Sweden and Multiculturalism at Work: from Jantelagen to Ethnical Discrimination
a.a. 2011/2012
Diversity Management – Diversity, Gender and Equality in Organisations
KAN-CBL_DIMA
Final Paper
Sweden and multiculturalism at work: from Jantelagen to ethnical discrimination
Giulio Lorenzini
Index
Introduction 3
Jantelagen and its roots 3
Immigration and unemployment from the 1950s to nowadays 5 a. The economic argument 7 b. Evidence and effects of discrimination 8
Jantelagen and discrimination 10
Conclusion 12
References 13
Introduction
Sweden, similarly to the other Scandinavian countries, stands as one of the most egalitarian and democratic countries in the world in terms of social equality, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit (2007), and devotes more than 30 percent of its GDP on social expenditure. This clearly has a positive impact on the integration of disadvantaged people from ethnical minorities.
In terms of integration policies themselves, the country has been investing considerable funds since 1968 and set its three integration goals (equality, freedom of choice and partnership) just a few years later. It then more and more opened the welfare system to newly arrived immigrants and set forth other important principles for integration: recognition of individual diversity, equal opportunities and mutual tolerance.
However, in the same period when integration policies were born, statistical research proves that immigrant workers started facing several obstacles in the job market. The unemployment rate for immigrants since the 1970s began to suffer from a gap with respect to the one of native Swedes and foreign citizens working in Sweden, as well as naturalized Swedes, encountered problems also in terms of promotion opportunities and wage.
This situation evolved in the same direction until nowadays and opens several questions. The following research attempts to investigate on the Swedish cultural background at the basis of the
Diversity Management – Diversity, Gender and Equality in Organisations
KAN-CBL_DIMA
Final Paper
Sweden and multiculturalism at work: from Jantelagen to ethnical discrimination
Giulio Lorenzini
Index
Introduction 3
Jantelagen and its roots 3
Immigration and unemployment from the 1950s to nowadays 5 a. The economic argument 7 b. Evidence and effects of discrimination 8
Jantelagen and discrimination 10
Conclusion 12
References 13
Introduction
Sweden, similarly to the other Scandinavian countries, stands as one of the most egalitarian and democratic countries in the world in terms of social equality, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit (2007), and devotes more than 30 percent of its GDP on social expenditure. This clearly has a positive impact on the integration of disadvantaged people from ethnical minorities.
In terms of integration policies themselves, the country has been investing considerable funds since 1968 and set its three integration goals (equality, freedom of choice and partnership) just a few years later. It then more and more opened the welfare system to newly arrived immigrants and set forth other important principles for integration: recognition of individual diversity, equal opportunities and mutual tolerance.
However, in the same period when integration policies were born, statistical research proves that immigrant workers started facing several obstacles in the job market. The unemployment rate for immigrants since the 1970s began to suffer from a gap with respect to the one of native Swedes and foreign citizens working in Sweden, as well as naturalized Swedes, encountered problems also in terms of promotion opportunities and wage.
This situation evolved in the same direction until nowadays and opens several questions. The following research attempts to investigate on the Swedish cultural background at the basis of the