Despite Sweden’s great ethnic and racial diversity, discrimination persists in the Swedish labor market. Sayaka Osanami Törngren, a researcher at Malmö University, has Forum for Social Innovation Sweden with Forum for Social Innovation Sweden educational materials aimed at raising awareness about discrimination and racism.
Research in Sweden shows that while skills and work experience acquired in Sweden have a positive effect in counteracting discrimination in the labor market, factors such as names—particularly those with Arabic-sounding names—and ethnic and racial background, such as an Afro-Swedish background, have a negative impact on employers’ hiring decisions.
Research project to understand discrimination in the labor market
In the research project “Understanding Discrimination in Hiring and Exploring the Possibility of Intervention Through Eye-Tracking,” funded by the Swedish Research Council, researchers investigated potential discrimination in selection decisions during the initial stage of the recruitment process. An experimental study of CV screening was conducted and analyzed with recruiters who had experience recruiting diverse employees in Sweden-based companies and public organizations. A larger digital survey was also conducted to validate the study’s results. The results of the study showed that CVs representing ethnic and racial diversity were generally viewed positively. CVs with a Black profile picture and an Eritrean name were the ones most preferred in the selection process.
“We need more research in this area, given that we know persistent discrimination based on race and ethnicity is a consistent feature of the Swedish labor market,” says Associate Professor Sayaka Osanami Törngren of Malmö University, who led the research project.
More research is needed
Further research is needed to understand discrimination in the labor market. First, there is a continuing need to understand who makes hiring decisions. Second, more research and data are needed on the role of social desirability and on benevolent racism. Third, more knowledge and research are needed on the positive effects of race and color awareness.
“Our data lacks information on the roles of the managers who make decisions regarding hiring and diversity policies,” says Sayaka Osanami Törngren.
Benevolent racism perpetuates the dichotomy
Benevolent racism is a form of structural and subtle discrimination that is presented as acts of solidarity with minorities. Perhaps not intentionally, but by offering help in an unconscious way, people in positions of power limit minorities’ scope for action through a worldview that perpetuates a dichotomy.
“We engaged private and public organizations that actively promote diversity and inclusion in their workplaces. The potential patterns of benevolent racism should be identified in further analyses,” says Sayaka Osanami Törngren.
The third area requiring further research is the positive effects of racial and ethnic awareness. Recruiters who are aware of racial and ethnic diversity, combined with social desirability, may foster positive biases rather than negative biases toward diversity, which can contribute to inclusive recruitment.
Efforts to communicate and disseminate research findings
To disseminate the results and knowledge from the research, the Swedish Research Council funded the communication project “Cross-Sectoral and Co-Created Research Communication as Cognitive Boosting for Inclusive Hiring Decisions.” Sayaka Osanami Törngren collaborated with several private companies and public sector organizations, including IKEA, Deloitte, the City of Malmö, and Region Skåne.
“We want to share our research and collaborate with stakeholders outside academia to advance this work. We presented our research findings and tried to identify what kind of communication support materials organizations and companies need,” says Sayaka Osanami Törngren.
Aims to raise awareness of potential discrimination and racism in the workplace
Together with Forum for Social Innovation Sweden research assistant Fatou Fatty, Sayaka Osanami Törngren has created communication materials for workplaces to raise awareness about potential discrimination and racism. Part of the project and the materials consists of the student assignment “Social Media for Social Change,” in which 20 master’s students studying International Migration and Ethnic Relations (IMER) at Malmö University examined the role of managers, benevolent racism, and race and color consciousness through selected research articles on the subject, and then, individually or in pairs, created visual content based on what they had read.
Students practiced communicating research findings
Carlotta Ponchia is one of the students who worked on disseminating research findings. The focus of Carlotta’s assignment was benevolent discrimination. She used an empirical article by Romani, Holck, and Risberg to understand how identity shapes the opportunities of ethnic and racial minorities in the Swedish labor market. The analysis showed how human resources departments should be mindful of their inclusion initiatives, as these, like “benevolent” behaviors, often lead to marginalization rather than inclusion. Carlotta Ponchia found the assignment interesting and useful because it was divided into an academic component—the critical summary of the empirical article—and a practical component involving the communication task in the form of an infographic for social media.
“The infographic project helped make research accessible and useful to the general public. I think that’s crucial, especially when this data shows that changes are needed and that certain behaviors are harmful,” says Carlotta Ponchia.
The visual content created by the students reflects their understanding of how racism and discrimination can be perpetuated or countered in the labor market. The material is intended for use in workplaces and organizations to raise awareness of potential discrimination and racism, not only in the recruitment process but also in everyday situations within organizations, such as in policy development, promotions, and workplace environment issues.
Read the communication material “Understanding discrimination in recruitment in Sweden – based on a research and communication project at Malmö University” here.
Read more about Sayaka Osanami Törngren’s research here.
Text: Lotta Orban