German employers quite often pay attention to the migrant roots of applicants
A German, a Chinese, a Spaniard, and a Russian once decided to find a job in Germany and sent out their resumes. Who among them was invited for an interview? The Berlin Social Science Center (WZB) conducted an experiment that revealed other factors. As Deutsche Welle notes, the results shocked scientists.
Resumes with special features
Between 2014 and 2016, a team of scientists from Berlin sent out more than six thousand fictitious resumes. The job advertisements were real and aimed at specialists with vocational training. Positions required included a cook, a hotel business specialist, an equipment repair mechanic, a mechatronics technician, an assistant for a private medical practice, a salesperson, and a procurement and supply specialist. The focus was on small and medium-sized enterprises.
All fictitious applicants listed Germany as their country of origin. They were all born in 1992. All had the appropriate qualifications. The scientists varied data on academic performance and gender, photographs considering different phenotypes (light skin, dark or Asian appearance), native language(s), and also chose names indicating the applicants' migrant roots.
Religious affiliation was indirectly indicated, for example, in information about participation in social projects. A total of 34 countries were selected, including, besides EU states, China, India, Japan, Russia, the USA, Morocco, and others.
While German candidates received an invitation for an interview in 60 percent of cases, among those from migrant families it was half that. Moreover, it turned out that the chances of getting a job depend on the country of origin.
Who has what chances in the labor market?
Employers treat applicants with European, East Asian, or North American roots almost the same as Germans without migrant roots. And applicants with Spanish, Polish, or Japanese roots were invited for interviews even more often than Germans. For Chinese and Americans, the chances are almost the same as for Germans. Slightly worse are those for French, Italians, Bulgarians, and Britons. However, the differences are minimal.
But Sergei Dimitrov and Olga Dimitrova, fictitious applicants with Russian roots, ended up in the group of those who are most often discriminated against in the German labor market. In the ranking compiled by Berlin sociologists, they are joined by applicants whose parents came from Turkey, Nigeria, Malaysia, Iraq, Pakistan, the Dominican Republic, Ethiopia, Morocco, or Albania. What is the reason?
Does a foreign culture cost you a job?
"We assumed that employers pay attention to the professional qualifications of applicants. That is true. But companies also look at candidates' names," says Ruta Yemane, a research fellow at WZB and one of the authors of the study. Behind the name lies information about the country of origin, and thus about a certain culture characteristic of that country.
"In Germany, employers prefer applicants who adhere to cultural values that are understandable to them and close to German ones," reveals the main conclusion of the study, Ruta Yemane.
The scientists compared factors that unite countries with similar results. It turned out that the average level of education among representatives of different nationalities in Germany matters. The higher it is, the greater the chances of getting an interview. "But education is not the main indicator explaining discrimination by employers," notes Ruta Yemane. "The selective approach towards applicants is explained primarily by cultural distance."
Russian language in the German labor market
Stereotypes and the employer's knowledge of the candidate's country of origin, mentality, attitude to work, family, and others come to the fore. The authors of the study are confident that values such as personal rights and freedoms of citizens, rationalism, separation of church and state, and the role of religion in citizens' personal lives are also significant.
"For example, Japan and Germany have much in common in these values," explains Ruta Yemane. As the study showed, Muslims and applicants with dark skin are in the most disadvantageous position.
Incidentally, the scientists explain the placement of Russian-speaking candidates in the bottom third of the ranking not by cultural distance, but by other factors. "This is more likely related to the low level of education of Russian-speaking migrants in Germany. Also, there are many Muslims among Russian speakers. At least, these are characteristics that unite countries at the bottom of the ranking," believes Ruta Yemane.
The most unexpected result for the scientists: despite the fact that all fictitious applicants were born in Germany, based on the photo, name, and native language, employers drew their conclusions and attributed to them values typical of the countries from which their parents, grandparents, or great-grandparents once came. "Although one can strongly doubt that the descendants of immigrants have the same mentality as people in their historical homeland today," the sociologist believes.
The more detailed the resume, the less the influence of stereotypes
The degree of discrimination in the German labor market also depends on the field. In the hotel business, it is minimal, and knowledge of Russian or Arabic in addition to German is an advantage. At the same time, in the medical field, migrant roots affect applicants' chances the worst.
“Some employers don’t want a female employee in a niqab sitting at the reception in their medical practice,” cites Ruta Yemane as an example. Discrimination is strong in the technical field and, surprisingly, in professions where there are difficulties filling vacancies due to relatively low salaries and not very attractive working conditions – this applies, in particular, to cooks.
What will help overcome stereotypes and avoid being lumped together? First, emphasizes the Berlin sociologist, applicants with migrant backgrounds should under no circumstances feel guilty: “First and foremost, employers themselves must reconsider their attitude toward stereotypes. And a lot must change in politics as well.” Discrimination based on ethnicity is prohibited in Germany, but such cases rarely reach court.
Second, Ruta Yemane is convinced, regardless of the study results, applicants should not lose hope. In a European comparison, the scientist reassures, the scale of discrimination in Germany is rather moderate. Good grades and work experience are still important. Continue to invest in knowledge and professional internships. It is important that the job application is filled out in accordance with all requirements, and that the package of documents is complete and error-free.
“A spelling mistake by an applicant with a German name is more likely to be perceived as a typo, while with a foreign name – as poor knowledge of the German language. It’s better to have someone check the documents,” advises the sociologist. The more detailed the description of professional knowledge and experience, the better.