Authors: Prof. Dr. Haci-Halil Uslucan, Cem Serkan Yalcin, published by the Federal Anti-Discrimination Agency (FADA) Year of publication: 2012

Brief overview

In commissioning the expert opinion, the Federal Anti-Discrimination Agency sought to examine the effect that the experience of discrimination has on the integration of persons with a migrant background, the way such situations are handled by those affected, as well as the political and social possibilities for action that are available to protect citizens against discrimination.

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Main results

Discrimination has the following effects on the integration of people with a migrant background:

• The experience of discrimination can trigger a re-ethnicisation process.
• The constant confrontation with prejudices and stereotypes has a negative impact on self-esteem.
• Marginalisation and discrimination increase the danger of a propensity towards violence.
• Discrimination prevents integration into the labour market and goes hand in hand with an increased risk of poverty.
• Discrimination has a negative effect on mental and physical health whereby day-to-day stress factors such as ‘daily hassles’ have a negative impact on a person’s life satisfaction.

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Options for action

Based on the results of their expert opinion, the authors have drawn up recommendations for action, which, for some areas, are summarised in concrete terms in this fact sheet:

Politics

• The State as an employer must set an example by promoting diversity and actively implementing anti-discrimination strategies.
• Companies with obviously discriminatory practices should be more rigorously sanctioned. On the other hand, companies that are sensitive towards cultural heterogeneity should be publicly recognised and, if possible, rewarded.
• In this context, it is also important to further increase intercultural sensitivity among staff in administrations and to counteract discriminatory practices in these institutions.
• In some cases, the legislator must act to abolish legalised discrimination.
• The recognition of foreign qualifications, which, in part, has already been implemented, has to be made easier in order to accelerate integration into the labour market.
• Existing legal disadvantages for foreigners from third countries must be eliminated as a matter of urgency.
• Networking between and support for anti-discrimination agencies and other contact points should be fostered to enable them to inform those affected about possible options for action.

Labour market

• Since the chance of finding a job has been shown to be lower for applicants with a foreign-sounding name, recruitment approaches should be reconsidered and modified – also with regard to the shortage of skilled staff. A (partial) anonymization would draw attention to the applicants’ qualifications and ensure objectivity in the selection of candidates.
• Employers should prevent discriminatory practices and establish methods for an earlier detection of such practices. Primarily, complaints procedures should be made more transparent and the protection against discrimination in the workplace consistently implemented.

Media

• The media can help to avoid stereotypes by refraining from using sweeping attributions in their reporting. In this context, it is important to question the explicit use of the categories ‘Germans’ and ‘foreigners’ and to only apply those terms where necessary.
• People with a migrant background, too, should be part of the workforce so they can help shaping the representation of society in the media.

Education

• The topic of discrimination (stereotype threat) should be included in teacher training since discriminatory practices are often part of the daily routines at schools.
• The realities of migrant families’ daily lives as well as the history of migration should become obligatory parts of school curricula.
• Professorships for intercultural education should be established at universities to better prepare future teachers for the cultural heterogeneity awaiting them in the classroom. The subject of intercultural education should be implemented as part of teachers’ course curricula.
• Schools should emphasize the equal value of all languages and not allow the native tongue to be disparaged, since disparaging someone’s native tongue may be seen as disparaging their origin.

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