The Intersectional Effects of Race, Gender, and Religion on the Economic Integration of High-skilled Immigrants: a Literature Review

This scoping review paper explores the enduring economic challenges faced by high-skilled immigrant populations in Canada, emphasizing the vital role of intersectionality in understanding their labor market outcomes. By employing occupational segregation theory and an intersectionality perspective, the paper underscores that the contemporary labor markets demand a comprehensive understanding of high-skilled immigrant economic integration that goes beyond singular considerations of gender or race. In today’s context, the role of religion and its intersection with other dimensions of identity in studying immigrants’ labor market penalties is imperative. After September 11, skilled Muslim minorities, particularly women wearing headscarves, in Western labor markets have drawn considerable academic attention due to anti-Islam discrimination targeting their intersectional identities. The analysis includes 105 scholarly articles published in English from 2000 to 2023, focusing on two primary themes: (1) challenges to the economic integration of highly skilled immigrants in Canada: (a) Immigrants’ human capitals and (b) structural discrimination toward highly skilled immigrants; (2) challenges to the economic integration of highly skilled minority immigrants: (a) the consequences of gender; (b) the role of religious affiliation (Islam); and (c) intersectional effects of gender, rare/ethnicity, and religion on economic integration of professional Muslim women. This scoping review paper concludes by identifying research gaps and suggesting future directions to inform evidence-based policies and practices aimed at fostering an inclusive and equitable labor market.