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Discrimination against credentials in Black bodies: counterstories of the characteristic labour market experiences of migrants in Ireland

DOI:10.1080/03069885.2019.1620916
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Ebun Joseph at Institute of Antiracism and Black Studies
Ebun Joseph
  • Institute of Antiracism and Black Studies
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Abstract

Black Africans across Europe who report higher levels of discrimination in employment encounter systemic resistance in their career pursuits. In this article, discrimination in the Irish labour market is creatively challenged by centring race, and juxtaposing the experiences of migrants of Black African descent against their White counterparts based on information from 32 semi-structured interviews of first generation migrants from Nigeria, Poland, and Spain. Five characteristic experiences identified by synthesising migrants' interpretation of their journeys to paid employment are presented. The typologies in these trajectories reveal whiteness as a hidden resource that advantages Whites. It also illustrates the prevalence of an ascription of deficiency to Black workers and their credentials. These findings are presented through composite characters following critical race theory's counter-storytelling.
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Ebun Joseph (2019) Discrimination against credentials in Black bodies: counterstories of the
characteristic labour market experiences of migrants in Ireland, British Journal of Guidance
& Counselling, DOI: 10.1080/03069885.2019.1620916
Discrimination against Credentials in Black Bodies: Counterstories of the
Characteristic Labour Market Experiences of Migrants in Ireland
Ebun Joseph
University College Dublin
ebun.joseph@ucdconnect.ie
Abstract
Black Africans across Europe who report higher levels of discrimination in employment
encounter systemic resistance in their career pursuits. In this article, discrimination in the Irish
labour market is creatively challenged by centring race, and juxtaposing the experiences of
migrants of Black African descent against their White counterparts based on information from 32
semi-structured interviews of first generation migrants from Nigeria, Poland, and Spain. Five
characteristic experiences identified by synthesising migrants’ interpretation of their journeys to
paid employment are presented. The typologies in these trajectories reveal whiteness as a hidden
resource that advantages Whites. It also illustrates the prevalence of an ascription of deficiency
to Black workers and their credentials. These findings are presented through composite
characters following critical race theory’s counter-storytelling.
Keywords: Migration, Cross-Cultural Issues, Inequalities, Labour market, Discrimination
The participants’ narratives reveal that migrants encounter five different types of pathways when
accessing employment in Ireland. This is presented in this study as the five characteristic labour
market experiences of migrants which includes: going round in circles, expunged past, guilty
until proven innocent, marking time and progressive mobility.
INTRODUCTION
John: Do you think Black African workers are disadvantaged in Ireland? …I met
a Nigerian woman with a Master’s degree obtained in Nigeria who said a Career Advisor
encouraged her to look for care or retail jobs because she won’t get the kind of roles she
is seeking.
Phil: What is wrong with that? They are paying jobs.
John: Exactly what I told her at first. We have to appreciate having jobs in
today’s economy. She however reminded me that those roles require Level 5
qualifications while her university degree is a Level 9. That means working four
academic levels below her highest academic attainment. She says it’s common among her
community and it’s happening because she is Black. As someone who is White, if this
happened to you, would you think it is because of your race or gender?
[Operations Manager, John O’Connor, discussing with Phil, the Human Resource Manager.]
Studies across Europe that measure the experience of discrimination indicate that the highest
levels of discrimination based on ethnic or immigrant background is in the area of employment,
and is higher towards non-white minorities (Second European Union Minorities and
Discrimination Survey EU-MIDIS 11, 2016; McGinnity, Grotti Kenny & Russell, 2017; Zschirnt
and Ruedin, 2016). These studies show the experience of discrimination is recurring and skin
colour, foreign sounding first or second names, accent and nationality of origin were the main
reasons cited by respondents for their experience. These innumerable encounters are not simply
experiences, rather they have implications on labour market performance, career choice and
pursuits (Joseph, 2018). In light of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 8–which is
to promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment and decent work for all by
2030, and the UN General Assembly proclamation of 2015-2024 as the international decade for
people of African descent (UN Resolution 68/237), there is an urgent need for studies which
examine the labour market patterns of people at the bottom of the economic ladder and also pays
attention to the significance of race. [Read at DOI: 10.1080/03069885.2019.1620916]
© 2019 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group
CONTACT Ebun Joseph ebun.joseph@ucdconnect.ie https://www.linkedin.com/in/ebunjoseph/ Twitter:@ebunjoseph1
... Other social markers and experiences might further identify a minority group such as white Muslim women, white traveller communities, or white European migrants (through language and accent). In the literature, minority ethnic/race usually provides a way to define groups that look different and/or have separate ancestral roots (Crenshaw, 1989;Acker, 2012;Joseph, 2019). For this review, we have included various terms to identify self-defined ethnicity, migration status and other minority groups such as religious and traveller groups. ...
... Several studies identified institutional and structural racism as the root cause of such differential experiences (Birks et al., 2017;Joseph, 2019;Howells et al., 2018). These are particularly evident among black ethnic minorities, where the advantages of 'whiteness' and 'white hierarchy' act as hidden sources of privileges at work (Howells et al., 2018;Joseph, 2019). ...
... Several studies identified institutional and structural racism as the root cause of such differential experiences (Birks et al., 2017;Joseph, 2019;Howells et al., 2018). These are particularly evident among black ethnic minorities, where the advantages of 'whiteness' and 'white hierarchy' act as hidden sources of privileges at work (Howells et al., 2018;Joseph, 2019). These further interact with an ascription of deficiency to black workers' credentials and qualifications (Tinarwo, 2017;Joseph, 2019). ...
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... However, this argument might not always be the case. Our review revealed that even education attained in Europe by African migrants and their language skills of the host countries are less valued in the labor market compared to other migrants' education and skills (e.g., Attias-Donfut & Dimova, 2011;Joseph, 2019). This signifies the presence of more severe discrimination against Africans' experiences, skills, and educations despite possessing the necessary resources to succeed in the labor market. ...
... Moreover, evidence from our review also showed that most organizations are less likely to provide career opportunities to migrants, particularly, migrants' skills and positions are more likely to be redundant, and as a result, they quit or face a reduction (De Jong, 2019;Joseph, 2019). Such situations are more severe among African migrants compared to others. ...
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... The media appearances where I speak about racism in Ireland see some of the harshest threats and criticisms I have encountered, and it comes from a cohort who argue that race is not an issue in Ireland. This is despite the higher rate of employment-based discrimination reported by Black Africans in Europe (EUMIDIS 11, 2016), higher unemployment in the Irish labour market (McGinnity et al., 2017), harsher prison sentences of migrants (Guiney, 2018), harsher and more punitive border regulation, or the fact that the labour market participation of most Black Africans in Ireland starts with a downward mobility which can last for up to two to eight years depending on their route of entry into Ireland (Joseph, 2019). Considering some of the major changes which have taken place all over the world, this is understandable. ...
... When the latter was analysed, it showed that when controlling for the highest level of education attained, the Nigerian migrants who all had Black phenotype appeared to fare far worse than all the other groups. They were also seen to mainly start their labour market journey with a downward mobility compared to their White counterparts of Spanish and Polish descent who experienced lateral mobility and were able to obtain better job opportunities in a shorter timespan (Joseph, 2018;2019). ...
... This allows institutions remain unaccountable for their lack of or limited racial diversity in the workplace. The second strategy is to share stories of a migrant deficit in the labour market (Joseph, 2019). These stories often contradict their previous views, for example, '. . ...
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