Jean-Luc Primon

From Higher Education to Employment: Inequalities among Ethnic Backgrounds in France.

In France, as in many European countries, youth from foreign ethnic backgrounds appear less integrated than those who are accepted as established French citizens into civil society through the educational system and the labor market. Until now, existing research on employment inequalities in France has, for good reasons, concentrated on the large number of young people lacking higher education. However, the increasing demand in the labor market for high levels of competencies and the prolonging of schooling have led to an apparent increase in the enrollment in higher education of youth from foreign backgrounds. Are the inequalities (or possible discrimination) revealed by existing studies concentrated (and observable) solely in specific areas (i.e., lower levels of education)? Does having a higher education diploma reduce employment differences between ethnic backgrounds and thus improve the integration into French civil society of youth from foreign ethnic backgrounds? This issue is not limited to France and has been researched in other European countries (e.g., Shiner and Modood 2002). In our study we address employment inequalities and job discrimination for higher education graduates of different ethnic backgrounds in France. We attempt to integrate the hypothesis of discrimination in our research question and interpretative framework, even if it cannot be directly tested and observed.

The Place of Racism in the Study of Discrimination

What is the experience of racism of migrants and their descendants? Persons from sub-Saharan Africa, North Africa and the French overseas departements are very frequently the targets of “explicitly racist remarks and behaviours”, while those from Southeast Asia, Turkey or Europe much less so. Being born in France to a parent from one of these countries and having French nationality does not reduce this experience of racism. On the contrary, racism is reiterated and expressed in school and in public places, but also at work and in dealings with public services. It is compounded by experience of exclusion and discrimination. Conversely, persons from the mainstream population are rarely exposed to this type of situation and never report discrimination. Their experience of remarks perceived as racist is most often limited to public places or school. Racism targeting migrants and their descendants categorizes them into minority groups (in the sense of discriminated minorities), while racist remarks targeting the mainstream population have no material impact upon them.