Structural Racism in Switzerland: A Scoping Review

I’m happy to announce the publication of a research report on structural racism in Switzerland. The empirical core of the study are interviews as well as a scoping review that identified N=304 studies on structural racism in Switzerland (in broad terms).

Importantly, we focused on empirical evidence in Switzerland, because frankly, there is no need to look elsewhere to find structural racism.

The studies were classified by method, life sphere, how they classify the population, and a GRADE-style assessment of risk of bias. Conceptually, we draw on a frame by Osta and Vasquez (2021), which allows us to identify components of structural racism and connections between these components. All methods identify racial inequalities, racialized practices, or racist stereotypes across spheres and groups. In Switzerland, many studies draw on migration and nationality as classification, and most studies provide partial evidence. When considered jointly, however, the existing literature provides a clear picture consistent with structural racism.

The report is available in German and French (Italian will follow shortly), but unusually we also have an English summary/technical appendix to the scoping review available.

Mugglin, Leonie, Denise Efionayi-Mäder, Didier Ruedin, and Gianni D’Amato. 2022. ‘Grundlagenstudie zu strukturellem Rassismus in der Schweiz’. SFM Studies 81. Neuchâtel: Swiss Forum for Migration and Population Studies.

Mugglin, Leonie, and Didier Ruedin. 2022. ‘Structural Racism in Switzerland: A Scoping Review’. SocArXiv. https://doi.org/10.31235/osf.io/vnz6h.

Osta, Kathleen, and Hugh Vasquez. 2021. ‘Implicit Bias and Structural Racialization’. Oakland: National Equity Project. https://www.nationalequityproject.org/frameworks/implicit-bias-structural-racialization.

Call for Papers: Discrimination as a driver of migration-related inequalities

It’s this time of the year: a call for papers for next year’s IMISCOE conference on “migration and inequalities” (Warsaw, 3-6 July 2023). We propose another set of panels on “discrimination as a driver of migration-related inequalities”.

Deadline: 25 November 2022

Submissions: online form

Full call here:

Call for papers: Discrimination and Racism in Temporal Perspective

Panel organized at the 19th IMISCOE Annual Conference, Oslo
29 June to 1 July 2022
Co-organized with Patrick Simon and Valentina Di Stasio

Racism is still mostly studied without explicit references to discrimination, and many contributions continue to conceive it as a specific expression of prejudice. While the most blatant forms of racism are barely tolerated in contemporary societies, more subtle and systemic forms of racism continue, as shown by studies on ethnic and racial discrimination and inequalities. In the last twenty years, research on discrimination against immigrants and their descendants has grown significantly, paralleling both the settlement of immigrant populations and the coming of age of their children. Studies document differential treatment and discrimination in different markets (e.g. labour market, housing) and social spheres regulated by principles of equality (e.g. school, health service, police). Patterns of discrimination are embedded in institutional contexts and a larger societal environment, characterized not only by economic uncertainties and increasing political polarization in the public debate around immigrant-related issues, but also by increasing ethnic and cultural diversity and opportunities for interethnic contact. Such changes in the context are likely to affect attitudes and ideology diffusion in majority and minority members.

This panel will bring together researchers on discrimination, racism, and inequalities, tackling these issues from various disciplines, theoretical backgrounds and methods. We welcome empirical studies of discrimination patterns across a large variety of domains (considered separately or in relation to each other), theoretical perspectives on how the prevalence of ethnic discrimination and racism should be explained and conceptualized, and quantitative or qualitative analyses of the repertoire of people’s reactions to discrimination experiences. We are particularly interested in papers that examine temporal aspects of racism and discrimination, including their framing and expressions, forms of resistance and coping strategies, and studies on the (lack of) impact of anti-discrimination policies and legislation on perceived discrimination and on various forms of prejudicial attitudes and anti-immigrant sentiments. We also welcome papers which use and discuss theories about cross-country differences, ethno-racial hierarchies, and the cumulation of risks and disadvantage over time and across domains or generations.

Submit your abstract specifying the research question, data, methods and findings (200 words maximum) at https://neuchatel.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_5oHJ0DbZQyJByzI no later than 1 December 2021. For further information, get in touch with Didier Ruedin (didier.ruedin@unine.ch), Patrick Simon (simon@ined.fr) or Valentina Di Stasio (v.distasio@uu.nl). The notification of acceptance will be made by 10 December 2021.

Full Call for Papers

Live on YouTube: Diversity Ideologies and Ethnic Inequalities by Karen Phalet

At the NCCR on the move, we’re hosting a public lecture by Karen Phalet. The topic is “Diversity Ideologies and Ethnic Inequalities: The Interplay of Diversity Policies, Norms and Attitudes”, and you can join live on YouTube.

Thursday, 19 November 2020, 18:15 – 19:45

Further information: https://nccr-onthemove.ch/events/diversity-ideologies-and-ethnic-inequalities-the-interplay-of-diversity-policies-norms-and-attitudes/