On and off you hear about clashes between the Coptic and Muslim populations here in Egypt. The other day I ran into this, as a friend pointed out, extremely biased article about a Coptic family that have had trouble with the authorities on account of their religious classification. In the story, there’s the mentioning that a person’s religious attachment is stated on his/her Egyptian identification papers. I got Karl-Abraham’s papers out, and sure enough, there it is: “Christian.” Although we were never asked. The man at the Mugamma who filled out our papers simply made the assumption, I guess. Christian.
Speaking of classifying people, and assigning importance to religious belief, cultural heritage, race, gender, and color: in the process of applying for jobs this upcoming academic year, I’ve had to fill out a lot of forms, asking me to state all of these things. As a northern European, I’ve never seen such a thing! “America seems to be one of the most racist countries in the world!” I said to Courtney, “For just about anything, they ask about the color of my skin! What does it matter? Should that really matter?! I’m applying for a job. I’m a qualified candidate, and they want to know if I’m black?!”
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Special note (just so you don't think I'm stupid or ignorant): All jokes aside.
Although racism certainly is an important issue, this post is not a serious contribution to the debate. I know why universities ask us to fill out the questionnaires about race, gender, and veteran status (actually, that last one I'm not so sure about...), and of course I know they are not related to the actual job application per se. I should also note, that the couple of jobs where we have had to reveal or discuss our religion, the university in question specifically mentioned in the ad that they are not an employer who conforms to regulations set out on this issue. What is my point then? To express a wonder I have while dealing with job applications in the US. Although European governments are certainly dealing with the same problem, they approach it very differently. What has struck me is the bluntness. I click “Apply for this job” and the first question I have to answer regards my race! I’m not saying it’s wrong. It’s just… striking - to someone who is new to it.
There is racism everywhere, sadly, indeed, and when I worked for the government in Sweden on immigrant integration, it was certainly clear that discrimination was not a new phenomena, and that it was going to remain an issue for a long time, even with regulative and other efforts. Although the wikipedia entry on the issue contains some serious errors, it does correctly point this out. Obviously, neither the European nor the American solution is absolute, or the problem would be solved and the system perfect. The fact that we have an Egyptian address, and degrees from a university most Americans can’t even pronounce the name of, I’m sure is deterring to some, but there’s nothing to regulate against this in the US. In Europe on the other hand, this has never been an issue, because people growing up in one country, getting educated in a second, and applying to jobs in a third is normal.
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4 comments:
Actually, when you fill out the race questionnaire, it's kept separate from your application materials. In the US, it's illegal to discriminate based on race, so companies and sometimes the government collect statistics on the race of people who apply for jobs. If they see a lot of people of color applying but only white people being hired (for example), they know there is a problem. This is part of trying to make sure racism is limited. Companies also make sure jobs are advertised in a way such that all people will see them.
And while I agree there's plenty of racism in the US, I would disagree that Northern Europe is immune from this. Just ask the Turks in Germany! Or Holocaust survivors (since being Jewish was considered a race back in the day).
Wikipedia says that black people, Roma, and Muslims in Sweden have had a very difficult time in the labor market and that racism is a huge issue for all people of color in Sweden. Sweden was incredibly aggressive in the slave trade.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racism_in_Europe#Sweden
And, really, I can't think of a better example of European racism than Zwarte Piet. It's quite shocking to me as an American (seriously).
The US is very different because it's been heterogeneous since its founding, whereas many European countries have at least had the appearance of homogeneity until recently. And the US has had huge struggles with racism. But what you refer too--the race forms--are part of the attempt to solve racial discrimination in the workplace in the US.
And I would ask you re-check that you were asked about religion in the US. That is illegal. Employers collect data on race and gender and veteran status. But anything else, unless you are applying to a religious organization, is illegal.
I'm not picking on you! Just reminding you that being Northern European does not exempt one from racism. Quite the contrary.
I am not sure if this is what you are referring to when you say that you know why they ask these questions but, all except the religion has to do with the policies on "affirmative action". This is legislation that tries to counter racism by making sure that employers hire in all categories. Sometimes this gives minorities or veterans a better chance at getting a job but sometimes it means that they are hired even if they are not the best choice in order to meet the quota. So I guess there is still a question of how to require fairness in hiring.
Ms. Four, you can pick on me anytime, and I'm glad you raised this issue. It's important!! I had no intention at all to imply that this is a problem in the US only - I have no illusion that Sweden doesn't have problems with discrimination and racism. I added a note to clarify that I was trying to make a joke - a pretty stupid one, in retrospective.
Ann, yes, I know. There are programs like that in Europe as well. In Sweden for example, they've have an affirmative program for over a decade, making sure there's an even distribution in the government among men and women. Now it's 50% men and 50% women.
In Kenya, East Africa, my husband and I had to fill out forms at a police station once and one of the questions was to what tribe we belonged. We didn't fill it out saying we (American and Dutch) didn't have tribes. No go, we had to put something in the space.
My American husband put in "Oregonian", since he's from the state of Oregon, and I put in "Frisian" since I was born in the Dutch province of Friesland. Actually in Cesar's days, there was a Frisian tribe, but it's been a while.
Good luck!
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