Linguistic occupation segregation along the U.S.–Mexico border: using the index of dissimilarity to measure inequality in employment among monolingual speakers and Spanish–English bilinguals

Abstract

Abstract The U.S.–Mexico border is a Latina/o concentrated region and Spanish–English bilingual society. While there are some indications of an economic advantage associated with Spanish–English bilingualism in regions with over-representations of Spanish-origin speakers, the degree of occupational linguistic segregation in such ethno-linguistic context is unknown. Based on data from the American Community Survey (ACS) Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS) for 2018, this study calculates the occupational dissimilarity index (D) among monolingual-Spanish speakers, Spanish–English bilinguals, and monolingual-English speakers for cities located along the Texas–Mexico border and in the Houston metropolis. Findings show that the highest occupational segregation is found between monolingual-Spanish speakers and both monolingual-English and Spanish–English bilinguals. This indicates that the monolingual-Spanish workforce is occupationally segregated from those with fluent command of English. The lowest occupation dissimilarity indices are between Spanish–English bilinguals and monolingual-English speakers, indicating that these groups are approaching similar occupational placements. I conclude by highlighting an occupational advantage to Spanish–English bilingualism, but only in border cities characterised by concentrations of Spanish-origin speakers. In the non-border city of Houston, being Spanish–English bilingual is not enough to experience occupational upward mobility.