Gianni D'Amato and
Rosita Fibbi

Discrimination as an Obstacle to Social Cohesion

Everyone is the architect of his/her own fortune. This meritocratic principle has a deep motivational impact on immigrants and their children and at the same time inspires integration policies aiming at strengthening immigrants’ capabilities. Yet this promise is not always kept, as our studies show: labor market chances are influenced by the origin of an individual, infringing the equal treatment norm. Integration policies need to address this issue.

Project Fact Sheet (PDF)
Main Results (PDF)

Messages for Decision-Makers

Unfair treatment of citizens of immigrant origin and resident immigrants breaches the equality norm and threatens social cohesion. It is also a form of brain waste, contradicting the imperative of exploiting locally available (labor) resources in a country that wishes to reduce labor migration even for the highly qualified.
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A public debate is needed to raise awareness of this shortcoming and to promote an assertive HR policy in public and private companies.

Project-related scientific publications Select publication   Fibbi, Rosita, Didier Ruedin, Robin Stünzi and Eva Zschirnt Hiring discrimination on the basis of skin colour? A correspondence test in Switzerland 2022   Fibbi, Rosita, Arnfinn H. Midtbøen and Patrick Simon Migration and Discrimination: IMISCOE Short Reader 2021   Fibbi, Rosita and Philippe Wanner Gli italiani nelle migrazioni in Svizzera. Sviluppi recenti 2020   Leyvraz, Anne-Cécile, Raphaël Rey, Damian Rosset and Robin Stünzi Asile et abus. Regards pluridisciplinaires sur un discours dominant 2020   Zschirnt, Eva Research Ethics in Correspondence Testing: An Update 2019   Zschirnt, Eva Equal Outcomes, but Different Treatment – Subtle Discrimination in Email Responses From a Correspondence Test in Switzerland 2019   Grunau, Philipp and Marco Pecoraro Educational mismatch and promotions to managerial positions: a test of the career mobility theory 2017   Pecoraro, Marco and Didier Ruedin The Share of Foreigners in One’s Occupation and Attitudes Towards Foreigners 2017   Cattacin, Sandro, Rosita Fibbi and Philippe Wanner La nouvelle seconde génération. Introduction au numéro spécial 2016   Fidalgo, Antonio, Marco Pecoraro, Alberto Holly and Philippe Wanner A nonparametric analysis of the healthy immigrant effect 2016   Pecoraro, Marco The incidence and wage effects of overeducation using the vertical and horizontal mismatch in skills 2016   Pecoraro, Marco and Didier Ruedin A Foreigner Who Does Not Steal My Job: The Role of Unemployment Risk and Values in Attitudes toward Equal Opportunities 2016   Pecoraro, Marco and Rosita Fibbi Caractéristiques socio-économiques des populations étrangères à Neuchâtel et en Suisse 2016   Zschirnt, Eva and Didier Ruedin Ethnic discrimination in hiring decisions: a meta-analysis of correspondence tests 1990–2015 2016