Households economically headed by women in times of expansion and crisis (1999-2012) : the case of Latin American migrants in Spain

Abstract

The arrival of flows of Latin-American females in Spain has been closely linked to the demand for domestic workers and carers. During the last period of economic expansion, a subsequent masculinization of these Latin American flows was seen, explaining the trend toward greater gender and occupational balance among these families. An economic recession followed, however, and unemployment impacted men more than it did women, as reflected in the rise in the number of women who became the sole breadwinners in their households. Using the Economically Active Population Survey, we explore the nature of these household structures, the changes in relation to the economic context, and the socio-demographic and labour market characteristics. Female-headed households are defined as those nuclear households where women are the only economic providers. The first of two hypotheses was a greater incidence of female-headed households among Latin American migrants than among households headed by exogamous and Spanish couples, irrespective of other socio-demographic characteristics. The second hypothesis predicted a greater incidence of female-headed households during the recent years of economic crisis. Furthermore, we expected this increase to have occurred in all households but to have been particularly high among Latin-Americans. The results confirm the prevalence of Latin American women as female heads of households and the adjustment within families in line with the changing Spanish socioeconomic and migratory context between 1999 to 2012.