Muslim by default or religious discrimination? Results from a cross-national field experiment on hiring discrimination

V. Di Stasio, B. Lancee, Susanne Veit, Ruta Yemane

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

We use data from a cross-nationally harmonised field experiment to examine discrimination towards Muslim job applicants in five European countries (Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain and the United Kingdom). We focus on job applicants originating from countries that have a substantial Muslim population: of these, some signalled closeness to Islam in their job application while others did not. With this design, we can empirically disentangle anti-Muslim discrimination (a ‘disclosed Muslim’ effect) from the possible stigma of originating from countries where Islam is prevalent (a ‘Muslim by default’ effect). Our double-comparative design allows us to compare the extent of anti-Muslim discrimination faced by different origin groups in destination countries characterised by a varying history of church-state relations and distinctive approaches to grant cultural and religious rights to minorities. We find alarming levels of discrimination, especially towards male applicants from more visible groups. Anti-Muslim discrimination and origin-based discrimination independently contribute to the severe disadvantage faced by ethnic and religious minorities, a disadvantage that is especially severe in the Norwegian labour market.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1305-1326
JournalJournal of Ethnic and Migration Studies
Volume47
Issue number6
Early online date2019
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2021

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Keywords

  • Field experiment
  • Muslim
  • correspondence test
  • ethnic penalties
  • religious discrimination

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Muslim by default or religious discrimination? Results from a cross-national field experiment on hiring discrimination'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this