Ethnic Inequalities in the Public Sector: A Comparative Analysis

Abstract

This article uses empirical data to discuss the links between ethnicity, inequality and governance in a framework that divides countries according to their levels of ethnic polarization. It makes three main arguments. First, types of diversity, not the existence of diversity per se, explain potentials for conflict or cohesion in multiethnic societies. Ethnic cleavages are configured differently in different social structures and are less conflictual in some countries than in others. Second, relative balance has been achieved in the public sectors of countries that are highly fragmented or those with ethnicity-sensitive policies, but not in those with ethnicity-blind policies. Third, the article is critical of institutional approaches to conflict management that underplay background conditions in shaping choices. Consociational arrangements may not be relevant in unipolar ethnic settings or fragmented multiethnic societies, where governments may be ethnically inclusive under democratic conditions. They seem unavoidable in ethnic settings with two or three main groups or in settings with strong ethnic/regional clusters.

Poverty, Social Exclusion and the MDGs: The Challenge of ‘Durable Inequalities' in the Asian Context

“…7.4 The exercise of voice: promoting participatory democracy Group-based identity affects the composition of the political power, access to public institutions and the confidence that different sectors of the population have in the ability of government to rule fairly: 'If the public sector is to function effectively and enjoy widespread legitimacy, all groups in society must feel a sense of belonging, representation and shared interest in the institutions that govern their lives' (Bangura 2003). India has long used reservation policies to promote dalit and adivasi presence in public life through reserved seats in parliament and other elected bodies proportional to their presence in the population, quotas for admission into secondary schools, colleges, medical and engineering schools and employment in government services and enterprises.…”

Towards a Representative Bureaucracy: Promoting Linguistic Representation and Diversity in the Swiss and Canadian Federal Public Services

“…Like other multilingual states (Bangura 2006;Gagnon et al 2006), Switzerland and Canada have adopted strategies to establish the proportional participation of their different language communities in the public service. These strategies respond to a mobilization of linguistic cleavages that bring into question the legitimacy of national institutions, even though there are obvious differences in magnitude.…”

“…In most of them, many studies have been devoted to analyzing the barriers to linguistic representativeness in the public service and the effectiveness of the steps taken to improve it. However, few of these studies have looked at these issues from a comparative perspective (Bangura 2006;Gagnon et al 2006). Yet there are significant differences among these states with regard to the measures adopted to promote linguistic representativeness in their public service and to manage linguistic diversity within them.…”

“…It has a dual objective: on the hand, from an analytic perspective, it formulates a comparative perspective enabling an explanation of the differences in the respective approaches of the two countries; and on the other hand and in empirical terms, it presents the measures adopted and evaluates their effects. In this regard, this article seeks to contribute to the debate on representative bureaucracy, particularly in light of the fact that few studies have focused on multilingual states from a comparative perspective (Bangura 2006;Gagnon et al 2006).…”

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“…The ethnic composition of a country is, of course, an important factor (Bangura 2006). In a country with one dominant ethnic group it is important, for example, that minority groups have more power than their numbers would entitle them to.…”