This decline of Ghanaian immigrants in early 1980s according to Donkor (2000) was due to the policies of the Conservative Party. Others scholars such as Gariba (2009) have attributed the decline of the number of Ghanaian immigrants to the coup d'etat in Ghana in 1979 by Flight Lt. Jerry John Rawlings which temporarily closed the borders of the country and later required departing citizens to obtain an "exit permit". Again, the decline
38 of Ghanaian immigrants after 1993 according to Firang (2011) is due to the restrictions introduced in Canada through Bill C-86 in January 1993. Bill C-86 tightened the requirements for medical examination of immigrants; increased immigration landing fees; introduced the fingerprinting of refugees and asylum-seekers; and empowered immigration officers to refuse a refugee claim if the applicant had traveled to Canada through a safe country (Firang, 2011).
2.8. Spatial Distribution of Ghanaians in Canada
Table 2.2 provides data on the geographical distribution of Ghanaians across the
Canadian provinces/Territories and some selected or major metropolitan areas. Ghanaians are much concentrated in Ontario with a population of 17,470 out of the total population of 23,230 Ghanaians in Canada. Other provinces where sizeable numbers of Ghanaians are found include Quebec, British Columbia and Alberta. The rest have relatively less concentration of Ghanaians with no Ghanaian registered in the Northwest Territories.
39 Table 2.2 Persons of Ghanaian Ethnic Origin by Provinces and Territories, 2006
Ghanaian Percentage of Percentage of Total Province/Territory Population Ghanaians Population, Ghanaian Newfoundland/Labrador 55 0.24 0.01
PEI 10 0.04 0.01 Nova Scotia 115 0.5 0.01 Quebec 2,445 10.57 0.03 Ontario 17,470 75.2 0.15 Manitoba 205 0.88 0.02 Saskatchewan 165 0.71 0.02 Alberta 1,295 5.57 0.04 British Columbia 1,345 5.79 0.03 Yukon Territory 10 0.04 0.03 Northwest Territories 0 0 0 Nunavut 10 0.04 0.03 New Brunswick 95 0.41 0.01 Canada 23,230 100 0.07 Source: Landing Immigrant Data System (LIDS), Cumulative Profile, 2006 Table 2.3. Persons of Ghanaian Ethnic Origin by Selected/Major Census Metropolitan
Area (CMA)
CMA's Count Percent (%) Calgary, Alberta 625 2.29 Edmonton, Alberta 570 2.45 Halifax, NS 90 0.39 Hamilton, ON 530 2.28 Kingston, ON 20 0.09 Kitchener, ON 175 0.75 London, ON 160 0.69 Montreal, QUE 2,350 10.12 Ottawa-Gat ineau, ON- 1000 4.3 QUE
Quebec, QUE 15 0.06 Regina, SK 50 0.22 Saskatoon, SK 100 0.43 St. John, NB 10 0.04 St. John's, Nfld 25 0.11 Toronto, ON 14,720 63.37 Vancouver, BC 1095 4.71 Victoria, BC 115 0.5 Windsor, ON 320 1.38 Winnipeg, MAN 200 0.86 The Rest of Canada 1025 1.87 Total 23,230 100 Source: LIDS, Cumulative Profile, 2006; Firang, 2011
As Table 2.3 shows, Toronto alone accounts for about 63% of total Ghanaians in Canada,
making Toronto a good place for the current study.
41 2.9. Spatial Distribution of Ghanaians in Toronto
As shown by Figure 2.2, the highest concentrations of Ghanaians in the Greater
Toronto Area are found in North York and Brampton.
IQ mi.
PEEL
GITY OF
TORONTO
SMSS Gen:® 42 The area includes the North York area of Jane-Finch and northwest Etobicoke neighbourhoods of Jamestown and Rex dale. There is also a substantial number of Ghanaians in central Brampton (Owusu, 1999). 2.10. Summary The chapter reviewed literature on labour market outcomes of immigrants and their children, and shed some light on the background of Ghanaian immigrants in Toronto, in particular, and Canada at large. The evidence in the literature points to the existence of discrimination in the labour market. It indicates that visible minority immigrants and their children have poorer labour market outcomes than non-visible immigrants and Canadian-born workers. The literature also reveals also that, though second generation has higher levels of education relative to their Canadian-born counterparts, they are underemployed in the labour market. The point of departure from existing work is the study's focus on characteristics of individuals and how these characteristics interact to influence their involvement in the labour market to foster integration in Canada. It also deals with strategies the second generation youth adopt to cope with discrimination in the labour market. 43 CHAPTER THREE: THEORETICAL AND CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK The focus of this chapter is to discuss the conceptual framework that would be used to answer the research questions at hand. The thesis examines the experiences and perceptions of the second generation Ghanaian-Canadians in Toronto regarding their access to the labour market, and the challenges they face therein. Research on the circumstances of the second generation in the Canadian labour market is quite recent, and there are no established conceptual frameworks in this area of research. In general, there are several theories that have been used to explain the integration of immigrants and their children into host societies. In what follows, I provide an overview of some of the theories that have been used to examine the experiences of immigrants and their children in the labour market. Following this is a discussion of the conceptual framework for the thesis, drawing upon the interrelationship between race, gender, socioeconomic status and place of residence in the explanation of second generation labour market performance. 3.1. Theories in Labour Market Analysis Several theoretical standpoints have been adopted by researchers in the explanation of labour market integration and assimilation of individuals in societies. Sometimes these theories overlap or challenge each other, but on the whole illuminate disparities that exist in the labour market. In this section, four theoretical perspectives 44 will be reviewed. These include labour market segmentation theories, vertical mosaic thesis, human capital theory and social capital theory. 3.1.1. Labour Market Segmentation Theory The theory posits that there exist distinct segments in the labour market with disparities in wages and job structure. Essentially, it assumes a capitalist economy composes of two separate labour markets: the primary and the secondary (Mensah, 2002). According to the theory, the primary labour market is made up of jobs with specialized skills, higher pay, better promotions, greater unionization, generous pensions, and other fringe benefits (Mensah, 2002). The other segment is made up of mostly Blacks and other visible minorities and disadvantaged groups. It is characterized by low-paying, dead-end jobs with little or no career development prospect (Mensah, 2002). Gordon et al. (1982), earlier expressed serious concerns about the fact that many segmentation theorists do not attempt to explain why Blacks and other disadvantaged groups end up in the secondary labour market. Thus, they argue that in the absence of such explanations, we are left with the erroneous impression that, perhaps, members of these groups are deficient and, therefore, suited only to the peripheral economies. Segmentation is likely to limit the opportunities available to disadvantaged groups such as visible minorities. 45 3.1.2. The Vertical Mosaic Thesis Over the years, scholars have documented information about the effects of race, ethnicity and recency of immigration on the socio-economic status of immigrants (Jain and Lawler, 2004; Oreopoulos, 2009). One of the earliest theories that gained currency was the Vertical Mosaic thesis proposed by John Porter in 1965. The thesis is based on inequality in the distribution of scarce resources that eventually resulted in differential occupational status of immigrants and the contemporary founders of Canada (the British and French). Porter argues that ethnic and racial affiliations were critical determinants of occupational roles and, consequently, class formation in Canada. His argument brought about a distinction between "charter status" and "entrance status" in his analysis of ethnic stratification in Canada. According to Porter, charter status refers to the many privileges and prerogatives enjoyed by the British and French who constitute the founding groups of modern Canada (Porter, 1965). Here, the two groups lay down the ground rules for the admission of other ethnic groups into Canada. Porter uses the term "entrance status" to refer to the class position at which other immigrant groups join the Canadian society. His analysis reveals that the British and French, with their charter status, determine which ethnic groups to admit into Canada and what types of jobs or entrance statuses are to be given to the new ethnic groups (Porter, 1965:62). The concept of entrance status therefore implies lower occupational status even though, as Porter points 46 out, some ethnic groups might be available to improve their entrance status in time (Mensah, 2002). While Porter's work influenced and generated interest and debates on race, ethnicity, and immigration in analysis of the labour market, there is a lack of consensus in the literature on his conclusion, particularly the relevance of his thesis that "immigration and ethnic affiliation have been important factors in the formation of social classes in Canada" to the present day (Darroch, 1979). 3.2.3. Human Capital Many scholars, particularly economists (Becker, 1964; Olaniyan and Okemakinde, 2008), have linked individuals' performances in the labour market to their levels of education and training received. According to them, differences in educational attainment and experience are the root cause of income and job segregation in the labour market. This claim is central to human capital theory explanations of labour market dynamics. Human capital theory has been proposed by Schultz (1961) and enhanced by Becker (1964). According to the human capital theory, better educated job seekers are more likely to get well-paying and higher-status jobs and are less likely to be unemployed than their less educated counterparts. The theory is often used to explain occupational wage differential and suggests that an individual's decision to invest in training is based upon an examination of the present value of the cost and benefits of such an investment (Blaug, 1976). 47 According to Becker (1964), human capital theory posits that investment in human capital (i.e. education, training, and skills) will lead to higher productivity and hence higher wages and higher employment rates. The human capital approach to labour is based on the assumption of perfect competition-the supposition that there is a single, open market for labour in which employers and job seekers have perfect knowledge of job openings, employment conditions, and wages; that employers always make rational hiring decisions based on merit; and that all job seekers with the necessary qualifications have an equal chance of being hired (Mensah, 2002). The human capital theory, though a useful tool for labour market analysis of occupational wage differentials has received a number of criticisms. The assumption that education improves productivity and thus could explain higher wages has been criticized. Again, the idea that the duration of education and training increase productivity is not always true. According to Blaug (1976), many other factors influence productivity. Also, the fact that disparities exist in wages in different industries undermines the human capital theory. The overemphasis in the human capital theory on education, training and skills leads to the neglect and minimization of equally important factors such as class, race, ethnicity, gender and neighbourhoods and their roles in the labour market performance. As England (1982) argues, human capital theory cannot explain the bulk of occupational sex segregation in the labour market. In many ways the theory has been responsible for the limited amount of research in youth labour market outcomes because it focuses on the 48 relationships between labour market outcomes and the educational level of youth (Gariba, 2009). Factors other than education and skills have been shown to be important in the determination of individual's labour market outcomes. For instance, Bauder (2002) and Smith and Ley (2008) have examined how neighbourhood context shapes individuals' sense of selves, as well as their expectations of, and access to, particular labour market positions for youth. Certain places have attributes that mitigate the challenges of poverty; others have attributes that exacerbate this disadvantage and foster exclusion and social distance from native-born Canadians (Smith and Ley, 2008). According to Olaniyan and Okemakinde (2008), despites its weakness in the explanation of inequalities in the labour market, human capital theory provides a basic justification for large public expenditure on education both in developing and developed nations. The dominance of the human capital theory in labour market analysis has led to materialization of other capital oriented approaches in the labour market analysis such as the social capital theory and the cultural capital. These theories have also gain currency in labour market analysis. 3.2.4. Social Capital Social capital, another aspect of capital theory can be seen as a stock of networks and connections surrounding a person, rooted in ethnic communities or one's neighbourhood, and constituting a valuable resource available to the individual for his or her survival. Here, I see this resource based on contacts and connections as equally important as human capital in the labour market outcomes of individuals. 49 According to Portes (1998), the term social capital is not new to scholars. The claim that involvement and participation in groups have positive consequences for the individual and the community at large is a common notion dating back to Durkheim's emphasis on group life as an antidote to anomie and self destruction, and to Marx's distinction between an atomized class-in-itself and a mobilized and effective class-for- itself. As stated in Nahapiet (1998:243), "the term 'social capital' initially appeared in community studies, highlighting the central importance for the survival and functioning of city neighbourhoods of the networks of strong, crosscutting personal relationships developed over time that provide the basis for trust, cooperation, and collective action in such communities." Coleman (1988) defines social capital as "the process by which established human relations such as those rooted in ethnic communities-act as resources for economic cooperation." Social capital can therefore be defined as the sum of the actual and potential resources embedded within, available through, and derived from the network of relationships possessed by an individual or social unit (Nahapiet, 1998). These definitions of social capital help us to understand that individuals who have good social networks and connections from families, friends and communities have better opportunity in accessing jobs relative to those who have poor social capital. As noted in Holzer (1988), young adults rely on family and friends in their job search, and not everyone has the types of social network that provide useful employment contacts (Wilson 1987). The theory can inform our understanding of the roles that family background and neighbourhood play in labour market outcomes. 50 3.2. Intersectionality and the Labour Market. The study adopts the intersectional theory as its main theoretical framework. Intersectional theory was largely "a response to the reductive tendencies of the theories that informed key progressive social movements; the idea that there is only one fundamental axis of social organization and source of oppression is chided by intersectional theory" (Li, 1999: 54). It was an earlier group of feminist researchers, such as bell hooks (1981), who first started to explore the multi-dimensional nature of oppression (Mullaly, 2010). Intersectionality, a term coined by African American Policy Forum Co-founder Kimberle' Crenshaw, has been presented as a field from which to view a range of social problems to better ensure inclusiveness of remedies, and to identify opportunities for greater collaboration between and across social movement (African American Policy Forum, 2008). This concept has been defined as "intersectional oppression that arises out of the combination of various oppressions which together, produce something unique and distinct from any one form of discrimination standing alone" (Ontario Human Right Commission, 2001). The intersectional approach takes into account the historical, social, and political context and recognizes the unique experiences of the individual based on the intersection of all relevant grounds (Ontario Human Right Commission, 2010) and the ways that various forms of discrimination occur simultaneously (Samuel et al., 2002). According to Samuel et al (2002), intersectionality is about personal identity, social group membership, and how people experience or react to the "isms", based on their 51 personal identities and social group membership. At the broader level, intersectionality speaks to the way in which the "isms" interconnect or overlap to act as systems of oppressions that support the domination of one group over another (Samuel et al., 2002). Other theorists, including Mullaly (2010), Marsiglia and Kulis (2009), and Baines (2001), have used the concept of intersectionality to explain the multiplicity of oppression in societies. Mullaly (2010) has used an intersectional approach to show how class, race, gender and age intersect and overlap to influence individuals and groups oppression and argues that the intersectional model does not argue for hierarchies of oppression. However, it does not mean that all oppressions are considered of equal severity or that they affect all oppressed persons in the same way. The best we might hope for is to understand that the different forms, sources, and relations of oppression are continuous, contentious, dynamic, and mutually reinforcing social processes (Baines, 2001). Similarly, Marsiglia and Kulis (2009) understand the concept of intersectionality as the belief that humans form identities that are culturally multidimensional and beautifully complex. They define intersectionality to be multidimensionality and complexity of the cultural experience and describe the place where multiple identities come together or intersect (2009, 42). Intersectionality seemed ideally suited to the task of exploring the difficulties faced by the Ghanaian second generation immigrants in the Toronto labour market as we saw in the literature in the previous chapter. It describes how social axes such as race, gender and place of residence that affect the job market involvement of the second 52 generation are intertwined and mutually constitutive, giving centrality to questions like how race is 'gendered' and how gender is 'racialized', and how both are linked to the continuities and transformations of social class (Davis, 2008). One advantage of adopting the intersectional approach is that it promises an almost universal applicability, useful for understanding and analyzing any social practice, any individual or group experience, any structural arrangement and any cultural configuration. The intersectional model helps us to understand the multiple identities of the second generation Ghanaian-Canadians, and how these identities intersect and overlap to influence their labour market outcomes. It also helps us to understand their unique experiences and perceptions in the labour market relative to other ethnic groups. As a concept, intersectionality is without a doubt, ambiguous and open-ended. For instance, feminist theorists have engaged in countless debates concerning how the concept should be defined; its appropriate parameters, and how it should be used. As Pheonix (2006) concludes, no concept is perfect and none can ever accomplish the understanding and explanation of all that needs to be understood and explained within a field. It has again been argued that the lack of clear-cut definition or even the specific parameters of an intersectional model have enabled it to be drawn upon in nearly any context of inquiry. Because of its universality, scholars from different disciplines seem to be convinced that intersectionality is exactly what is needed (Davis, 2008). Figure 3.1. is a pictorial representation of the intersectional approach. It shows a complex interrelationship and cross-cutting interaction of social status, race, gender and economic 53 status within a space. For a broad understanding of the framework (Figure 3.1), we need to keep in mind that the elements are non-hierarchical and therefore the order can change depending on the point of entry into the model. Each of the elements interact with other elements to influences one's labour market outcome. This situation was lacking in the literature since the literature concentrated on how elements such as race,7 Orender and space individually influence a person or a group's labour market chances. Also, researchers can isolate the various elements in the system to find out their relative importance for the second generation in the labour market. 54 THE INTERSECTIONAL APPROACH Social Status Race Gender Economic Figure 3.1. Source: Mullaly, 2010 55 3.4. Summary The chapter reviewed theoretical and conceptual tools used in the study of labour market performances of immigrants and their children. In particular, it examines the role of race, socioeconomic status, gender, and place of residence in determining the labour market access of youth. The theories provide explanations to disparities that exist in the labour market. The intersectional approach, a conceptual framework for this thesis does not give explanation to discriminations faced by the youth, rather it gives the direction on how multiple identities come to play to influence individual's involvement in the labour market. 56 CHAPTER FOUR: METHODOLOGY The previous chapter reviewed the literature on theoretical and conceptual framework for the thesis. The purpose of this chapter is to examine the methods and methodology used to procure empirical data for the work. As we shall soon see, the study relied on qualitative methodology, entailing the use of in-depth interviews and focus group discussions. The participants of the interviews were made up of second generation youths and 1.5 generation youth aged between 19 and 30 years old from Jane-Finch and Brampton. The youth who participated in the focus group discussions were made up of ten second generation and two of 1.5 generation. These groups had varied backgrounds and characteristics. This diversity provided a rich source of data for the research. The chapter is divided into two. The first section looks at the philosophical approach guiding the research while the second focuses on the research methods and design for data collection and analyses. 4.1.1. Qualitative Method Social scientists use qualitative, quantitative or mixed methods for their research, depending on the research problem and skills of the researcher. The strength of qualitative research is its ability to provide complex descriptions of how people experience a given research issue (Pope and Mays, 2000). It is effective in identifying indefinable factors, such as social norms, socioeconomic status, gender roles, ethnicity, 57 and religion, whose role in the research may not be readily apparent (Pope and Mays, 2000). The methodological approaches based on qualitative methods face a number of criticisms. As noted by Mensah (2010: 47), "positivists or quantitative researchers reject qualitative data, especially those emanating from narratives and story telling, as merely subjective, unscientific, or at the very least, lacking scientific rigour as they are often based on small, unrandomized samples" (Mensah, 2010: 47). Qualitative researchers on their part criticize the positivists as being too mechanical and conducting research with little attention to human subjects, while indulging in a false sense of objectivity (Guba and Lincoln, 2000; Mensah, 2010). Despite the shortfalls of qualitative approach, many consider it an appropriate approach for undertaking research that involves human element because it elicits information on feelings, opinions and views of participants. This research therefore adopts the qualitative method to document, analyze and discuss the research questions of the study. Essentially, it has been argued that a qualitative approach gives researchers the opportunity to focus on factors and processes that are often overlooked by quantitative research such as perceptions of race, class, ethnicity, gender roles and sexuality and their linkages. Adopting qualitative approach to this research, the study uses in-depth interviews and focus group discussions to collect information on individuals' experiences and perceptions based on their race, gender, socio-economic status and place of residence 58 (neighbourhood). The use of two qualitative approaches allows the data and results to be validated to strengthen its reliability. Also, the social constructionist perspective informs the use of qualitative approach in this study. Social Constructionism is an idea and approach to qualitative research, also known as interpretivism, associated with the work of Berger and Luekmann (1967 cited in Creswell 2009). Contemporary constmctivists are Lincoln and Guba (2000), Schwandt (2007), Newman (2000), and Crotty (1998) among others. Constmctivists hold the assumption that individuals seek understanding of the world in which they live and work. Thus, they develop subjective meanings of their experiences directed toward certain objects or things (Creswell, 2009). Here, the meanings are varied and multiple, and enable the researcher to narrow meanings into a few categories or ideas (Creswell, 2009). For instance, in the case of the second generation Ghanaian-Canadians in the labour market, the goal is to look for multiple ideas about their labour market performances and challenges by delving into their experiences and perceptions in the labour market through which multiple and varied views are looked at. Constructionist researchers often address the processes of interaction among individuals, and focus on the specific contexts in which people live and work. Thus, the second generation's neighbourhood contexts are examined to ascertain their influence in their labour market outcomes. The goal of the research is to rely as much as possible on the participants' views of the situation being studied. Essentially, the views of the second generation are diverse, based on socio-economic status, race, gender and neighbourhood 59 effects, through which they construct their own meaning about perceptions and experiences in the labour market. 4.2. Qualitative Research Design 4.2.1. In-depth Interviews In-depth interviewing is a qualitative research technique that involves conducting intensive individual interviews with a small number of respondents to explore their perspectives on a particular idea, program, or situation (Boyce and Neale, 2006). For example, to explore issues such as perceptions and experiences of individuals in the labour market, participants' ideas need to be solicited individually in order to understand their peculiar situations in the labour market. In-depth interviews are commonly used by researchers to elicit information in order to achieve a holistic understanding of the interviewee's point of view, or to explore interesting issues for further discussions. According to Boyce et al. (2006), in-depth interviews should be used in place of focus groups if the potential participants may not be included or comfortable talking openly in a group, or when you want to distinguish individual (as opposed to group) opinions about a program or situation. Despite their usefulness in data collection, in-depth interviews have been criticized on the grounds that the participants may feel like 'a bug under a microscope' and are less willing to open up than in the relaxed atmosphere of a group. Also, interviews can be a time-intensive evaluation activity because of the time it takes to conduct interviews, transcribe them, and analyze the results. 60 For the current study, 27 in-depth interviews were conducted. Fifteen were among people from Jane-Finch neighbourhood, while the remaining were respondents in Brampton. Out of the 27 participants interviewed, 20 were second generation Ghanaian- Canadians and 7 were 1.5 generation. The "1.5 generation" refers to those who were age 12 or below when they immigrated to Canada. The age 12 was chosen because they completed their basic education in Canada and might share similar worldviews with the second generation. The individuals interviewed have varied backgrounds in terms of education etc. The participants were between ages 19 and 25 and live in the Toronto Census Metropolitan Area, specifically Jane-Finch neighbourhood and Brampton. 4.2.2. Recruitment of Participants Prior to the interview, I made contacts with people during Ghanaian social gatherings including churches services, funeral rites, naming ceremonies, and community barbecues among others. This approach helped me to make good contacts, not only the second generations, but also other Ghanaians and non-Ghanaians. Through these contacts, I was able to get to know some of the second generations through a snowball approach. In addition, I consulted the youth leaders in some of the churches with whom I discussed my research extensively and they showed me where and how to recruit participants for the in-depth interviews. These consultations and contacts were intended to prepare the groundwork for recruiting and setting up the participants for the in-depth interviews. 61 As it proved difficult to find people who were willing to participate in the interview, I decided to include some of the 1.5 generations. In all twenty-seven participants were recruited. Nine were recruited through a snowball technique. Five participants were from my own personal contacts. The rest were recruited through the churches, particularly through the youth leaderships. Out of the twenty-seven participants interviewed, eighteen were interviewed face-to-face and the remaining nine were interviewed via telephone. Prior to conducting interviews, I constructed an interview guide that included specific questions, topics of interest, or some combination of these that helped focus the interview without locking the interviewer into a fixed set of questions in a rigid order and with specific wording. The in-depth interviews primarily focused on the labour market perceptions and experiences of participants. Having had the interview guide prior to the interview, participants were engaged in a comfortable conversation for about thirty to forty-five minutes in places such as church premises, individual homes, food courts, soccer fields, among others. 4.2.3. In-depth Interview Participants Of the twenty-seven participants interviewed, thirteen of them were males while fourteen were females with average age of twenty-two years. In addition, five older first generation parents were also interviewed to find out their opinions about the labour market in Toronto. To protect their identities, I have assigned them pseudonyms in the presentation that follows. 62 Participants from the Jane-Finch neighbourhood comprised seven males and eight females. While Brampton participants had six males and six females. In terms of educational background, participants from both neighbourhoods comprised of university students, college graduates, high school graduates and those who dropped out of school. All the participants were Canadian citizens. 63 Table 4.1 Background Characteristics of Jane-Finch Participants Participant's Gender Age Immigration Educational Occupation Pseudonym History Background of Participnats Maxwell Male 22 Bom in Canada College Graduate Unemployed Rita Female 21 Born in Canada College Graduate Integration Centre Nana Female 24 Born in Canada Undergraduate In a bakery Degree Benson Male 24 1.5 High School Grad Unemployed Odame Male 19 1.5 High School Grad Unemployed Stephen Male 22 Born in Canada College-Student Unemployed Job Male 22 Born in Canada Undergraduate Part-time Tutor Dina Female 24 1.5 Undergraduate Part-time in a restaurant Florence Female 23 Born in Canada High School Part- time/bookstore Kofi Male 23 Born in Canada College Student Part-time in a retail shop Mike Male 22 1.5 College Student Part-time at American Tea and Coffee Cynthia Female 25 1.5 Undergraduate Public Sector Degree Kimisha Female 20 Born in Canada High Sch Drop- Unemployed Out Zakisha Female 19 Born in Canada High School Grad Unemployed Alyssa Female 21 Born in Canada High School Grad Unemployed Table 4.2 Background Characteristics of Brampton Participants Participant's Gender Age Immigration Educational Occupation of Pseudonym History Background Participants David Male 22 1.5 Undergrad S Distribution Company Becky Female 22 Born in Canada Undergrad Student Unemployed Christiana Female 19 Born in Canada High Sch Grad Warehouse Benedicta Females 18 Born in Canada High Sch Grad Unemployed John Male 25 1.5 Undergrad Degree A Nurse Mavis Female 21 Born in Canada High Sch Drop-Out Unemployed Kennedy Male 21 Born in Canada High Sch Grad Part-time in a shopping mall Bernard Male 22 Born in Canada Undergrad Student Unemployed George Male 23 Born in Canada High Sch Grad Security Guard Pomaa Female 21 Born in Canada College Student Unemployed Maria Female 19 Born in Canada High Sch Grad Unemployed Kumi Male 19 Born in Canada Undergrad Part-time in a Student retail shop 4.3.1. Focus Groups Focus group research entails organized discussion with a selected group of individuals to gain information about their views and experiences of an issue. Focus group discussion has the ability to draw upon respondents' attitudes, beliefs, experiences and opinions in a way that would not be feasible with other methods (Gibbs, 1997). Interaction is a crucial feature of focus groups, because the interaction between participants highlights their views of the world, their values and beliefs about a situation (Kitzinger, 1994). Interaction also enables participants to ask questions of each other, as well as to re-evaluate and reconsider their own understanding of their specific experiences. The focus groups were used to generate information to complement findings of the in-depth interviews. Focus groups can be used at the preliminary or exploratory stages of a study (Krueger, 1988), during a study, perhaps to evaluate or develop a particular programme of activities (Race et al., 1994). Focus groups are particularly useful when the everyday use of language and culture of particular groups is of interest, and when one wants to explore the degree of consensus on a given topic (Morgan and Krueger, 1993). Focus group discussions with all their usefulness are fraught with a number of limitations as with all research methods. For example, according to Morgan (1988), the researcher has less control over the data produced than in either quantitative studies or one-to-one interviews. The researcher has to allow participants to talk to each other, ask questions and express doubts and opinions, while having very little control over the 66 interaction other than generally keeping participants focused on the topic. Additionally, focus group discussion can be difficult to assemble. It may not be easy to get a representative sample and focus group discussion may discourage certain people from participating, for example, those who are not very articulate or confident, and those who have communication problems or special needs. The method can also discourage some people from trusting others with sensitive or personal information. Participants selected for the focus groups were from Jane-Finch and Brampton neighbourhoods. With a guide based on objectives of the research, participants for each group session engaged in open discussion for about one and a half hours on their perceptions and experiences in the labour market, highlighting the barriers they face in the labour market and their job search strategies. Participants selected for the focus group were from Jane-Finch and Brampton neighbourhoods. A focus group relies on a transparent and trusting environment that does not attempt to influence participants' opinion (Kreuger, 1998). The researcher must be honest by informing participants about the issues to be discussed and the expectations of the discussion. According to Krueger and Casey (2000), a focus group is a carefully planned series of discussions organized in a non-threatening environment that seeks perceptions of participants on issues. Here, participants were asked to choose where the focus group discussion should be done without the researcher imposing the venue on them. Two different focus group discussions were conducted: The first took place in September 2011 at Seventh Day Adventist Church at 4545 Jane Street, while the second 67 took place in Brampton at 31 Edenvalley Road in October 2011, two weeks after the first one. The first group consisted of five second generation and two 1.5 generations with varied background. The second group consisted of three-second generation Ghanaian- Canadians and two of 1.5 generation of varied background. The focus group participants for the two groups were between the ages 19 and 25 who live in the Toronto Census Metropolitan Area, specifically Jane-Finch and Brampton neighbourhoods. 4.3.2. Focus Group Design and Recruitment In the summer 2011, I attended several Ghanaian churches, such as Seventh Day Adventist Church, the Ghana Presbyterian Church, the Ghana Methodist Church and Church of Christ in Toronto, to familiarize myself with the Ghanaian community here and to meet with the youths in the various churches. Initially, I intended using the ethnic associations, but upon consultation with some of the leaders, I got to know that most of the youth, especially, the second generation, do not attend the meetings that these groups hold monthly. To recruit participants for the focus groups, I consulted the youth leaders in the various churches and discussed my research extensively. They helped me with information on where and how to recruit participants. It is important to note that participants who took part in the focus group discussions were not entirely different people from those in the in-depth interview. Each focus group discussion lasted one hour and a half, and discussions were audio taped, and hand-written notes were also taken. In both focus groups, there was a cordial atmosphere with mutual respects among the 68 participants and the facilitator. The discussions primarily focused on the labour market perceptions and experiences of participants, specifically on social ties, transportation, neighbourhood effects, education, discrimination and gender among others. Both focus group discussions were conducted in English. Table 4.3 Background Characteristics of Jane-Finch Group Discussants Participant's Age Gender Immigration Educational Occupation of Pseudonym History Background Participants Cynthia 26 Female 1.5 Bachelors Public sector Degree in Ottawa (New) Mike 22 Male 1.5 College Part-time in a Student Shopping Mall Adom 21 Male Born in Undergrad Unemployed Canada Student Sammy 22 Male Born in High A driver in a Canada School Grad Construction Kimisha 20 Female Born in A high Unemployed Canada school dropped Doris 19 Female Bom in High school Warehouse Canada Rita 21 Female Born in College Receptionist Canada Graduate 69 Table 4.4 Background Characteristics of Brampton Focus Group Discussants Participant's Age Immigration Educational Occupation of Pseudonym Gender History Background Participants David 22 1.5 Undergrad Distribution Male Student Company (Part-time) Christiana 19 Born in High School Warehouse Female Canada Grad Matilda 21 1.5 High School Unemployed Female dropped Bernard 22 Born in University Unemployed Male Canada Student looking for Part-time work George 23 Born in High School Security Guard Female Canada Grad 4.4.1. Positionality A researcher's social position constitutes a vital part of the research process, which not only influences the research design, but also plays a key role in the way the data is interpreted. Feminist geographers have called for methodological approaches that are collaborative, non-exploitative and seek to challenge the unequal power relations between the researcher and the participants (Limb and Dwyer, 2001). Eyles and Smith (1988:2) stress that there is a shared experience between the observers and the observed and that an investigation of people and their experiences in the world "requires methods that allow the acquisition of 'insider knowledge' through interaction, observation, participation in activities and informal interviewing." Following the aforementioned geographers, I acknowledge that my positionality as both "insider and outsider", directly affects my research. "Working within my own 70 ethnic and cultural community, I gained legitimacy, access and an insider's view of cultural practices" as Kobayashi (1994: 376) once noted. Being a Ghanaian, I realized that was to my advantage in many ways. The participants were open in narrating their experiences regarding the labour market, which 1 believe would have been different if I were a non-Ghanaian. Although I am not considered as one of them (i.e. as a first generation), once I introduced myself, several participants who did not know me were willing to participate and felt more comfortable in sharing their experiences with me because of my identity as Ghanaian. My status as a university student also promoted trust. Since most of the participants were educated, they were happy to share their experiences. Several participants also expressed that they felt comfortable that I was a Ghanaian, and I believe that increased their trust in me with their personal information. Essentially, my 'insider' status as a Ghanaian helped me to understand the experiences and perceptions of the second generation. On the other hand, my status as a Ghanaian also made some of the participants hide some vital information regarding their socio-economic status from me. For instance, when it came to their parent's socio-economic status, most of the participants were not comfortable telling the true educational and occupational background of the parents. Furthermore, being a graduate student, a researcher and non-member of their church also makes me an 'outsider' (Gilbert, 1994: 92). As an academic researcher, I have the "power to speak for others through the medium of academic research" (Hoggart et al., 2002: 225). Being aware of these power relations, I tried to minimize the power and be flexible throughout the interviews. In particular, I let them direct the discussion, I avoided the use 71 of technical terms and sought their input on format of discussion and on new areas to explore. Although being an 'insider' brings certain disadvantages, the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages. 4.4.2. Data Validation Procedure Two main data collection methods were used in this study. These are in-depth interviews and focus group discussions. Both took place between August 2011 and October 2011. Two months later, that is in December, 2011, 1 conducted follow-up interviews with eight participants, specifically those who were looking for jobs and those who were looking forward to further their education. Also, I interviewed five older first generations who are parents. This was to find out from the parents about their feelings on the performances of their children in the labour market. These interviews were conducted in a Ghanaian language (Twi). For these interviews, I tried to build on some of the issues for which I needed further clarification in order to understand and cross-examine the various themes that my research is built upon. This is very important as it helps to "map out or explain more fully, the richness and complexity of human behaviour by studying it from more than one standpoint" (Cohen and Manion, 2000). However, unlike the first interviews, these were not recorded and with the exception of the parents, all were conducted via phone. These second interviews lasted for about thirty minutes each. Essentially, these second interviews offered me the opportunity to reflect on some of the issues that emerged during the first in-depth 72 interviews and focus group discussions. These in effect serve as means of triangulation to firm up loose ends and to validate the final data. During these interviews, it came up that two of the participants who earlier on (during the first interviews) had indicated that they were unemployed and that they were looking for jobs had now found jobs. It is worth noting that, looking at the second generation in terms of how they participate in the labour market, one might conclude that this group is in the transitory stage. They are not yet fully integrated in the labour market, and therefore their occupational status in the labour market is very likely to change in the future. This situation is very likely to change their experiences, hence, a change in their perceptions about the labour market. 73 CHAPTER FIVE: DATA ANALYSIS This chapter analyzes the data from the in-depth interviews and focus group discussions, and highlights the views of the second generation and 1.5 generation about their labour market involvement in Toronto. In addition, the chapter discusses how gender, race, neighbourhood of residence, social ties, and parent's socio-economic status influence the second generation's labour market access. The emphasis in this discussion is on the perceptions and experiences of labour market discrimination based on race/ethnicity, gender, socio-economic status and neighbourhoods of residence. The chapter is divided into seven sections. The first discusses the second generation's barriers to labour market access. Section two presents the analysis on discrimination based on gender and race while the third section discusses the influence of social ties and parental socio-economic status on respondents' labour market involvement. The next two sections deal with spatial and neighbourhood effects, and differences and similarities of participants' experiences and perceptions respectively. The penultimate section examines intersectionality. The final section gives a summary of the chapter. 5.1. Experiences and Perceptions of Labour Market Barriers in Toronto Many of the participants in both neighbourhoods studied claim that the lack of jobs among Black youth is a serious issue. It is important to note that participants from the two neighbourhoods brought out interesting experiences and perceptions about the 74 barriers they face in the labour market. Even though participants had varied labour market experiences and perceptions in terms of job interviews, promotion, and treatment at the workplace among others, they expressed fairly similar views about the Toronto labour market. Many of them were concerned about the struggles they have to go through to find jobs and the humiliation they suffer at workplaces. When participants were asked to clarify their claim, many indicated that they couldn't recall the number of times that they have been turned down by employers. They noted that it is difficult to find even a low status job that requires a high school or a college degree. It is worth noting that participants' lived experiences in the labour market shape their widely held view that unemployment is a serious issue among Ghanaian communities in Toronto. Mike, a youth from the Jane and Finch Neighbourhood who works part-time in a shopping mall had this to say: It is about two years now since I had my College diploma and I have been looking for job all along. I've applied to many jobs, but not even one of them has called me for an interview. It was just a couple of months ago that I got this part-time work in the mall. I need a full time job as a man in order to meet my expenses but it has been difficult getting job. I don't know what they want from me to give me the job. A similar frustration was expressed by Kimisha, a female youth in these words: 75 I know I don't have the qualification that they want, so I don't apply to high class jobs, but even the "small" job I need to keep me going I can't get it. I think I can work in shopping mall or a warehouse and 1 have applied to work in these places but 1 still don't get it. I have made many applications through the placement agencies but I still don't get any interviews. I don't know where else to search. Adom, who is an undergraduate student from Jane and Finch and was looking for a job in the summer had this to say: I tried my best looking for some jobs in the summer, but / didn't get any job. I wasted all the four months staying home watching movies and playing games. I move from one agency to the other yet no company was prepared to hire me. I am not surprised, because many of friends who are not students cannot find jobs, and they just move about wasting their time. Similar statements were made by other participants from Brampton. Generally their statements boil down to the fact that it is really difficult to get jobs regardless of their educational level. As Bernard, an undergraduate student from Brampton succinctly put it: I applied to many jobs in Brampton during the summer, had many interviews but was not hired. I know I did well by answering all the questions they asked correctly. The questions were too simple for even a high school student to answer. I had my "resume" reviewed by a Professor in a University. I asked some of my colleagues (non-Blacks) who got some of the same jobs that I was interviewed for about how they got the job. They told me that they just got it. They don't know why I didn't get it. I know for sure that their 76 resumes were prepared by themselves. I don't believe that I didn't do well in the interview. I think, they simply don't want to employ a Black person. Bennedicta, a female youth from Brampton also commented that: I used to work in a factory but I prefer staying home. I was looking for a job in a shopping mall or a restaurant but was not hired. My former job is not a good job for a lady. It is very difficult to do. Since I stopped my job I'm finding it tough to find one. I once got a job but it's too far from my place. I have to take three buses before I get to work and back home. It was terrible, so I had to stop. I am now looking for a job that is a little bit closer to my place but it is difficult to get it. I'm still hoping to find one since I have applied through the placement agencies. Focus group discussion with some participants revealed the multiple forms of racialized discrimination that undermine their employment chances. It seems people are turned down at interviews because they belong to a particular ethno-racial group. When asked how and where he finds jobs, Sammy, a youth from Brampton suggested a way to find some menial jobs in Toronto: I think the best place to look for jobs is to go to the placement agencies. Though they don't give good jobs, you don't need to be interviewed and get disappointed. They will surely find a job in order to make a living. The comments from the participants show that most of them are disappointed, frustrated, and disconnected from the larger society. These form the basis of their 77 opinions about the labour market. Indeed, many are those who think that unemployment is serious among Ghanaian communities. Even though Ontario's unemployment rate decreased from 7.7 per cent in December 2011 to 7.4 per cent in March 2012, the rate is still high among visible minority groups relatives to other Canadians (Statistics Canada, 2011; 2006). Visible minorities are generally less likely than other Canadians to be employed (Canadian Centre for Justice-Statistics Canada, 2004). Several researchers have sought to explain disparities in the labour market among various groups. For example, Anisef and Kilbride (2003) attribute the disparities to a lack of Canadian work experience, limited language skills, and the lack of social network to facilitate successful job searches. In spite of these factors we must note that limited language is not an issue for the second generation in Toronto, as they speak English proficiently as other Canadians. Many of them believe that they have the necessary qualification and skills for the jobs they apply to, but are still denied primarily because of their race. As noted by Rita in our focus group discussion: I know there are certain jobs that are not for minorities. It does not matter whether you have the highest qualification and experience. I have attended several interviews which I think I qualified for. I had all the qualities that they were looking for, yet I was not hired. A lot of people in my neighbourhood also experience a similar situation. They keep on complaining, but what can you do, my brother, only God knows how we survive in this system. 78 The various comments made by the youth about their labour market prospects corroborate the findings of Reitz and Somerville (2004) and Reitz and Banerjee (2007), that the second generation may experience more racism than their parents because their ability to speak good English like other Canadians, educational attainment, and high expectation of the rights that come with citizenship place them in positions where they are more likely to be viewed as a challenge to the dominant groups, as well as more likely to identify their experiences as racialized. "Racialized individuals and groups are excluded, implicitly or explicitly, from job opportunities, key information networks, human resource investments, professional development opportunities, team membership, and decision-making roles because of their ethnic backgrounds" (Galabuzi, 2012: 23). As noted by Kofi, a male youth at Jane and Finch: I think most Blacks don't get the best jobs in Toronto. It is like there are no jobs for Blacks in Toronto. Blacks only get jobs that nobody wants, no matter your qualification and skills. In most cases these jobs are the poor ones advertised through the placement agencies. These jobs have only few hours of work and pay minimum wage. They treat you badly and see you as sub-human. This is a serious problem! Other barriers to employment in Toronto according to the participants relate to their places of residence and where they work. This is particularly important for any geographic analysis of the labour market. Thus, difficulty in getting to a place of work is a serious problem in the labour market. Several studies have documented the effects of housing segregation on employment opportunities. 79 It is difficult to find job in Jane and Finch neighbourhood because all the jobs are located in the new areas such as Scarborough, Mississauga and Brampton. To get work in these places you need to move to live there, which is very expensive as a beginner. Rent is so high in those areas that all your money will go into rent. To work in those areas, then you have to commute everyday to and from work that is very difficult since you would spend all your time in the bus: Said, Benson. A similar comment by Alyssa: I quit my job because I had to take different buses with different fare before I get to where I work. I realized that my transportation costs and time to and from work were so higher and lengthy that it was not worth working at that place. Lack of motivation by the youth is one of the barriers identified by the participants. They believe that most of the youth have low self-esteem which prevent them from applying to high status jobs. They think they are Black youth so they will be denied the high status jobs. Furthermore, participants identified the lack of labour market information as one of the barriers. Many of the participants held the view that high status jobs are not easily identified and it takes some skills to find where they are and what educational qualifications and skills are needed for the job. It is clear from the preceding discussion that the participants from the two neighbourhoods shared the view that unemployment is a serious problem in their 80 respective neighbourhoods. The main causes of unemployment in the two areas have been identified as discrimination based on race, ethnicity, lack of motivation on the part of the youth, lack of information on the labour market and lack of effective transportation. 5.2. Gender and the Labour Market Interesting issues arose in the interviews about variations in experiences and perceptions in the labour market between males and females. Females from both Jane and Finch and Brampton seemed to have different experiences than those of males. Their experiences are consistent with the prevailing view in the literature on gender disparities in accessing the Canadian labour market (Statistics Canada, 2006). It emerged that in most work places, Ghanaian female youth receive relatively better treatment than their male counterparts. It seems employers and employees in many job places are more hostile to Black males than to females. This unfair treatment could be due to the media images of Black male criminality in Toronto. It is important to note that discrimination in the labour market is not limited to Blacks. For instance, the Canadian Ethnic Diversity Survey (2003) revealed that 36 per cent of persons who indicated they belonged to a minority group (which included people other than Blacks) reported having experienced discrimination on the basis of their race, ethnicity, colour, culture, language or religion. Many females from both Jane and Finch and Brampton expressed some level of satisfaction with their jobs as opposed to males in the same communities. Even though a 81 number of females expressed that they are working below their qualification, they seem to be more satisfied compared to their male counterparts in the labour market. The satisfaction on the part of females could be attributed to their self-motivation and their determination to achieve the best for themselves. Based on participants' responses, it appears the females were very likely to persevere in their job searches more than the males. The females were more determined and self motivated than the males. These differences as noted in most of the literature on gender, have to do with the increasing higher levels of academic achievement among girls than boys. Cynthia, a youth from Jane and Finch had this to say: Many youth in my community are not working. I think the problem is more serious for boys than girls. The boys just roam about without any job. I know many boys in my area who are not working. When you ask them why they are not working, they tell you they are still looking for jobs but don't get the jobs. Some have even made their minds to stop looking for jobs because they think they are not going to get them any way. In the words of Nana, a female youth with a university degree: "Many people complain about discrimination in the job places so they have stopped looking for jobs. But who cares, who loses, is it the employer or you? I know that whether you have a good certificate or not you must work in order to live so if I'm not getting the job that matches my educational qualification should I stop working and stay home? I 82 know it is painful with higher education without a good job, but who do we blame? I believe with time, our hard work in schools will surely pay us." Though, there are frustrations expressed by both males and females in their job searches, males and females seem to show different levels of frustration and coping skills. Comments from the participants, particularly the one above show the level of flexibility in seeking jobs among females. They just hold on to what they have and continue to search for jobs that match their educational qualifications. Lack of good jobs that match participants' educational qualifications is not limited to only the participants of this study but are found among members of the larger Black communities in Toronto, where the two communities are located. For instance, Ornstein (2006) found that more than a third of Ghanaian and Somali males work in less skilled manual occupations. This is consistent with comments made by many participants of the present study about the difficulties of accessing high status jobs with higher qualifications. It was also noted that there is a gender difference in views and opinions about the lack of jobs for Black people in Toronto. While most females think of the lack of appropriate skills and experience as the causes for Blacks' predicament in the labour market, many Black males think differently. Many among the latter insist that their inability to find suitable jobs has nothing to do with appropriate skills and experience, but rather with their physical characteristics. The study also found that many female participants were looking forward to going to school more than their male counterparts 83 who believe that lack of higher education is not the cause of Blacks' predicament in the labour market. There is a body of literature that has documented females' increasing participation in higher education. For example, Aydemir and Sweetman (2006) noted higher levels of academic achievement among immigrant girls than boys. This has resulted in males being referred to as the "new disadvantaged minority" (Miller, 2008) and the "second sex" (Collin, 2003). One interesting thing that came out from the discussion is that females tend to dress quite professionally compared to males in job interviews. Thus, dress code seems to be a factor that most employers look out for during interviews. Dina, a female participant had this to say about dress codes for interviews: I heard many Blacks are treated differently in the job places in Toronto, but I haven't seen any of this, neither have I been treated badly at my workplace. Though racism is real in Toronto as many complained, I believe this has to do with the way most Blacks dress, particularly the boys. They dress in a way that scares even their own people from approaching them. I believe every employer wants people who are friendly and focus to work in their companies. There are certain kinds of dressing that employer wouldn 't like if you appear before them for interviews. Comments from some participants on dress code indicate that many Black youth do not know the kind of dressing required of them when they attend interviews. They do not know when to put on casual or professional dress. But professional jobs require some kind of dress code which interviewees must be aware of before hand. On the other hand, 84 it appeared females are more careful about their dressing when attending interviews and that enhances their chances of getting good jobs compared to the males. 5.3. Social Ties and Family's Socioeconomic Status One of the objectives of this thesis was to examine how the socioeconomic status of families influences the labour market chances of the second generation youth. This section examines issues about participants' experiences and perceptions of the impacts of social ties and their family's socioeconomic conditions on labour market performance of the second generation youth. Females are more likely to have good contacts that might aid their job searches compared to males. For instance, when asked about how they got their jobs many females noted that they got their jobs through family and friends, while a majority of the males got their jobs through placement agencies. This difference might be due to the fact that many more females participate in social and community organizations than their male counterparts. Responses from participants affirm the general view that children need resources and support from the network of social ties and contacts within and outside their families to facilitate their successful access to the labour market. Generally, children's educational success has been linked to parents' educational attainment. A study indicates that parental education not only helps children with school work, but also in terms of the value placed on education and the ability to raise resources to help children succeed in life (de Broucker and Lavalle'e 1998). Again, more educated parents adopt strategies that are 85 more likely to help their children to achieve their goals (de Broucker and Lavalle'e, 1998). David, an undergraduate student, has this to say: I have confident in my parents. My father is my role model and has helped me to reach where I am today. I came to Canada at age 8. I didn't know the importance of education, because I was young and my older siblings were not interested in schooling, but my father inspired me and said to me that I can make it to the university. He took some of his time teaching me English (spellings) and through that I developed interest in education. I can say that, even at this level (university), he helps me with my assignments and other school work. David's comment is consistent with above-mentioned argument by de Broucker and Lavalle'e (1998), and is corroborated by comment by Rita, another interviewee, in the following words: My parents are very supportive, but they are not well educated. They couldn't help me with my assignments so it was difficult for me. I had to rely on some of my older friends for my assignments. Fortunately for me, my family moved out to a new place where one of the tenants was a Ghanaian international student studying in one of the universities in Toronto (Name withheld). We became friends and he was helping me with my studies, particularly, in mathematics. He has become my role model. I just completed my college education and I'm looking forward to going to the university next year. 86 It is worth noting that Rita's comment supports the concepts of social capital and the issue of role modeling, and the fact that ethnic capital has an effect on the human- capital accumulation process (Boijas, 1994). There are divergent views about relationships between parents and their children and how their relationships influence the children's education and performance in the labour market. Though many expressed satisfaction with their relationships with their parents, others are quite disappointed about their parents' relationship with them. As seen from the above comments by David and Rita about their parents' support, there are some parents who do not listen to their children. Job, a college graduate, has this to say: After completing college, my parents forced me to work to bring some money home instead of helping me to further my education. They didn 't support my plan of going to the university. Almost all my friends who completed college are now at the university. I didn't like my parents' idea, but 1 had no option. The only thing they think about is money. They have a project back home in Ghana and that is the only thing they think about. I am planning to find my way out to the university in future because I need it. The point to stress here is that Job has the ambition to go to university, which he believes is the only way he could survive in society. However, his parents do not share the same belief probably due to their low level of education and their economic condition in Canada. Job's father is a taxi driver while the mother works at a university as a cleaner. When Job was asked to give reasons to why the parents do not support his plan, 87 he said the parents do not see the importance of higher education because they keep saying "those who have completed university are still at home without jobs." Job's experience is consistent with some of the studies on the relationship between parents and their children and how the relationship shapes their children's position both in school and at the job market. For example, as Feliciano and Ruben (2005) noted, parental education has been referred to as the single most important determinant of children's schooling. And, according to Portes et al. (2005), "the socioeconomic reality for today's second generation will involve divergent outcomes; thus, their socioeconomic life chances will vary greatly according to the human and social capital of their parents". Interestingly, some participants indicated that their parents depend in part on welfare and live in government-subsidized housing. Almost all participants who indicated this were females and were seen to have up to high school education. They were not working during the interviews, though they indicated that they were looking for jobs. It was also noted that their mothers were not working, which could explain why they were also not working. According to Vartanian (1999), the availability and use of welfare programs influence childhood development as it relates to future earning. Thus, the stigma of welfare and the importance of work are both lessened while the means of accessing welfare are learned when children grow up in families that receive welfare. On the other hand, it has been suggested that parents who work in the labour market instil a work ethic in their children, increasing the likelihood of labour market success for their children (Vartanian, 1999). 88 It is instructive to note that many youth do not associate themselves very well with the wider Canadian society. It came out that many participants used their families and the Ghanaian community mainly as points of contacts for their job search. Given the relatively higher number of Ghanaians who work in low status jobs, it is not surprising to see that their children are being reproduced in similar statuses as seen from participants' profiles. I got my job through my church elder. The church secretary announced on my behalf that I was looking for a job during the church's announcement session. After a few weeks the church elder called me and asked me to bring my resume. He took my resume and helped me in the application through which I got the job, Cynthia, a female youth from Jane and Finch. Another female participant, Christiana, said: I got my job through my friend. My friend was in the job (warehouse) and she gave me the direction on how to apply by introducing me to her supervisor. Through that I got the job. These comments are consistent with the view that personal relationship that individuals maintain for non-economic reasons may also be important determinants of economic development, both at the local and at the societal levels (Granovetter, 2005). As discussed so far, social capital provides useful contacts and information that help in successful job searches for employment seekers. It has been realized that social capital is equally important as human capital as seen from participants' experiences. 89 5.4. Spatial and Neighbourhood Effects This section discusses participants' perceptions and experiences about the influence of their neighbourhood on their socioeconomic lives. Several open-ended questions were employed to elicit information on participants' perceptions and experiences about the effects of neighbourhoods, and how they shape participants' lives in particular and the public in general. According to Power (2007:22), "neighbourhoods frame people's lives, providing a bundle of services that people need, and an environment on which families depend." Inadequacy of community resources such as employment centres and better schools were cited as constraints militating against the Jane and Finch neighbourhood. Many participants here lamented about the poor nature of the place, undermining the job prospects of many of the youth. As noted in the words of Mike, a youth from Jane and Finch: Everyone who grew up in Jane and Finch knows that there are no jobs for the youth after school. Jane and Finch is just a residential area for the poor and not for work. You just live with your family and when God willing you grab some work somewhere then you leave this area. I don't think it is a good place for youth. There is nothing here for the youth to focus in life. The most painful aspect is that no employer would like to employ a guy from this place. But I managed to grab a job at Scarborough without showing my identity as Jane and Finch guy. I go to work at Scarborough everyday. 90 Jane and Finch was purposely created as a residential area for immigrants (Boudreau et al. 2009). It has been labeled as one of the problem areas in Toronto. It is also one of the most densely populated area in Toronto with the highest percentage of single-parent families in the city (40-45%) (Carey 2002). As noted by Murdie (2002), appropriate housing establishes conditions for access to other formal and informal supports and networks and thus speeds up the integration of immigrants into the host countries. Thus, how Jane and Finch was created influences the social and economic prospects of its residents. As noted by participants from Brampton, the area seems to have a lot of jobs but the problem they face is that the jobs do not match their educational attainment. Many participants identified underemployment as a serious problem. They described not 'fitting' into their jobs. "Getting job is not the problem. It is finding job that matches your qualifications and skills." A comment by Kumi, an undergraduate and a part-time worker in a retail shop. Again, this is what John had to say: It is difficult to find a good job in Brampton. What one can get easily is factory job. So whether you have higher qualification or not you still work in a factory with the uneducated ones and earn the same minimum wage. While many expressed disappointment living in Jane and Finch, as a result of lack of jobs, many participants from Brampton were somehow comfortable. This distinction comes as a result of how these two neighbourhoods were created. As mentioned earlier, Jane and Finch was created purposely as a residential area for immigrants whereas 91 Brampton has different land uses, and is relatively developed as an industrial city. Power (2007:21) notes "neighbourhood reputation is often closely tied to its location, its history, its housing structure and economic rationale." According to Power (2007:21), "intrinsic problems, linked to where places are, how they are built and their core function in the city shape neighbourhoods." Another concern that Jane and Finch participants expressed was that employers look down on them primarily due to the nature of the place. That is, the stigma attached to the place makes employers see those in the area as "bad" people. According to Hodge (19B3), Jane and Finch has a reputation for violence, drugs, poverty and other social problems. And, it is widely believed to attract people with serious problems. Kofi, another male participant from Jane and Finch observed that: I know employers look down on us. If you are from Jane and Finch then you're considered different from other people. Employers think you are not polite, have no morals, and that you are not fit to work in their companies. It does not matter whether you have a good qualification or not. They think you are inferior because of where you live. When asked how he got his current job, he said: I used to live with my uncle in Vaughan, so I continue to use that address for all my applications; and whenever I go for interviews I don't disclose anything about Jane and Finch. I think it is not a good place to live when you're young. I think it is only good for the poor older people who have nothing to lose. 92 Conversely, there are other participants who said that they got their jobs because they indicated in their application that they were from Jane and Finch. For instance, Rita, observed that: 1 believe because Jane and Finch is one of the prioritized communities in Toronto, if you have a good qualification and you live in Jane and Finch, employers see you as a serious person. My work focuses on reintegration services and because I work with "at risk groups" they were interested in someone who come from a poor neighbourhood and I used that to my advantage, and it looks good on the resume. Rita thought that a lot depend on one's attitude, and believed that at certain times employers do not look at where you come from but who you are; "life is what you make of it. Those who come to Jane and Finch for the first time admire the area yet residents still believe they have no future." Again, it could be argued that not all employers discriminate based on where one lives, but most depend on the type of job being sought. It also seems Black men are stigmatized by neighbourhood more than women. Despite the benefits derived from living in a poorer neighbourhood, it is believed that poorer areas such as Jane and Finch often attract people with serious social problems that affect the community's development. Many participants attributed the high unemployment level among youth of Jane and Finch neighbourhood in particular to the high incidence of youth crime and bad criminal records among the youth, particularly the male youth. Jane and Finch has been described as an unattractive and unsafe part of the city, "a place of violence, poverty, and 93 foreboding suburb design" (Cash, 2006; Bourdeau et al., 2009). It is commonly perceived that unemployment causes criminal behaviour. For instance, Tanner et al. (1999) and Hagan et al. (1996) have documented that youth involvement with crime tends to affect their future employment prospects. With this idea of neighbourhood quality, many participants believe that Brampton has better opportunities and less crime rate relative to Jane and Finch that in effect gives some advantage to the youth in Brampton. Lack of efficient transportation has been found to be a barrier to the labour market participation of the youth. Many participants, particularly those from Jane and Finch who commute to other areas for work, talk about the difficulties they go through in accessing public transit to and from their work places. This labour market barrier in some ways corroborate with the spatial mismatch hypothesis. Several Canadian scholars have used the general idea of spatial mismatch and expanded the idea to explain the effects of housing segregation on the urban poor in all spheres of life. For example, Galabuzi (2007) argued that young immigrants living in low income areas often find it difficult to integrate themselves in their own communities and the broader society. Concerning transportation problems, this is what Sammy a youth from Jane and Finch had to say: I live in Jane and Finch but I worked with a company at Vcuighan. I have to wake up as early as possible throughout the week except Sundays to get to work on time. The problem is that I take two buses with different fares to and from work. Vaughan operates 94 its public transit differently from Toronto. Even that, when I get down from the bus at the nearest bus stop to my work place, it takes me between 20 and 30 minutes to walk to the work place. And, the stressful aspect is that, after work when you're tired you have to walk again to the bus stop for bus. This situation is serious so I'm still looking for other opportunities elsewhere. It was observed that those in Jane and Finch commute longer distances to and from work because of lack of jobs in their community. Arguably, this situation among the youth supports the spatial mismatch hypothesis. To find out more about the issues discussed so far, some of the parents of the second generation were interviewed about their perceptions and experiences in these matters. One such parent, Uncle Tony, who lived in Jane and Finch for twelve years before leaving for Brampton said: Everybody knows of Jane and Finch for its bad reputation. In fact, Jane and Finch is known for drugs and murder. I was okay with the place because I was always at home, I didn't mingle with anyone but I was afraid of these things for my children. I didn't want them to go astray and get into drugs. Even in schools the children are wild and aggressive. I don't think it is a good place to raise children. When children are supposed to be in school, you find them roaming about on the street. What kind of life do these children have in future? One important asset of a good neighbourhood is its social capital, reflecting the value residents attach to links with other residents, to the support offered by family and 95 friends, to the familiarity, sense of security and mutual help that comes with frequent social contact (Power, 2007). In consonance with Power's point, participants were of the opinion that resources and support derived from their networks of social ties and relationships in and outside their communities contributed immensely to their labour market success. 5.5. Differences and Similarities in Participants' Experiences and Perceptions This section highlights some of the differences and similarities between participants from Jane and Finch and Brampton. Generally, there are no sharp differences on the labour market perceptions and experiences of youth from the two communities. Nevertheless, there were a few noteworthy differences in experiences that have to do with the difference in neighbourhood characteristics between the two communities. Participants from Jane and Finch were mostly unemployed, part-time employees, and found it difficult to access jobs within or close to their community. They indicated that they had to look for jobs in different locations and commute longer distances to and from work. This situation was not prevalent among participants from Brampton. Even though the youth in Brampton expressed dissatisfaction about not getting jobs that match their educational qualifications, they got most of their jobs in Brampton. Another interesting difference was that many participants from Jane and Finch were not comfortable to disclose their identities as Jane and Finch youth, due to the bad reputation associated with the community. This kind of feeling was not observed among participants from Brampton who were comfortable and willing to disclose their identity 96 as "Bramptonians." This difference in experience undoubtedly affected the labour market behaviour and job search strategies of participants from the two communities, as seen in the case of Rita who used the reputation of Jane-Finch to procure a job working with at risk kids. The findings also show that on average, the educational attainments of parents of participants in Brampton are higher than those in Jane and Finch. As has been shown elsewhere in the thesis, there is a high correlation between parental education and children's educational attainment in school. Many Brampton participants were more likely to say that their parents influenced their educational aspiration compared to Jane and Finch participants. Thus, it is not surprising that many participants from Brampton expressed satisfaction with the relationships with their parents while a number of the Jane and Finch youth expressed dissatisfaction with their parents' attitude toward them. On the other hand, there were some observed similarities between the participants of the two communities. A number of participants from both communities expressed dissatisfaction with how they are treated by employers. That employers were hostile and rude to them during interviews and at the work place were common complain. This experience corroborates the finding by Frances Henry and Effie Ginzberg in the Toronto labour market decades ago where Black job seekers received hostile treatment than their White counterparts at interviews. Similar findings also surfaced recently in the work of Oreopoulos, 2009. As noted by Maxwell, a youth from Jane and Finch: 97 The kind of treatment we (Blacks) face is very bad. At certain times you don't even want to apply to any work. Whenever you apply to work they see you as inferior. Even the kind of questions they ask at the interview show that they are not going to hire you. You hardly hear from them again. Participants from both communities commented on the kind of jobs they do. They believed that many of the jobs they do have no future. The jobs are part-time or temporary, and have no benefits with low wages. In the words of David: My job doesn't have any benefit and I have fewer hours because it's part-time. It is difficult to make any savings. When you fall sick you just leave the job. I know there is no future in these kinds of jobs that we do. But right now, this is what we have and we don't have any option. The only thing we could do is to quit the job. The above comments show that participants were not happy about the kind of jobs they do, but they are compelled to accept them in order to make a living and survive. These youth are desperate and they need some kind of motivation from both parents and the communities through youth employment counseling to help them learn strategies to find jobs in what they see as a highly racialized labour market. Even though there were a few participants who indicated that higher education is not important in the job market if you are a minority, many participants from the two communities strongly believe that higher education is the only way that could give them better jobs with benefits. 98 According to Cynthia a female participant: I think the best way to get a good job with benefits is to have job that requires higher education. What we have to do is to have university education and I believe with time we will also get the opportunities to work in high status jobs with benefits. The youth were optimistic about their labour market chances in Toronto. They believe they have what it takes to work hard to earn a reputation. Nana, a female undergraduate student was optimistic and confident that she would become a good entrepreneur. This is an addition to what she said: If I complete my education 1 will have my own business. I'm a hard worker and I do not want to work for anyone, I know is a bit challenging, with hard work, I could make it. 5.6. Intersectionality The thesis outlines the importance of the intersectional approach and reveals the intersecting grounds of multiple identities of the Ghanaian youth in the labour market. As noted from the preceding paragraphs of the thesis, these youth have encountered discrimination based on such identities as race, gender, socioeconomic status and place of residence. These multiple identities have been identified as non-hierarchical, and could affect anyone at anytime depending on the prevailing conditions at the place where the discrimination takes place. It was observed that respondents faced multiple discrimination in the Toronto labour market based on their aforementioned multiple identities. For males in Jane-Finch, the dominant intersecting factors may include race, 99 gender and place of residence, all of which way work together simultaneously to affect the labour market chances. It is worth noting that individuals have multiple identities and that these identities shape their experiences of discrimination. For instance, the fact that Black male Ghanaian youth received poorer treatment than their female counterparts in the labour market is not only due to their race but their gender and the stereotypes of criminality that goes with it in the Toronto context, hence, Black males face compounded disadvantage. Thus, an intersectional model acknowledges the multiple ways in which people experience discrimination, recognizes that the experience of discrimination may be unique, and takes into consideration the socio-spatial characteristics of the groups (Ontario Human Rights Commission, 2001). Discrimination based on the youth's multiple identities is consistent with the findings of the Ontario Human Rights Commission (2001) to the effect that racial minority women experience discrimination in a completely different way than racial minority men. Also, racial minority men may experience discrimination that would not be faced by non- minority males or even women of the same background. The report indicates that groups often experience distinctive forms of stereotyping or barriers based on a combination of race and gender. The intersectional approach provides the basis for understanding the complex interrelationship of individuals' identities. 100 3.7. Summary This chapter has discussed the perceptions and experiences of second generation youth in the labour market. Specifically, it was noted that differences in labour market experiences and perceptions were also constructed along gender and neighbourhood lines. Females were more likely to be employed and were less likely to be discriminated against than the male counterparts because of such stereotypes portrayed by the media that Black male youth are hostile. Neighbourhood characteristics were identified as a major factor that shaped participants' labour market outcomes. It was revealed that while participants from Brampton were comfortable to identify the place of residence, those from Jane and Finch were not. Many in the latter had to use different addresses to apply for jobs. Participants were of the opinion that parental socioeconomic status, family and social network derived from within and outside their communities contributed to their labour market success. While a number of participants expressed satisfaction with their social networks, other had divergent views. Additionally, participants from both communities were of the view that youth unemployment is a serious problem, particularly among male youth. And, that unemployment is not only prevalent among Ghanaian youth, but also among most people of African descent. They identified racial discrimination as one of the most significant factors contributing to the youth unemployment situation in Toronto. 101 CHAPTER SIX: CONCLUSION The study has explored perceptions and experiences of second generation Ghanaian- Canadians in Toronto labour market. It also highlighted the complex intersections among socioeconomic status, race, gender and space/place of residence that the second generation confronts in the labour market. Again, it has shed light on immigration history and socio-demographic characteristics of Ghanaians in Toronto, in particular, and Canada at large. 6.1. Summary of the Key Findings The findings indicate that perceptions are essentially based on race, socioeconomic status, gender and neighbourhood characteristics among the youth from Jane-Finch and Brampton. Additionally, what people (specifically the first generation) have experienced and reported drive the second generation's perception that there is racism against Blacks and other visible minorities in the labour market and other spheres of life in Toronto. Participants experience multiple forms of discrimination in the labour market, mostly based on their ethno-racial background. Thus, racism has resulted in youth unemployment in the two communities. Unemployment constitutes a serious problem and it is carried from the first generation to the subsequent generations. As documented by Reitz and Somerville (2004), the second generation will face more racism than their first 102 generation in the labour market because their ability to speak fluently coupled with their high educational attainment and higher expectation of the rights that come with citizenship place them in positions where they are more likely to be viewed as challenge to the dominant groups as well as more likely to identify their experiences as rcialized. As seen from participants' profiles, a majority of the youth interviewed for this study is employed in part-time jobs that have no benefits and pay fewer wage. It is noted that this barrier according to a few participants is not necessarily overcome even after investing in and attaining higher education and experience. There seems to be a variation in labour market discrimination between Ghanaian males and females. Females from both Jane-Finch and Brampton seem to have different experiences to that of males. Females received relatively fair treatment than their male counterparts in the labour market. This difference could be due to prejudices and stereotypes of Black male youth as criminals, hostile, and aide. The study also found that resources and support derived from social networks and contacts contribute to their labour market success. Thus, being connected to the right people help in getting a job. "It is not what you know, it is whom you know", as many participants indicated. Despite the influence of social networks in job searches, these youth (the second generation) may be unable to gain much from their contacts and networks, because of the entrenched racial divide in the Toronto labour market. Many participants from both communities maintain that their educational qualifications do not match the kind of jobs they do. However, a number of participants 103 believe that higher education is the only way they could secure good jobs with benefits. Additionally, they are of the conviction that parental education has a huge implication for their level of education, as seen from several literature linking parental education to that of their children (Wayland, 2010; Portes et al., 2005 and Worswick, 2001). Having no access to transportation to and from work has been identified as one of the barriers to full economic integration. The study found that participants from Jane and Finch had difficulties accessing public transit to and from work. This is as a result of the community's inability to provide jobs to the majority of the youth in the area. The youth have to look for jobs elsewhere which required them to commute longer distances for work. On the other hand, the youth in Brampton are relatively better served with transportation system to and from work. Also, the findings of the thesis indicate that the image of and reality of criminality and violence have contributed to the high unemployment rate among the youth of Jane and Finch and Black communities in Toronto in general. For instance, Jane and Finch has been identified among the thirteen priority neighbourhoods in the city and it is not surprising that there is a high unemployment rate among the youth particularly the male youth. This finding is not new, as many previous studies have documented similar findings. It adds to the idea that unemployment is more likely to cause criminal behaviour and criminal behaviour more likely to cause unemployment, thus, pointing to some dialectical relationship between the two variables. 104 On the whole, females were found to have better social contacts that aid their employment prospects. Also, they were able to persevere in their job searches longer than their male counterparts, the study noted. It was revealed that many females got their jobs through family and friends, while majority of the males got their jobs through placement agencies. Thus, females' involvements in community organizations were very effective; this might have aided their job searches. Also, the females' perseverance in their job searches could be attributed to their high educational attainment. This is consistent with the findings of Aydemir and Sweetman (2006) who found that the children of Canadian immigrants consistently show higher levels of educational achievement among girls than boys, including in postsecondary education. Lastly, the intersecting grounds of the second generation's experiences and perceptions in the Toronto labour market were identified. It highlighted that the classical conceptualization of discrimination within labour market, such as race, gender, socioeconomic status and space/place do not act independently of one another, instead these forms of identities intersect to influence one's involvement in the labour market. 6.2. Overview of theories and empirical findings The four theories reviewed earlier-labour market segmentation, vertical mosaic, human and social capital-invariably probed some of our existing views on factors that account for disparities in wage/salaries and job segregation in the labour market. An overview of the theories is given below, to show the extent to which the study findings corroborate, reinforce, or otherwise undermine them. 105 As noted earlier on, the labour market segmentation theory argues that there exist distinct segment in the labour market with disparities in wages and job structure. This theory assumes a capitalist economy compose of two separate labour markets: the primary and the secondary, with the former made up of jobs with specialized skills, higher pay, better promotions, greater unionization, generous pensions, and other fringe benefits, while the latter is characterized by low-paying, dead-end job with little or no career development prospect. This theory places its emphasis on racial discrimination in explaining the labour market involvement of minorities, which is one of the empirical findings of the study. Though racial discrimination forms a major issue in the thesis as many participants experienced racism, there are other important issues that the labour market segmentation theory alone can not explain vis-a-vis the employment chances of the Black youth in this study. While people are discriminated in the job market because of their race, the study shows that this discrimination is exacerbated when one happens to be Black and also lives in a neighbourhood like Jane-Finch where there are limited job opportunities. Thus, one has to look beyond racial discrimination to fully comprehend the conditions of our respondents in the city's labour market. The Vertical Mosaic thesis places its emphasis on inequality in the distribution of scarce resources that eventually resulted in differential occupational status of immigrants and the contemporary founders of Canada (the British and French). It argues that ethnic and racial affiliations were critical determinants of 106 occupational roles and, consequently, class formation in Canada. The argument brought about a distinction between "charter status" and "entrance status" in analysis of ethnic stratification in Canada. According to the thesis, charter status refers to the many privileges and prerogatives enjoyed by the British and French who constitute the founding groups of modern Canada. Here, the two groups lay down the ground rules for the admission of other ethnic groups into Canada. The "entrance status" refers to the class position at which other immigrant groups join the Canadian society. Like the labour market segmentation theory, the vertical mosaic thesis provides explanation on how people were racialized in Canada that forms the basis for social classification in Canada, leading to segregation in the labour market. Again, this is important to my research. However, the thesis did not consider other factors such as education and neighbourhood effects which have been shown to contribute to job segregations among the Ghanaian youth in this study. For instance, if one's parents work in precarious jobs which is likely to translate into being in a low-income household (class) then one will also not have the advantage of parents who can assist him or her in school work, as the parents would likely be working in odd hours, or likely have poor education to be in position to help the child, especially in this day of electronic mediated education. The Human Capital theory posits that differences in educational attainment and experience are the root cause of income and job segregation in the labour market. According to the theory, better educated job seekers are more likely to get 107 well-paying and higher-status jobs and are less likely to be unemployed than their less educated counterparts. This theory is very useful as it corroborates some of the empirical findings in my research. Its usefulness is seen in a situation where many participants from both Jane-Finch and Brampton complained that the jobs they are engaged in do not match their educational qualifications (educational mismatch). While they are underemployed, they recognize the importance of education in labour market outcomes. Despite its usefulness, the human capital theory does not take into account other important factors that affect individuals' labour market outcome such as race, neighbourhood, and one's social ties. For instance, it was realized that though people have the requisite qualifications, their racial affiliations prevent them from getting higher status jobs. The Social Capital contends that resources and supports derived from networks and contacts are vital to one's performance in the labour market. This aspect of the capital theory is seen to be equally important as human capital in the labour market outcomes of individuals. The theory is relevant to my work as many participants indicated that they got their jobs through friends and organizations. However, the theory does not consider other equally important factors such as education and race. No matter how one is connected, he or she needs to get the required qualifications and experience to get a higher-status job; this is not addressed by the social capital theory. 108 Having the limitations of these theories, there was the need to bring them together to understand how the various factors operate in tandem to influence individuals' labour market outcome, hence, the resort to the theory of intersectionality. For instance, if one is Black and able to move out of a place, such as Jane-Finch to a place such as Brampton, one's job chances tend to improve. Bring in gender and one realizes that given the image of Black boys' criminality in the North American press, employers would be hesitant to hire Black boys. However, if this image intersects with living in a place such as Jane-Finch, the Black person involved then face even higher hurdle. Place or neighbourhood will also intersect with employment opportunities of Blacks in another way: Consider two Black youth boys, one living in Brampton where the schools are well-resourced than in Jane-Finch, and the other living in Jane-Finch; the fact that the schools are well-resourced in Brampton improves the future employment chances of those in Brampton. Again, those in Brampton have a higher chance of mingling and being friends with kids of diverse socio-economic and ethnic background, thus they are likely to be involved in a network of friends who would be able to assist them in their job search, unlike those in Jane-Finch where nearly all their friends would be Black kids from low- income homes. 109 6.3. Limitations of the Study This is likely the very first study to explore the second generation Ghanaian- Canadians' experiences and perception in the labour market. Nevertheless, there are a number of limitations that make the findings indecisive. Firstly, the in-depth interviews used 27 participants and the two focus group discussions used a total of 12 participants for the two communities. Given the relatively higher number of the second generation Ghanaian-Canadians in Toronto (Census Canada, 2006), the sample for the thesis is very small and therefore the findings do not represent the majority of the second generation. Secondly, the study made use of some of the 1.5 generation youth. That is, when it became difficult getting the second generation for the research, I included seven of the 1.5 generation in both the in-depth interviews and the focus group discussions. As research has shown, the 1.5 second generation youth might have their own peculiar problems in the labour market and therefore including them in the research with the second generation might have distorted the results of the research, somewhat. Thirdly, the sample for the research might be biased. Though efforts were made to recruit participants through various means and from various places, a majority of the participants were recruited through Ghanaian churches in Toronto as indicated in the methodology. This means that those who do not attend Ghanaian churches, such as Muslims and atheists, were not captured. This recruitment approach may not have generated a participant pool that is fully representative of second generation youth in the two communities. Finally, limiting the research only to the two communities may not 110 capture the views and experiences of other second generation Ghanaian youth in other communities. This again may not have generated a participant pool that is representative of the youth. With these limitations in mind, readers should interpret the results with some caution. 6.4. Policy Implications and Suggestions for Future Research The thesis provides a snapshot of the experiences of second generation Ghanaian- Canadians in the labour market in Toronto. The findings have implications for social science research, in general and geographic studies, in particular. Creation of more jobs, sensitizing the youth on how to search for job, and redeveloping the prioritized communities, particularly Jane and Finch, which have been identified among the priority communities, might help reverse the unemployment and underemployed conditions of the youth in these areas. Visible minorities in the labour market face many barriers. It is therefore imperative to deal with these situations for the youth to attain full integration in the labour market. Since the barriers sometimes differ from community to community and along gender lines, there is the need to carefully look into these barriers along these lines. The thesis lacks quantitative aspect of labour market participation of the second generation Ghanaian-Canadians in Toronto. There is therefore the need to look at the 111 labour market activities of the youth in quantitative terms in further research. Given the small number of participants who took part in both the in-depth interviews and the focus group discussions, a study based on a larger sample is needed. Also, the relationship between educational attainment and job opportunities needs further exploration with the aid of a more comprehensive and longitudinal quantitative dataset. Furthermore, there is the need to examine more carefully how the urban geographies of home and work influence opportunities. This will uncover our understanding of why people choose to settle in particular parts of the Greater Toronto Area. There is also a need to further investigate the commonalities and differences between the second generation and the first generation Ghanaians in terms of accessibility and barriers to the labour market. This will help to unearth the peculiar problems facing the different generational youth in the labour market. Additionally, comparing the second generation Ghanaian youth with other Black second generation youth, such as the Jamaicans, Somalis or Nigerians, among others, will be beneficial in understanding the barriers to the labour market besides race and ethnicity. 6.5. Conclusion The unemployment problem among the second generation Ghanaian youth was identified as being exacerbated by their multiple identities (i.e. race, gender, socioeconomic status and place of residence), which form a complex interrelationship to influence their performance in the labour market. This makes an intersectional approach an appropriate conceptual approach for this study. 112 Many participants reported that they attach importance to higher education as a key to employment and upward socioeconomic mobility. However, others reject higher education altogether. They are not convinced that education is the key to employment and upward mobility primarily due to stigma attached to education of Blacks, they expressed. While the majority of the participants described their jobs as "part-time jobs without benefits," they expressed positive views about the part-time jobs. To them, working part-time is a good idea since it helps them to focus on their education while working at the same time. Indeed, they expressed optimism in their involvement in the labour market, since they hold the view that their higher education will eventually pay. Finally, it was noted that there are a few instances where Blacks are doing relatively well in the labour market. And, as this study found, the youth are not yet fully integrated in the labour market because majority of them are still in school that might change their labour market prospects in future. However, the scope of the problem facing Black youth in the labour market is enormous. The significance of geography in this study is highly recognized, as seen from the discussion that, spatial differentiation influences labour market chances of the youth. Government and organizations need to put in place strategies and policies to ensure that employees are not discriminated and have the opportunities to fully utilize their knowledge and skills in the workplace. 113 Appendices Appendix A: Solicitation Flyer Participants Needed for a Research A Student Researcher from the Department of Geography, York University is currently looking for research participants who have the following qualifications: be between 18-30 years old and is a member of the Ghanaian community in Toronto, specifically those from Jane-Finch and Brampton; 114 be someone who was born in Canada or came to Canada before age twelve (12); be in school and out of school and employed (full-time/part- time) or unemployed; has interest and time and willing to participate in the study for about 1 hour. If you are interested in getting more information about this study and how you can contribute, please call 416 or my cell 416 878 6422 and I will be able to assist. 115 Appendix B: Informed Consent Form Voluntary participation: Your participation in the study is completely voluntary and you may choose to stop participating at any time. Your decision not to volunteer will not influence the relationship you may have with the researcher or study staff or the nature of your relationship with York University either now, or in the future. Withdrawal from the study: You can stop participating in the study at any time, for any reason, if you so decide. Your decision to stop participating, or to refuse to answer particular questions, will not affect your relationship with the researchers, York University, or any other group associated with this project. In the event you withdraw from the study, all associated data collected will be immediately destroyed wherever possible. 116 Legal rights and signatures: I, , consent to participate in second generation and the labour market: the case of Ghanaian-Canadians in Toronto conducted by Boadi Agyekum. I have understood the nature of this project and wish to participate. I am not waiving any of my legal rights by signing this form. My signature below indicates my consent. Participant's Signature Date Researcher's Signature Date 117 Appendix C: In-depth Interview Questions Socio-demographic 1. How old are you? 2. Where were you born? Canada or Ghana. If Ghana, 3. How old were you when you first arrived in Canada? 4. Where do you live? In a house, apartment or government subsidized housing? 5. What are the reasons for living in your present neighbourhood? 6. What are the reasons for leaving your previous place? (If applicable) 7. What was your level of education in Ghana before coming to Canada? 8. What is your current level of education? 9. How many people live in your home? 10. How would you describe your sense of belonging to Canada? 11. How would you normally identify yourself, in terms of ethno-racial or cultural background when you are in the midst of White Canadians in a social gathering? Family Characteristics 12. Who do you live with? 13. What is the highest education of your parents/guardians? 14. What is the employment status of your parents/guardians? 15. What is the estimated annual net income of your household? 16. How many siblings do you have? Do you live with them in the same house? 17. Are they in school or working? 18. How close are you to your family? 19. Would you say your parents have contributed and influenced your education? How? Employment 20. Are you currently employed? Yes or No 21. If yes, what kind of job do you do? (Your occupation) in Toronto. 22. If no, why are you not working? 23. Is your job full time or part time? 119 24. Where is the job located? 25. How do you get to and from work? 26. How long does it take you to go to and from work? 27. What is your total income? Weekly, bi-weekly or monthly? 28. How did you get your present job? Social Support and Neighbourhood Effect 29. Where do you seek for support? 30. What are some of the common problems in your neighbourhood? 31. Do you trust people in your neighbourhood? 32. Do you like the neighbourhood you live in? Explain. 33. How diverse is your neighbourhood? 34. Do you take part in community organizations? Explain. 35. Do you belong to any Ghanaian ethnic association or church? 36. Do you think your neighbourhood has influence on your education and your job? 37. What do you think are some of the main problems in your neighbourhood? 120 38. Do the youth in your community have access to government, community or individual services that enhance job searches? 39. Do the youth in your community have access to jobs? 40. Does where you live impact your participation in the labour market regarding accessibility to jobs; and participation in other social functions Toronto? 41. Have you experience any form of discrimination because of your gender? 42. Have you experience or do you perceive racial discrimination in Canada when looking for jobs? Could you please tell more about how you experience or perceive discrimination? 43. What role do you think networks and social support in and outside your neighbourhood play in the employment of youth in your community? 44. Do you network with people outside the Ghanaian community on a regular basis? If yes, explain? 121 Appendix D: Focus Group Discussion Questions 45. What are your views about accessing a job in the Toronto labour market? 46. Is it difficult to find a job in Toronto? 47. Do you think people other than Blacks have more opportunities in the labour market than Blacks 48. 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