From: The Encyclopedia of Canada's Peoples/Guatemalans/Lisa Kowalchuk
Two surveys of Guatemalan immigrants in Montreal and Toronto show that the socio-economic status of Guatemalans who have migrated to Canada declines dramatically, even taking into account an adjustment period of several years. Canadian census data from 1986 suggest that, at least in the short run, the proportion of Guatemalans in white-collar occupations is lower than it was for this group before immigration to Canada. The census data also unequivocally indicate that, in relation to the Canadian population as a whole, there are fewer Guatemalans in the higher-ranking white-collar fields, and a heavier concentration in manual occupations. Furthermore, in 1986, only 8.7 percent of the Guatemalan population in Canada held professional, technical, or administrative jobs, compared to 18.6 percent of the national population. An additional 26.7 percent of Guatemalans worked in lower-ranking white-collar occupations. At 31.2 percent, the proportion of Guatemalans in blue-collar jobs was more than 10 percent higher than for the Canadian population as a whole (see Table 1).
Occupational sector as percentage of population, 1986
Guatemlalans
Canadian Population
Total
Men
Women
Total
Men
Women
White-collar
35.3
36.0
34.7
47.4
41.5
53.0
Upper
white-collar
8.6
10.5
6.6
18.6
20.3
16.8
Lower
white-collar
26.7
25.5
28.1
28.8
21.2
36.2
Blue-collar
31.2
43.0
18.9
19.8
33.9
6.3
Other
5.9
7.6
4.0
3.4
5.4
1.5
Not applicable
27.6
13.4
42.4
29.4
19.2
39.0
Total
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
99.8
Source: Unpublished tabulation of the 1986 census, provided by the Centre for Research on Latin America and the Caribbean, York University. Upper white-collar: managerial, administrative; teaching; medicine and health; technical, social science, religion, art. Lower white-collar: clerical; sales; service. Blue-collar: primary processing; machine production, fabrication, assembly, and repair; construction; transport and equipment operation
According to the 1986 census, gender appears to have had little impact on Guatemalans’ success in finding white-collar work. Guatemalan men and women diverged markedly, however, in two respects. Only 19 percent of women, compared to 43 percent of men, worked in blue-collar fields in 1986. Secondly, only 55 percent of women considered themselves part of the labour force at all, compared to 84 percent of men.
The existing data indicate that economic integration in Canada is more difficult for Guatemalan women than for men. According to a survey of Guatemalan refugees in Toronto, women took twice as long to find jobs as men, possibly because women begin to learn English later than men. Because women frequently immigrate as sponsored kin, they are denied the refugee’s entitlement to free English classes. Consequently, Guatemalan women enrol in English classes or upgrading programs long after the men have already acquired sufficient language skills to work in Canada. Still another factor preventing women from entering the paid labour force has been the necessity to work as full-time homemakers, often against their preferences.
In terms of living standards, the available data suggest that, at this early stage of their settlement in Canada, Guatemalan households are among the least well off in Canadian society. Although the families in the Toronto survey had extraordinarily high levels of education relative to most Guatemalans in Canada, and thus could be expected to have brighter economic prospects, 80 percent lived on incomes below the poverty line. This is not surprising, given that the unemployment rate among Guatemalans in 1986 was 16.8 percent, about 6 percent higher than in the Canadian labour force as a whole.
For many Guatemalans in Canada, the recollection of political brutality and a concern for family and friends left behind colour the experience of life in the new society. Virtually all the Guatemalan refugees surveyed in Toronto experienced periods of depression and guilt because of the loss of loved ones to political repression before or after their own departure, the feeling that they had abandoned friends and family, and memories of their own imprisonment or torture. About a quarter of the refugees in this study reported that they sought psychological counselling.
Guatemalan newcomers to Canada, especially refugees, have often found government financial-assistance programs inadequate and relied on non-governmental agencies to supplement their short-term subsistence needs at one time or another. Guatemalans also make use of community organizations that attempt to improve the long-range economic and social adaptation of immigrants. Among these is the Toronto non-governmental agency, New Experiences for Refugee Women (NEW), the majority of whose clients are Guatemalan and Salvadorean women. NEW offers women six-month sessions that include intensive English-language lessons, employment training and experience, and emotional and life-skills counselling.
Soccer is a popular form of recreation among Guatemalan men in Canada. They have organized several teams in major Canadian cities such as Montreal and Toronto.
