Ethnic discrimination against second-generation immigrants in hiring: empirical evidence from a correspondence test

Abstract

This article presents the findings of a field experiment on ethnic discrimination against second-generation immigrants in the Finnish labour market. Five job applicants of Finnish, English, Iraqi, Russian and Somali origin sent equivalent job applications to each of 1000 publicly advertised vacancies. They all had identical qualifications, but differed in one respect, that is, their name. The findings strongly suggest the existence of ethnic hierarchical orderings in the labour market. They reflect that locally gained human capital not only does not equalise employment opportunities for immigrants as such but also rewards them differentially based on their origin, with non-European applicants being the least preferred choices. The findings also reveal that discrimination did not only manifest itself in low callback rates for immigrants but also the order in which employers contacted the different applicants. In a further set of 200 job openings tested in which applicants of immigrant origin had two years more experience than the Finnish candidate, the systematic differences in patterns of callback rates remained the same. Drawing on empirical observations, the article suggests that ethnic hierarches prevailing in society can also extend to the realm of labour markets resulting in unequal employment chances for otherwise equal job applicants.

Just city planning competitions in Helsinki: between the power of image and many images of power

“…Levitt and Lamba-Nieves, 2011;Miraftab, 2012). In the Finnish context, ethnic retail is a creative alternative invented by immigrants in their struggle against their low representation in the labour market with its rigid and ethnically hierarchical standards (Ahmad, 2020). Thus, this research argues that the preservation of ethnic retail is also an inclusive action for immigrants' innovation in coping with the failures of integration.…”

“…Furthermore, immigrants are less represented in the labour market compared to their share in the population, with a high unemployment rate in certain ethnicities. An important reason behind this is the discrimination of second-generation immigrants in the Finnish labour market, which is described as an ethnically hierarchical market (Ahmad, 2020). However, it is the first-generation immigrants that face the greatest barriers in entering the labour market, with immigrant women overrepresented in the unemployment statistics (Malmberg-Heimonen and Julkunen, 2006).…”

Chewing Revenge or Becoming Socially Desirable? Anger Rumination in Refugees and Immigrants Experiencing Racial Hostility: Latin-Americans in Spain

“…Basic services, such as house renting, social and health care services, banking, use of public places such as bus stops and public gardens, etc., were all mentioned as examples in which participants felt openly or subtly ostracized due to their ethnic or religious backgrounds. Although that study was conducted in Spain, the literature shows that these contexts of discrimination toward RASI are common in other Western societies as well [ 41 , 42 , 43 ].…”

Future Paths in the Study of Migrant Descendants' Citizenship

“…On the one hand, the "second generation" is understood to have specific lived experiences, practices, attachments, identifications, or engagements embedded in the transnational social space that sets them apart from their parents' generation (Levitt 2009). On the other hand, their experiences have been shown to differ from those of their "national" peers, for instance in terms of disadvantages, racism, and discrimination they face in their everyday life (among others, Ahmad, 2020;FRA, 2017;Verwiebe et al, 2016). Such empirical findings speak of the continuing and unquestioned need to produce knowledge on migrants' descendants, both on the challenges they continue to face in many European countries and on their successful paths toward socio-economic inclusion (Crul et al 2017;Schneider et al, 2022).…”