Unequal Penalties: The Relative Weight of Gender and Ethnic Disadvantage in Migrant Women's Labor Market Integration Across Western Europe

Recent research has highlighted the distinct position of migrant women in host labor markets, showing they face a “double disadvantage” due to the intersection of gender and migrant status. However, evidence remains limited on the relative weight of these two sources of disadvantage and how they vary across origins and destinations. This research note examines the labor market outcomes of migrant women in Western Europe, asking whether they face disadvantages compared to migrant men ( gender penalty ) and native women ( ethnic penalty ), and whether these two penalties are comparable in magnitude. It also explores how this double disadvantage varies by women's macro-area of origin and destination country. Using Heckman selection models on European Labor Force Survey data (2015–2019), our study confirms that in most countries migrant women experience significant penalties relative to both native women and migrant men, in employment and occupational status. Findings indicate that the ethnic penalty is generally more pronounced than the gender penalty in occupational status, while the employment gender penalty exceeds the ethnic penalty only in Mediterranean countries. Important differences also emerge by origin: African women are the most penalized, Eastern European women the least, and the only group experiencing a larger gender than ethnic employment penalty. These results highlight the importance of considering multiple outcomes and comparison groups when studying the labor market integration of migrant women. Understanding the labor market position of reference groups is crucial, as the relative status of native women and migrant men varies significantly by destination and origin.