Critically assess the role of (ethnic/racial/religious) discrimination in explaining immigrants and ethnic minorities' education and the labour market disadvantage in Western Europe

Résumé du document

After World War II and the process of decolonization, European countries were regarded as egalitarian and peaceful societies (Wacquant 2008, p. 15). In a context of economic expansion, the integration of migrants was easier and their aspirations of social mobility were achievable. However, times have changed and disadvantages of migrants and their descendants in terms of education and the labor market still exist. Indeed, social cohesion has been weakened because of competition between migrants and natives which characterized periods of economic instability.

Moreover, this led to discriminatory behaviors on the part of the majority against minorities as increasing diversity threatened the national cultural pattern of ‘assimilation for all'. Some European countries such as the Netherlands tried to implement multi-cultural policies in order to facilitate integration of minorities. As these multi-cultural policies were inefficient, European governments decided to stop these policies: there was a retreat of multiculturalism in countries such as Great-Britain and the Netherlands (Joppke, 2004). At the same time, race riots broke out to protest against the high unemployment and the conditions experienced by minorities (Castles, 2008, pp. 1-2). Such unrest's reflect integration problems of minorities who are victim of discrimination, particularly in the educational system and in the labor market.

It is clear they do not have the same opportunities as the majority groups. However, it would be a bit simplistic to say that these inequalities are only the result of ethnic, racial or religious discrimination. Hence, what we are going to do in this essay is to assess the role of discrimination in explaining these inequalities in education and in the labor market. This essay will demonstrate that discrimination is the major factor to explain unequal opportunities but not the only one.

Extraits

[...] In fact, there is a general discrimination in everyday life which comprises segregation at school and discrimination of employers. What Rafaela Dancygier calls the ‘immigrant-native confrontation' (2010) influences the general backgrounds in which minorities are excluded (racism of teachers and children, ethnic stereotypes of employers, exploitation at work This general context is at its worst in times of economic instability because natives and immigrants (and their descendants) are in competition to find jobs (Dancygier, 2010). Such periods are capitalized by the extremist political parties which can gain from the division of the societies. [...]

[...] It concerns both first and second generations within ethnic minorities. In Sweden, refugees are excluded from the Swedish labour market even though policies were implemented to fight against such inequalities (Wrench et al p. 195). This is a discrimination which is not necessarily based on ‘acceptable' criteria such as a lack of fluency. It is more an institutional discrimination as the difficult access to citizenship can be. There is direct evidence (‘discrimination testing') which enables us to denounce the discrimination of employers in many countries in Europe. [...]

[...] Discrimination in the labour market against the second generation”, in Ethnic and Racial Studies, Routledge, vol - Wacquant, Loïc Urban Outcasts: A Comparative Sociology of Advanced Marginality. Cambridge: Polity Press; Chapter 1. - Wrench John , Rea Andrea and Ouali Nouria (1999), Migrants, ethnic minorities and the labour market: integration and exclusion in Europe, Macmillan in association with Centre for Research in Ethnic Relations, University of Warwick, Basingstoke. - Les musulmans victimes de la discrimination au travail in Le Figaro (25/04/2012). [...]

[...] If we look at inequalities at school, there are many elements to understand these inequalities of opportunities. First of all, statistics show that the number of migrants from non-European origins excluded from schools is higher than the majority groups. This may be explained by racist discrimination of teachers (example of white teachers in Great-Britain with pupils of Caribbean origins) but also of their white peers. In fact, it depends on the way theses ethnic minorities react to segregation when they are a target group. [...]

[...] On the other hand, if the second generation is more affected by discrimination, it means that there is a problem of integration and segregation in western European societies. Times have changed, living conditions of minorities as well, and mentalities should probably evolve in order to improve equality in terms of opportunity. References - Castles, S. and Miller M. J. (2008), The Age of Migration: international population movements in the modern world, 4th ed., Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke. - Dancygier, Rafaela Immigration and Conflict in Europe. [...]