Bridging social networks and female labor-force participation in a multiethnic metropolis

Using data from a multi-city survey of urban inequality, we assess the effects of bridging social networks—ties that connect individuals to different worlds of information, resources, and opportunities—on Black, Hispanic, and White female labor-force participation in metropolitan Los Angeles. Our findings indicate that these types of networks are far more important in explaining the labor-market experiences of females in Los Angeles than the kinds of cultural forces that serve as the foundation of much contemporary conservative social policy making in the United States. Implications for current efforts to transition women from welfare to work are discussed.