The Organisational Context of Ethnic Discrimination. Results From a Cross-National Factorial Survey Experiment

While ethnic discrimination in hiring is well documented, little is known about why some organisations – including private companies and public institutions – discriminate more than others. We address this gap through a cross-nationally harmonised factorial survey experiment (FSE) embedded in a comprehensive questionnaire, combining the rigour of experimental design with detailed organisational data.

The survey was conducted among more than 2,000 recruiters evaluating candidates for medium-skilled jobs in four European countries: Germany, Norway, Poland, and Romania. Results show that hiring discrimination is lower in organisations that make hiring decisions collectively, but higher in positions involving frequent customer interaction. Moreover, diversity policy measures implemented within organisations are strongly associated with lower levels of discrimination. Among these, inclusive hiring practices, mentoring or buddy programmes, and support systems for foreign workers appear particularly effective.

The study further demonstrates that the relationship between discrimination and organisational characteristics, such as size and ownership, is largely mediated by the presence of diversity policy measures.
Co-autors: Dominik Buttler, Vegar Bjørnshagen, Marta Palczyńska, Mateusz Smoter

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