Gender, Social Capital and Migration from the Dominican Republic to the United States

Abstract

Existing research argues that gender affects social capital usage in migration. The power perspective suggests that unequal power relationships encourage potential migrants to rely on social capital from members of the dominant group, typically men. Conversely, the homophily perspective posits that relatively equal power relations may allow a tendency for gender homophily in social capital use to become evident. Because evidence for the power perspective comes largely from Mexico and evidence for the homophily perspective comes from Thailand, these perspectives must be tested in an alternative national context to determine their generalizability and the extent to which power differentials mask a tendency towards gender homophily in migrant social networks. Using data on migration from the Dominican Republic to the United States, this paper finds limited support for the power perspective and no support for the homophily perspective.