Racialized youth, identity and the labour market: The Vietnamese second generation

This study applies a feminist and anti-racist approach to explore how gender, culture and other axes of identity are constructed in particular neighbourhood contexts and how this relates to labour market participation of racialized young people. The identities and labour market experience of second generation Vietnamese youth working in low paid manufacturing and service sector work and living in the Jane and Finch neighbourhood in Toronto are considered. Up to two semi-structured interviews with each of 23 men and women aged 19 to 30 were conducted between September 2006 and March 2007. Interviews revealed the multiplicity and fluidity of participants' ethnic, gender, racial and sexual identities, and the ways in which these multiple identities came into play in young people's positioning in the labour market. Most participants working in working-class jobs were employed at worksites consisting of almost entirely non-white employees and in occupations highly organized by gender. The research reveals the complexity and non-linearity of the school-to-work transition and also puts into question the assumption that educational advancement necessarily leads to improved employment prospects for racialized youth.