1 How Iranian Americans perceive each other? Sara Sarkhili with special thanks to Hazhir Rahmandad Iranian Studies Group at MIT IAAB 2007

2 About ISG Iranian Studies Group (ISG) at MIT A non-partisan, non-profit, academic organization with the goal of promoting Iranian civil society through conducting research on issues related to the Iranian society in Iran and abroad ISG goals Bridge the gap between research, public knowledge, and policy-making Create a network of academics, community leaders and interested individuals in Iran, the U.S., and other parts of the world

3 Survey Characteristics Online survey between January-March Valid Responses 62.4% male and, 37.6% female respondents Around 60% Naturalized U.S. Citizens (first generation IA), 12% U.S.-born, 12% permanent residents, 8% students, and the rest asylums, skilled workers, etc. Average age of respondents between Average education of respondents, B.S. and then M.S. degree

4 What factors determine how Iranians introduce themselves?

5 Methods Logistic regression estimating the probability of “yes” answer to the question of: “When asked, you introduce yourself as…” Independent Variables: Age, Gender, Income, Interaction with Iranians, Visiting Iran, Recently Moved to U.S., Education, Religion, Ethnicity, Residency status, Marital Status, Spouse nationality Next Pages: Reporting the statistically significant variables only

6 Analysis Factors Marital status Age Location Gender Education Income When Moved To U.S Spouse Nationality Interaction With Iranians Visiting Iran Azari Other Ethnicities Kurdish Persian Gilak Permanent Refugee U.S Citizen Student Skilled Worker Muslim Bahaii Spiritual Agnostic Atheist Jewish Christian Zoroastrian Residency Demographic Relation to Iran(ians) Ethnicity Religion

7 Introduce as Persian Marital status Age Location Gender Education Income When Moved To U.S Spouse Nationality Interaction With Iranians Visiting Iran Azari Other Ethnicities Kurdish Persian Gilak Permanent Refugee U.S Citizen Student Skilled Worker Muslim Bahaii Spiritual Agnostic Atheist Jewish Christian Zoroastrian Residency Demographic Relation to Iran(ians) Ethnicity Religion Age West Coast Interaction With Iranians Visiting Iran Persian

8 Introduce as Iranian Marital status Age Location Gender Education Income Period Moved To Iran Spouse Nationality Interaction With Iranians Visiting Iran Azari Other Ethnicities Kurdish Persian Gilak Permanent Refugee U.S Citizen Student Skilled Worker Muslim Bahaii Spiritual Agnostic Atheist Jewish Christian Zoroastrian Residency Demographic Relation to Iran(ians) Ethnicity Religion Age Student Atheist East Coast When Moved To U.S Interaction With Iranians Christian

9 Introduce depends on the situation Marital status Age Location Gender Education Income Period Moved To Iran Spouse Nationality Interaction With Iranians Visiting Iran Azari Other Ethnicities Kurdish Persian Gilak Permanent Refugee U.S Citizen Student Skilled Worker Muslim Bahaii Spiritual Agnostic Atheist Jewish Christian Zoroastrian Residency Demographic Relation to Iran(ians) Ethnicity Religion When moved To U.S Interaction With Iranians Azari Female Muslim

10 What factors determine how Iranians living in U.S. perceive each other?

11 What is your perception of the Iranian-American community in terms of “Support for each other”?

12 Interaction With Iranians Perception of being supportive Marital status Age Location Gender Education Income When Moved To U.S Spouse Nationality Interaction With Iranians Visiting Iran Azari Other Ethnicities Kurdish Persian Gilak Permanent Refugee U.S Citizen Student Skilled Worker Muslim Bahaii Spiritual Agnostic Atheist Jewish Christian Zoroastrian Residency Demographic Relation to Iran(ians) Ethnicity Religion Female Education U.S Citizen Jewish Christian

13 What is your perception of the Iranian-American community in terms of “Preservation of cultural values”?

14 Perception of cultural values Marital status Age Location Gender Education Income Period Moved To Iran Spouse Nationality Interaction With Iranians Visiting Iran Azari Other Ethnicities Kurdish Persian Gilak Permanent Refugee U.S Citizen Student Skilled Worker Muslim Bahaii Spiritual Agnostic Atheist Jewish Christian Zoroastrian Residency Demographic Relation to Iran(ians) Ethnicity Religion Female Education When moved To U.S Interaction With Iranians Muslim

15 What is your perception of the Iranian-American community in terms of “Social etiquette”?

16 Perception of Social Etiquette Marital status Age Location Gender Education Income When Moved To U.S Spouse Nationality Interaction With Iranians Visiting Iran Azari Other Ethnicities Kurdish Persian Gilak Permanent Refugee U.S Citizen Student Skilled Worker Muslim Bahaii Spiritual Agnostic Atheist Jewish Christian Zoroastrian Residency Demographic Relation to Iran(ians) Ethnicity Religion Age Education Income Interaction With Iranians U.S Citizen Muslim Atheist Christian

17 What is your perception of the Iranian-American community in terms of “Economic contributions to the U.S.”?

18 Perception of Economic Contribution Marital status Age Location Gender Education Income When Moved To U.S Spouse Nationality Interaction With Iranians Visiting Iran Azari Other Ethnicities Kurdish Persian Gilak Permanent Refugee U.S Citizen Student Skilled Worker Muslim Bahaii Spiritual Agnostic Atheist Jewish Christian Zoroastrian Residency Demographic Relation to Iran(ians) Ethnicity Religion Education Income Interaction With Iranians Persian MuslimAgnostic

19 What is your perception of the Iranian-American community in terms of “Respect of other communities and cultures” ?

20 Respect for other communities Marital status Age Location Gender Education Income When Moved To U.S Spouse Nationality Interaction With Iranians Visiting Iran Azari Other Ethnicities Kurdish Persian Gilak Permanent Refugee U.S Citizen Student Skilled Worker Muslim Bahaii Spiritual Agnostic Atheist Jewish Christian Zoroastrian Residency Demographic Relation to Iran(ians) Ethnicity Religion Age Education Azari Muslim Atheist Jewish

21 What is your perception of the Iranian-American community in terms of “Business ethics”?

22 Business Ethics Marital status Age Location Gender Education Income When Moved To U.S Spouse Nationality Interaction With Iranians Visiting Iran Azari Other Ethnicities Kurdish Persian Gilak Permanent Refugee U.S Citizen Student Skilled Worker Muslim Bahaii Spiritual Agnostic Atheist Jewish Christian Zoroastrian Residency Demographic Relation to Iran(ians) Ethnicity Religion Age West Coast Education Interaction With Iranians Muslim Jewish

23 What is your perception of the Iranian-American community in terms of “Team work” ?

24 Team work Marital status Age Location Gender Education Income When Moved To U.S Spouse Nationality Interaction With Iranians Visiting Iran Azari Other Ethnicities Kurdish Persian Gilak Permanent Refugee U.S Citizen Student Skilled Worker Muslim Bahaii Spiritual Agnostic Atheist Jewish Christian Zoroastrian Residency Demographic Relation to Iran(ians) Ethnicity Religion Education Interaction With Iranians Atheist Zoroastrian

25 Overall Patterns How Iranians introduce themselves Age Interaction with other Iranians When moved to U.S How often they visit Iran

26 Overall Patterns Perception of Iranians of their community Education Religion: Muslims and Atheists Residency: U.S Citizens Interaction with other Iranians

27 Future Research Patterns of discrimination and its reporting Spouse nationality selection Patterns of media consumption Charity contributions Going back to Iran Appeal of Iranian cultural aspects

28 More discussions

29 Introduce as Iranian-American Marital status Age Location Gender Education Income When Moved To U.S Spouse Nationality Interaction With Iranians Visiting Iran Azari Other Ethnicities Kurdish Persian Gilak Permanent Refugee U.S Citizen Student Skilled Worker Muslim Bahaii Spiritual Agnostic Atheist Jewish Christian Zoroastrian Residency Demographic Relation to Iran(ians) Ethnicity Religion Age Interaction With Iranians Visiting Iran Student

30 Introduce as Persian-American Marital status Age Location Gender Education Income When Moved To U.S Spouse Nationality Interaction With Iranians Visiting Iran Azari Other Ethnicities Kurdish Persian Gilak Permanent Refugee U.S Citizen Student Skilled Worker Muslim Bahaii Spiritual Agnostic Atheist Jewish Christian Zoroastrian Residency Demographic Relation to Iran(ians) Ethnicity Religion Visiting Iran Atheist

31 Introduce As American Marital status Age Location Gender Education Income Period Moved To Iran Spouse Nationality Interaction With Iranians Visiting Iran Azari Other Ethnicities Kurdish Persian Gilak Permanent Refugee U.S Citizen Student Skilled Worker Muslim Bahaii Spiritual Agnostic Atheist Jewish Christian Zoroastrian Residency Demographic Relation to Iran(ians) Ethnicity Religion Education When Moved To U.S Interaction With Iranians

32 What is your perception of the Iranian-American community in terms of “Civic participation” ?

33 Civic Participation Marital status Age Location Gender Education Income When Moved To U.S Spouse Nationality Interaction With Iranians Visiting Iran Azari Other Ethnicities Kurdish Persian Gilak Permanent Refugee U.S Citizen Student Skilled Worker Muslim Bahaii Spiritual Agnostic Atheist Jewish Christian Zoroastrian Residency Demographic Relation to Iran(ians) Ethnicity Religion Education Interaction With Iranians Agnostic Atheist

34 What is your perception of the Iranian-American community in terms of “Support for common community goals”?

35 Support for common community goals Marital status Age Location Gender Education Income When Moved To U.S Spouse Nationality Interaction With Iranians Visiting Iran Azari Other Ethnicities Kurdish Persian Gilak Permanent Refugee U.S Citizen Student Skilled Worker Muslim Bahaii Spiritual Agnostic Atheist Jewish Christian Zoroastrian Residency Demographic Relation to Iran(ians) Ethnicity Religion Education Interaction With Iranians U.S Citizen Spiritual Atheist

36 Demographic

37 Demographic

38 Demographic

39 Immigration Period

40 Ethnicity

41 Religion Diversity

42 Family: Spouse’s Nationality

43 How often your children have visited Iran?

44 Important aspects for Iranian parents in educating their children:

45 Frequency of Interaction with Iranians

46 How Iranians introduce themselves?