No less than 11%, up to 84% of applicants racially discriminated against in the job market: the alarming peaks

From January to April 2016, the European Grassroots Antiracist Movement has conducted in nine countries a European Testing campaign to evaluate the levels of racial discrimination in the job market.

The results, presented in the graphic below, show alarming peaks:

Racial discrimination is illegal and represents a fundamental breach in the core values of equality and liberty which are supposed to lie at the heart of our democracies.

In a time of social crisis, it makes it even harder for some individuals to find work only because of their backgrounds, and pushes them to the margins of our societies, a situation which is often and perversely reproached to them.

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These results, however high, are not entirely a surprise, since racism has been spreading with increasing permissiveness in recent years all over Europe at the political level, by some opinion leaders as well as in the general population, and since the action by civil society and by the national and European institutions has not been determined enough to fight this phenomenon.

Whatever our positions, it is our responsibility to act to make our societies more just.

Therefore, EGAM urges the various stakeholders concerned to vigorously take action, in the following ways:

The NGOs:

• To launch antidiscrimination campaigns, for example by using Testing.
• To file complaints against the individuals and institutions responsible for discrimination.
• To build antidiscrimination departments in order to support victims.
• To educate to antidiscrimination, including through formal and informal education.

The local and national authorities:

• To fund NGOs for them to conduct antidiscrimination campaigns.
• To exclude from all calls for tender companies condemned for discrimination.
• To organize antidiscrimination training sessions for civil servants, especially among the judicial authorities and the police.
• For the governments, to adopt a penal policy urging the courts to carefully pay attention to discrimination cases.

The companies:

• To organize antidiscrimination training sessions for the employees.
• To fund NGOs so that they organize Testing campaigns on them.

The parliaments:

• To adopt, when it is not the case yet, laws recognizing the Testing as an evidence of discrimination in court, as well as enhanced antidiscrimination laws.

The European institutions:

• To fund NGOs for them to conduct antidiscrimination campaigns.
• To ask the States, following the example of the National strategies for integration of Roma people, to present and implement clear strategies to fight racial discrimination.
• To condition European subsidies to States to the seriousness of their actions to fight racial discrimination, and to exclude subsidies to companies which have been condemned for discrimination.

Contact Person:
Christopher Metz, Project Manager
Telephone: +33783312847 / Email : tophermetz@live.co.uk

The 2016 European Situation Testing Campaign on Racial Discrimination in the Labor Market was carried out by EGAM, with the involvement of the following organizations : ZARA (Austria), Mrax (Belgium), Bulgarian Helsinki Committee (Bulgaria), Czech Helsinki Committee (Czech Republic), SOS Mod Racism (Denmark), SOS Racisme (France), Amadeu Antonio Stiftung (Germany), Netzwerk Rassismus-und Diskriminierungsfreies Bayern e.V. (Germany), SOS Razzismo (Italy), Youth Initiative for Human Rights Kosovo (Kosovo), Civic Alliance (Montenegro), Youth Initiative for Human Rights Serbia (Serbia), Ekvilib Institute (Slovenia), Malmo Mot Diskriminering (Sweden), IHD – Human Rights Association (Turkey), The Institute of Partnership and Sustainable Development (Ukraine)

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Annex 1 : Methodology

 

9 countries across Europe participated in the 2015/16 European Testing Campaign organized by the European Grassroots Antiracist Movement – EGAM.

Preparation of materials

For each job offer, two very similar applications (CVs, cover letters,…) were sent.

The only difference was the ethnicity marker, identified through the names, the languages spoken and/or the photo used.

Submission of applications

Applications were submitted to vacancies within the private sector, with a focus on service industry positions.

Between each application submission, there was a delay of at least one working day for the same vacancy in order to reduce risk of detection. Each vacancy was only tested once.

In all the participating countries, at least 30 sets of applications, meaning a minimum of 60 applications were submitted.

Recording results

All data collected from responses was recorded, noting the following criteria : response for majority group, response for target group, and result (discrimination or no discrimination).

Processing of results
In order to determine the percentage of discrimination, any result where one CV received a positive response and the other received either no response or a rejection was counted as showing discrimination.

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Annex 2 : Table of Results

*Italy sent a total of 30 tests, testing a variety of target groups – the largest number of tests (14) were sent for the target group from Sub-Saharan Africa

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Annex 3 : Campaigning Organizations and Contact People

 

Mrax, Belgium

The Movement against Racism, Anti-Semitism and Xenophobia (Mrax) targets three areas of the public: society, victims of racism and discrimination and persons responsible for racism and discrimination. The objective of the organization is to establish equality of rights through the following missions: reflection & action, prevention, information, denunciation & advocacy and reaction.

Contact person : Nicha Mbuli
Tel: (+)32 485695963 / Email: nicha.mbuli@mrax.be

 

Czech Helsinki Committee, Czech Republic

The mission of the CHC is to foster and protect human rights. CHC activities are oriented towards the development and strengthening of civil society, democracy and social development. CHC deals primarily with issues of equal opportunity and social exclusion, discrimination on different grounds, racism and hate speech.

Contact person : Lucie Rybova
Tel: (+)420/602 646 940 / Email: lucie.rybova@helcom.cz

 

SOS Mod Racism, Denmark

SOS Against Racism works to promote dialogue and understanding between different peoples and detect and combat discrimination and racism. Its mains missions are education, promote dialogue, contact and other non-violent means to break down myths and prejudices and consequently combat racism and xenophobia.

Contact person : Jette Moller
Tel: (+)45 60633399 / Email: jette.moller@yahoo.dk

 

SOS Racisme, France

SOS Racisme has a strong permeating influence on French civil society and politics. One of its main activities is supporting victims of racism and racial discrimination. It also provides legal assistance to victims, especially young people, by taking legal action to condemn hate speech and discriminatory and racist behaviour. It was the first NGO to use Situation Testing to reveal discriminatory practices in the work place, and in any field of French society.

Contact person : Nicolas Abdelaziz
Tel: (+)33 666409207 / Email: nicolas.abdelaziz@sos-racisme.org

 

SOS Razzismo, Italy

SOS Razzismo is made up of social workers and Italian and foreign citizens, working individually or in organized groups, to support the values ​​of solidarity as the foundation of progress and of civilized life.
Its aims are to combat discrimination related to race, origin, culture, faith professed, to combat all forms of xenophobia and acts of violence perpetrated against immigrants, and to foster diversity though involvement and mobilization of all the people working together against racism and discrimination.

Contact person : Nicola Natale
Tel: (+)39 3491929626 / Email: nicola.natale@poste.it

 

Youth Initiative for Human Rights, Kosovo

The Youth Initiative for Human Rights is a regional network of non-governmental organizations with programs on the territories of Serbia, Kosovo, Croatia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The mission of the Initiative is to protect the victims of human rights violations, establish new connections in the region among the post-war generations, as well as to include the young in the process of transitional justice, through promoting the truth about the wars in former Yugoslavia.

Contact person : Venera Cocaj
Tel: (+)37 744805554 / Email: venera@yihr.org

 

Civic Alliance, Montenegro

Civic Alliance (CA) contributes to establishing civil and democratic society, through strengthening capacities and support of civil initiatives, protection and promotion of human rights and the control of work of public institutions. It also forms part of the regional network, which has been supporting citizens in the defense of their civil and human rights, assisting them in overcoming the problems of poor institutional cooperation and inappropriate interpretation of legal norms as well as tardiness and lack of responsibility of individual civil servants.

Contact person : Edin Koljenovic
Tel: (+)382 69 52 10 39 / Email: edin@gamn.org

 

Youth Initiative for Human Rights, Serbia

The Youth Initiative for Human Rights is a regional network of non-governmental organizations with programs on the territories of Serbia, Kosovo, Croatia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The mission of the Initiative is to protect the victims of human rights violations, establish new connections in the region among the post-war generations and to include young people in the process of transitional justice, through promoting the truth about the wars in former Yugoslavia.

Contact person : Dajana Berisavljevic
Tel: (+)381 11 30 35 145 / Email: dajana@yihr.org

 

Ekvilib institute, Slovenia

The main activities of the Ekvilib institute Slovenia are encouraging and supporting policies and practices which contribute to social responsibility of all actors in the global development. The organization focuses on the importance of human rights, on increasing the level of social responsibility of all actors of society and also explores changes that these rights effect on the lives of excluded individuals.

Contact person : Petra Hartman
Tel: (+)386 14303751 / Email: petra@ekvilib.org

 

Institute of Partnership and Sustainable Development, Ukraine

The aims of the IPSD are targeted to promote sustainable development based on coordination and harmonization of social, economic and environmental components. The missions of the organization are fostering partnership, transparency, promoting ideas of human rights, peace, the use of advances of civilization, establishing principles of humanity, values of democracy and civil society among others.

Contact person : Olena Berezhniuk
Tel: (+)380966816241 / Email: lena_nika94@ukr.net

 

Malmö Mot Diskriminering, Sweden

The missions of Malmö Mot Diskriminering – Malmo against Discrimination – are aimed at protecting human rights and fighting against discrimination. The organization’s main actions revolve around providing legal advice, assistance and support to individuals who fall victim to discrimination and also raising of awareness of discrimination and creating public opinion on issues related to discrimination and human rights.

Contact person : Karin Henrikz
Tel: (+)46 730 490 567 / Email: karin.henrikz@malmomotdiskriminering.se