The Role of Extended Family in Asian American Women’s Employment from 1990 to 2022

Prior research suggests that extended family living arrangements may contribute to Asian women’s labor-market advantage over White women. However, our understanding of the role that extended family plays in Asian women’s employment across ethnicity, immigrant generation, and time periods remain limited. Using the Census (1990, 2000) and the American Community Survey (2001–2022), we compare employment patterns of the five largest Asian groups—Asian Indian, Chinese, Korean, Filipino, and Vietnamese—with those of US-born, non-Hispanic White women. Across groups and generations, Asian women are more likely than White women to live in extended households. Logistic regression analyses show that extended family structure is positively associated with Asian women’s employment, particularly among first-generation immigrants, with patterns that persist across various family circumstances, including the presence of young children and household economic conditions. These findings offer valuable insights into processes and differentials in the socioeconomic assimilation and mobility of Asian Americans.