The Effects of Race and amily Structure on Women’s Spatial Relationship to the Labor Market

This study examines the intersection of race, family structure, and economic inequality through women’s spatial relationships to the labor market. Using survey data from three major metro labor markets, we operationalize spatial relationships in two ways: first, using a conventional measure of commute time, and second, using an indicator of neighborhood job contacts to obtain employment. Results indicate that family structure exerts no direct effect on women’s spatial relationship to the labor market. Race, by contrast, plays a strong role, mediating women’s reliance on mass transit, their response to teenage kids in the household, and their likelihood of using neighbors to find employment. The result is a situation in which black and Latina women are more likely than white women to rely on localized job networks to obtain employment that requires longer commutes from home.