I have more than one reason to care about job discrimination based on ethnicity in the Netherlands. A new study shows that there is plenty to worry about. In short, the researchers sent identical job applications varying only the name – Dutch vs. ethnic (Antillean, Surinamese, Turkish, Moroccan). The ‘Dutch’ applicants had a higher chance of being invited for a job interview. The effect is rather small in size (5-8 percentage points), but is robust and statistically significant. Furthermore, discrimination is greater for ethnic males (20 percentage points), and for the lower-educated.
This study investigates ethnic discrimination in the Dutch labor market, using field experiments. Two thousand eighty applications were sent to 1340 job vacancies; one applicant had a Dutch-sounding name, the other a name that signaled immigrant descent. Our aims were (a) to test for the persistence of discrimination in the Dutch labor market; (b) to study the interactions of ethnic background with job characteristics; (c) to study the complexity of discrimination against a background of multiple group membership. Results indicate that discrimination continues to be a problem in selection procedures. Interactions with job characteristics and multiple group membership are discussed.
[full text (gated) here]
Andriessen, Iris, Eline Nievers, Jaco Dagevos, and Laila Faulk. “Ethnic Discrimination in the Dutch Labor Market: Its Relationship with Job Characteristics and Multiple Group Membership.” Work and Occupations 39, no. 3 (2012): 237-69.
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