Getting Ahead

This book tells the stories of Latin-American immigrant women living in public housing in two Boston area neighborhoods. Here the author argues that these immigrant women parlay social ties that provide support and leverage to develop networks and achieve social positioning to get ahead. Through a rich ethnographic account and in-depth interviews, the strong voices of these women demonstrate how they successfully negotiate the world and achieve social mobility through their own individual agency, skillfully navigating both constraints and opportunities. The author makes it clear that many immigrant women are able to develop the social support needed for a rich social life, and leverage ties that open options for them to develop their social and human capital. However, she also shows that factors such as neighborhood and domestic violence and the unavailability of social services leave many women without the ability to strategize towards social mobility. Ultimately, the author makes important local and international policy recommendations on issues ranging from public housing to world labor visas, demonstrating how policy can help to improve the lives of these and other low-income people. -- From publisher description.